Heading Off On A No-Meat Journey

Greetings, Readers!

As I mentioned on Twitter lately (if you're not following me, click here) I'm really looking to plan an entire month where I delve into vegan and vegetarian sandwiches.

It's not just a health thing (although I'm sure my bacon drenched arteries wouldn't mind a break) but it's really about exploring all of the options available to sandwich loves like me.

Plus, apparently quite a few of you follow the vegan or vegetarian lifestyles and despite my descriptions of meat-filled sandwiches, you still have not wavered in your dedication. To that, I applaud you.

To start, I love the earthy flavor of sprouts (usually on a burger) and of course I love any type of mushroom, especially portabella, but I haven't really grasped onto tofu. Maybe it's because I haven't tried your favorite spot which makes it best, or maybe it's because we'll never get along like I do with meat. This is the way I'm going to figure that out.

This is not to say that I've never eaten a sandwich without some sort of animal product, it's just that It hasn't happened lately, and if I have it's because I'm looking for something different, not something in particular.

So, because of that, I am reaching out to you this week. Let's start a conversation below about your favorite vegetarian or vegan sandwiches, or even restaurants, so that I can add them to my massive list of places to try, and send me on my way on this no-meat journey.

Until next week, Readers.

So Long Summer

Greetings, Readers.

Last week I finally put the lid on summer the best way I knew how: A hot dog from a nearby hot dog cart.

As the cool wind picked up outside of the studio, and the sun was hidden behind the dark clouds of oncoming fall, I thought back to the past few months of sandwiching.

Burgering a plenty had happened, usually followed by light and heat-quenching beers to wash those sandwiches down.

Sure, I could continue doing that year round if I wanted, but like the two (one and a half?) seasons that we have here in Los Angeles, this sandwich was the symbol of moving on into different territory.

For the time being.

I've constantly walked past this hot dog cart on the CBS Radford lot here in Studio City. Every time I passed, I'd smell the grilling of hot dogs and sausages and the salty and brined ingredients sitting nearby. Ever time I passed, I'd say "Next time. For sure."

Six months later, I was finally sitting next to the cart, enjoying this Chicago style hot dog, topped with a pickle, yellow mustard, chopped onions, tomatoes, sweet relish, pickled peppers, and a dose of celery salt.

The smoky grilled hot dog combined with the salty, bitter, peppery and sweet ingredients in a way that pulled your taste buds in so many different directions at the same time that I couldn't keep track of when one sensation started and ended.

The ingredients were incredibly fresh too, adding a notable crunch to contrast with the fluffy white hot dog bun and the slight pop of each bite of the hot dog itself. Poppy seeds also jumped into the mix by adding a slight flavor as the bun was covered in them.

Overall, this was a great hot dog, and an excellent way to say goodbye to Summer as the Autumn winds started to kick up.

So, Readers, what do you like to top your hot dogs with?

And have you ever heard of a Danger Dog? Looks like I have a new sandwich to start seeking out in the months to come.

Until next week, Readers...






 

The Morning After...Deliciousness.

Greetings, Readers!

I was wondering to myself this morning: if I had unlimited money and time, would I be able to eat every sandwich that I'd like to try on my list?

Would I live much longer at all if I even tried that?

I thought of this because after brewing a new batch of beer this past weekend, I headed to Stout Burgers & Beers in Studio City on a double date to catch up with some friends.

I had reviewed the Stout Burger on a previous visit to the Studio City location nearly a year ago and much has changed since then, notably my burger adventuring of the past 4 months. I've had a lot of different types of burgers since then, so could another one from Stout Burgers & Beer hold up to the standard that I've created over that time.

I settled on the Morning After Burger, mostly because of my bacon addition but also because of my new favorite burger topping: egg. The delicious beef patty was topped with rosemary bacon, melted aged cheddar, chipotle ketchup and the above-mentioned over-easy egg.

The beef patty, freshly ground and formed each day in house, was wonderful: full beef flavor that permeated through all of the added ingredients. The bacon was crisp and delicious. The chipotle ketchup added some spicy and sweet flavors to the burger which contrasted with the smooth aged cheddar flavor that shone through.

The yolk of the egg was still a little runny, so on the first bite the rest of the burger was covered with it, providing a great complementary flavor to the rest of the burger. Seriously, if you've never had egg on your burger before, start with The Morning After.

You'll never go back.

In the end, I may not have visited somewhere new, but tasting a new burger is a great experience in itself. Especially when it is as good as The Morning After.

As a side note, the menu recommends pairing this with any of the pale ales they have in house, and I would totally agree with that. Despite agreeing though, I settled on an Elder Brett by Epic Brewing. A refreshing, slightly sour ale that is great in any situation.

Until next week, Readers...


The Morning After
***** Stars
Stout Burgers & Beer
11262 Ventura Blvd.
Studio City, CA 91604

The Hills Are Alive... With The Sounds of Sizzling

Greetings, Readers!

Finally here in Los Angeles we've seen a break in our high temperatures. While I understand it's still technically summer, I admit I'm quite glad that the temperature is showing signs of changing as we head towards a season that acts like fall is supposed to act.

Looking back over the past few months though, I see I've gotten around to quite a lot of places, burgers joints especially. I actually hit even more places than I had written about and elected to skip over a few at the time. Recently, I had been thinking of one place that I skipped reviewing that I wanted to share with you now.

DeBell's Golf Club is located up a steep road into the hills in Burbank, which gives the Clubhouse Grill an excellent view out over this part of the valley. While Bryan (@818NewGuy) and I had gone on a relatively cloudy day, I imagine on a clear sunny day you can see fairly far.

The Clubhouse Grill is a swank little rest area for golfers between rounds, with a bar as well. Sitting down near one of the windows with a view, we looked at the menu and settled on the basic cheeseburger.

"The Best In Town" it said.

"Oh, really?" we said.

At the top of the burger section on the menu, DeBell's Clubhouse Grill proudly states that their burger patties are freshly ground and handmade on site, and topped with their own special sauce. Along with that, the cheeseburger comes with American cheese, lettuce, tomato and grilled onions.

The patty was grilled well and had decent flavor, but the other ingredients didn't add much to the burger at all. The grilled onions were a bit tough and the American cheese, while melted well enough, didn't add much in the way of flavor. The burger could have been helped a bit with a more flavorful cheese, even something as simple as cheddar. Overall, this burger was not even close to the "best in town", but the experience as always was enjoyable.

Getting out of the city, without actually getting out of the city, made the trip worthwhile. Sometimes the sandwiches I research may fall short, but there usually is at least one redeeming factor. If you're looking for a new place to get away to, even just to have a drink, it might be worth trekking into the hills to visit the Clubhouse Grill.

Just don't feel pressured into buying the burger.

Until next week, Readers...


The Clubhouse Cheeseburger
*** Stars
DeBell Golf Club Clubhouse Grill
1500 E. Walnut Ave
Burbank, CA

Turning Up The Heat With Some BBQ

Greetings, Readers!

Hopefully you all had an excellent Labor Day weekend of pool parties, relaxing, and barbecues.

And maybe a little less heat and humidity than us here in Los Angeles.

It's a rare day indeed when escaping north to Santa Clarita means a break from the stifling heat that was in LA, but this past weekend I went to meet with my friend Justin for a day of comic booking and sandwiching in his hometown.

With the Labor Day holiday in mind, we headed to Rattler's Bar B Cue, a local restaurant with a deep love of good, home-cooked barbecue food.

Everything on the menu looked appealing and I even originally thought I would order a plate of Tri Tip instead of a sandwich, but I finally settled on a good ol' BBQ standard: a Pulled Pork Sandwich.

The thin strands of pork were so incredibly tender and juicy that every bite just melted in your mouth. The barbecue sauce added was exceptionally flavorful with contributions of smoky and tangy flavors. You can tell good barbecue when there is a wide range of flavors attacking your taste buds. Hidden beneath the smoky and tangy flavors, there were light sensations of sweet and spice as well. All blended together for an excellent experience..

Every table is also equipped with a jar of more barbecue sauce that can be used to douse anything you want. In my case, the Fire Fries were covered in the sauce, as well as my sandwich halves.

Let's be honest with ourselves: you can really never have enough barbecue flavoring, right?

I also ordered the sandwich Southern Style, which included a helping of sweet cole slaw on top of the piled-high pulled pork. The crunchy and sweet slaw contrasted well with the tender and smoky pork to create a wonderful experience of competing flavors. I'm sure the sandwich tastes well enough without it, but the addition of cole slaw makes it top notch.

While the French bread roll isn't anything to write home about, it did stay together well until the end, and was an excellent tool to soak up more of the table-side barbecue sauce.

The Fire Fries also come as advertised. I had imagined some spice would accompany this side because of the name, but I was fairly surprised by how much heat each fry provided. If you plan on eating the entire side, I recommend that you be someone who truly enjoys some heat.

Overall, my experience at Rattler's was an incredibly enjoyable one. The meal was top notch BBQ, and the delicious table side garlic rolls and drinks in mason jars added to the enjoyment of the meal.

So that was my Labor Day sandwiching adventure with delicious barbecue. What sandwiches did you have at barbecues this holiday weekend?

Until next week, Readers...


Pulled Pork Sandwich
**** Stars
Rattler's Bar B Cue
26495 Golden Valley Road
Santa Clarita, CA 91351
http://www.rattlersbbq.com

The Summer of Burgers Continues...

Greetings, Readers!

Were you aware that yesterday in the UK was National Burger Day? Well, what better way to honor that wonderful holiday than by having a burger at a local Scottish-inspired pub?

It's been quite some time since I first heard about The Morrison LA in Atwater Village.  So when asked where to have a double date with friends, this place immediately had popped in mind.

How fitting that it should happen so close to a nationally recognized celebration of the Burger in the UK.

Each month, The Morrison LA has a different specialty burger on their menu. After perusing their incredible beer list, my eyes were immediately drawn to the monthly specials section. That's when I knew what I was going to be ordering.

The Blue Cheese Bourbonator is a testament to the greatness of the burger. A thick six-ounce brisket and ground chuck patty is topped with Stilton blue cheese, bourbon caramelized onion, bacon jam and garlic aioli. You can also add a side shot of buffalo trace bourbon to complete the experience.

Yes, all of those things.

The brisket and chuck patty was delicious. A smooth flavored, juicy patty with a somewhat smoky flavor that paired well with the Stilton blue cheese which offered its own slightly pungent flavor. The bourbon onions contributed a smoky tang along with the delicious bacon jam. The garlic aioli added a flavor contrast that was welcomed with all of the smoky flavor.

Despite the juicy burger patty, and the copious amounts of other ingredients, the bun held together quite well until the end. Contrasting the smoky and tangy flavors of this sandwich, the bun also added a slightly sweet flavor enveloping the burger.

This burger is a treat for your tastebuds that you will want to revisit again and again.

For those that get there before the end of the week and are looking for a less meat-intense option, there is the veggie option of the Atwater Burger which has a quinoa based patty.

Overall, The Morrison LA is a great place. The other food options all seem mouthwatering as well, and their beer selection offers great options in numerous different styles. Even their dessert options are great, which, by the way, try the bread pudding. It's fantastic.

Frankly though, as far as this burger goes, it's one of the best I've had.

Long after finishing it, the Blue Cheese Bourbonator came back to my mind and tastebud memory. It's only available for a short time at The Morrison LA, so if it sounds appealing to you (and why wouldn't it be?) I highly suggest you head down there as soon as you possibly can.

You will not be disappointed.

Until next week, Readers...


The Blue Cheese Bourbonator
***** Stars
The Morrison LA
3179 Los Feliz Boulvard
Los Angeles, CA 90039
http://themorrisonla.com

Fast Food and Guilty Pleasures

Greetings, Readers!

You know, last week's blog entry on In N Out Burger had me thinking about fast food in general here in California. I had some other sandwiches I planned to review, but this was a topic that stayed on my mind since last week.

Sure, we've got the Big 3 fast food burger spots here, but there is a wealth of fast food restaurants in the area that I would easily place above them, if I were in the mood for fast food.

With how many amazing spots there are in Los Angeles for great non-fast food sandwiches, this isn't often, but it occasionally does happen.

So let's take a look at a few of my favorites that are well known for being out west.

Jack In The Box: With commercials featuring their lovable "CEO" Jack, this fast food chain isn't as far out with their menus as the next two entries, but does feature some oddball items. Also, like the next two fast food spots, the calorie count for some of their items will absolutely make your eyes bulge. When I feel like slumming it food-wise, I'm a big fan of the Sourdough Jack, one beef patty, copious bacon pieces and Swiss cheese on toasted sourdough bread. It's sloppy and it's not something I would normally recommend, but we all have our guilty pleasures. Oh, and for my Philly readers, their Philly Cheesesteak sandwich commercials are both insulting and hilarious.



Carl's Jr: With its sibling chain Hardee's back east, this chain is known for some ridiculously large portion sizes as well as wild commercials, usually employing celebrities or very attractive models to show off their food (for example, this one). Along with Jack In The Box, this is another caloric overload of a meal, but in general the meat is a step above the rest in flavor. Right now, their newest burger is the Buffalo Blue Cheese Burger, which you can wash down with a gut busting Shake, and even a strawberry Pop Tart ice cream sandwich after.



Sonic: This OKC based company has been expanding in recent years, and its closest location is in Orange County, but that hasn't stopped the commercials from being on LA television multiple times an hour. The food here can border on the ridiculous like Carl's Jr., and it even had one of the worst burgers as named by Men's Health magazine. Sonic is also known for their huge hot dog selection.

And so now that my guilty pleasures of fast food are out in the open, join me in revealing your favorite spots to slum it up with fast food. Next week, I promise we'll move back into some of the better sandwiches of the area.

Until then, Readers...