25 Degrees & Library Bar Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel 7000 Hollywood Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90028 Dining date: 3/23/11 I don’t tend to seek out LA’s top burger joints, but when I do stumble across a notable burger, I’m almost always game. The purpose of this trip actually wasn’t burger-inspired at all; rather, it was to…
When I first tried Burger Bar, it was instantly one of my favorite burger places. Created by Hubert Keller of Top Chef Masters and Fleur de Lys fame, Burger Bar offers a number of “signature” burgers, as well as completely customizable burgers. Their most notable burger is probably the Rossini – a kobe beef patty topped with foie gras and shaved black truffles. However, my favorite has been the lighter surf & turf, topped with lobster.
Umami Burger is currently one of the more popular burger chains in LA – founded in 2009, its success has allowed it to quickly expand to four locations already in the LA area (and one more coming to the SF Valley later this year). Being a fan of a well-made burger, and hey – with a name like Umami Burger – naturally, it was only a matter of time until I paid a visit.
Father’s Office is one of the best (in my opinion – the best) gastropubs in Los Angeles. In my opinion, they also have the best burger in the city. Granted, I haven’t tried a number of the chief competitors (Umami Burger , Rustic Canyon, 8 oz., Foundry come to mind), but this burger has so far been my #1 – taking into account the Counter, Lazy Ox, 25 Degrees, Pie ‘n Burger, Back Abbey, and Golden State. This was the first stop in a mini tour of burgers/gastropubs with Golden State.
After visiting Father’s Office, the second stop in our burger/gastropub mini-tour was The Golden State. Similar to Father’s Office, The Golden State’s claim to fame is their beer selection, their burgers, and, uniquely, their beer floats (made with Scoops ice cream). I had to give their burger a try, to compare to FO’s.
Lazy Ox Canteen has been a pretty hot restaurant since it opened up a few of months ago. The reviews have been very good, especially from LA Times critic S. Irene Virbila and her three-star review. In it, she had a lot of praise, even boldly proclaiming the “Ox burger, which, to my mind, is now the best burger in town.”
I’ve been three times, and they’ve all been very good. Today, thanks to the tremendous line outside Daikokuya, I came again. Unfortunately, this fourth visit was easily the least pleasing of all of my visits. It wasn’t so much due to the food or service, but their lunch menu is very limited. The chalkboard specials, which comprise most of the available dishes on a given night, are not available. Thus, only the basic lunch menu is available, offering three entrees (one of which was the pork frites, which they were out of).