Skip to Content
Cheap Eats

Bang for your Burger Buck: Hawkins House of Burgers ~ Watts.

10:04 AM PST on February 19, 2013

IMG_2044

Our very own burger master in the land of tacos, Ali Khan, travels all over L.A. to find you the best burgers you may have missed, the burgers that won’t get written up on the fancy blogs and in L.A. Magazine, the hamburger sandwiches that give you bang for your burger buck. 

It has taken me a few days to recover from the burger onslaught that took place in the house that Hawkins built. While I normally always go for a double, at Hawkins House of Burgers, it was a miscalculation of epic proportions. As much as it pains me to admit, this was the first burger I failed to finish since an 8 year old boy named Ali Khan waived a white flag over the plate of a 1lb burger.

IMG_2017

Above was the double that brought shame to the Khan name. I regrouped 24 hours later and went back for what is surely to be the most burger for your buck I have found in LA yet: the fatburger with fries and a drink for $4.99

IMG_2015

After experiencing the double no cheese, I sprung for the extra 50 cents and went for the Fat burger con queso. Speaking of Fatburger, this is very reminiscent of their Ice Cube approved sandwiches: thick, well done, charred patties, mayo and mustard options, a resounding answer to the "where's the beef" Wendy's campaign of the 1980s(for you old timer's out there)

IMG_2043
The All Day Special with cheese, in all her glory($5.49 before tax)

Hawkins is all about catching your eye and dropping your jaw; one burger on the menu called "the whipper" consists of two patties, cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, pastrami and a hot link. Another, called the Hawkins Special, reads like a plot synopsis from the television show Man vs Food: Three burger patties, three eggs, four strips of bacon, a hot link, chili, and pastrami. Just getting through a double felt like trying to mow down a buffet bar while fleeing the undead in some zombie apocalypse - you are hungry and there is all this food but not enough time to take it all down.

IMG_2046

As beastly as these burgers are, you would be mistaken not to add a side of tubers to your order. These steak fries were transformed golden brown by that oil you have been smelling since you parked the car, dusted with what I suspect is either Lawry's seasoned salt or a knock off version. These are the fries you keep picking at, even though your stomach reached out to your brain several times with that memo that simply said "full"

IMG_2048

Burgers at Hawkins are cooked through, with the exterior char being the highlight. When ordered with "the works", expect your burger to be swimming in mayonnaise, so if if you didn't bring trunks for a dairy pool, I advise to ease up on the white stuff. The same is true for the dijon mustard used at Hawkins, which carries a potency that some(including myself) can find a touch overpowering, so once again, if you are not a freak for mustard, adjust when ordering. What I found to be a surprising stand out were the incredibly fresh vegetables that adorn these burgers. It does help that they are as generous with equally fresh green leaf lettuce, tomato and red onion as they are with their beef. Bang for your buck burgers almost always sacrifice in the roughage department, but this is not the case at Hawkins.

IMG_2054

The bottom line: a huge cheeseburger(single patty), fries and a soda for $5.98 with tax and a second bomb to drop: I could not finish this burger either. Hawkins House of Burgers delivers bang for your burger buck if you are of the set that relishes in two fisted burgers, handfuls of fries and something more than water from a tap to wash it down with. I recommend a trip to Watts for those whose bellies long to be full, belts soon to be unbuckled, and future dinner plans(or the next day's breakfasts) cancelled due to burger overdose. If these yearnings call out to you, then my friends head down to Hawkins for some heavy bang for your burger buck.

IMG_2014

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from L.A. TACO

L.A. Spent Over $1.73 Million on These Controversial ‘Anti-Homeless’ Signs. Do They Actually Work?

Earlier this month, a leaked memo from the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) suggested that these 41.18 zones rarely led to unhoused people being moved into interim shelter or permanent housing. After being cleared, most 41.18 zones quickly became repopulated.

March 27, 2024

Two New Lowrider-Inspired and Dodger-Blue L.A. TACO Hats Are Now Available!

Wear your L.A. TACO swag and support our inclusive, street-level community journalism!

March 27, 2024

A Morning-Only Taco Pop-Up in Northridge Is Making the Biggest Breakfast Burritos in the San Fernando Valley

What does it take to stand out in Los Angeles's saturated taco climate? Focus on San Fernando Valley-style loaded breakfast tacos, "breakfast quesadillas" with crispy cheese skirts, and the beefiest breakfast burritos Balboa Boulevard has ever seen.

March 26, 2024

The Second Round of TACO MADNESS 2024 Is Now Open for Voting! Meet ‘L.A.’s Sweet 16’ That Advanced

Save the date! Our 15th annual taco tournament is taking place on April 13th at La Plaza de Cultura y Artes near Olvera Street. Pre-sale tickets are now available. Our online tournament starts on Monday. Check out this year's contenders!

March 26, 2024

Meet L.A.’s Queen of Carnitas Succeeding In a Male-Dominated Taco Style

Her Michoacán-style carnitas are so tender, crispy, and sticky, that she's known to sell more than 1,200 pounds on Sundays alone. What sets her apart from other carnitas stars in L.A. is her commitment to making handmade corn tortillas, too. Her story of resilience is the stuff of taquera legends.

March 25, 2024
See all posts