Espiau’s Restaurante Y Cantina~ 109 Yale Ave. ~ Claremont

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Today, I was in the mood for a burger and all the burger options in Duarte were basically all about fast food and that wasn’t going to do. In-n-Out was also a possibility since it was just a 10-15 minute drive, but my picky palate said no because it was craving a new burger experience.  In the back of  mind, I remembered hearing about a restaurant in Monrovia called The Market Grill that is supposed to be known for their burgers so off I went.
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Phil’s Diner Cheeseburger: An excellent burger and awesome onion rings, $8.50

Opened in the 1920′s, the original Phil’s Diner was set up in a small train car located on Chandler Blvd, a few blocks from where it is located now. During the early ’80′s I’d eat there regularly, usually having the Idiot’s Mish-Mosh (eggs and potatoes and a whole bunch of other stuff). The place was always packed, and its small size meant you got up close and personal with your hungry neighbors. At the time the place was decidedly not some trendy eatery, with great gobs of goo coating the single exhaust fan behind the flattop. But it was a local landmark. During that era, “Phil” was an Asian man whose attitude provided half the reason I’d want eat there.

The place was closed down in the 90′s and the train car languished in disrepair. Thankfully its been rescued and moved a couple of blocks to its current location on Lankershim in the NoHo Arts District. Opened in April, the new owners have cleaned it up, added a proper hood over the cooking area and a few tables outside. Voila, a trendy neighborhood eatery! The inside it still tiny, with so little room behind the counter that two people can only pass each other with great difficultly. Of course that makes it fun to watch.
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First event coverage of the new year and Candy Coated made it out to P-Dogs in South Gate. This location specializes in a variety of hot dog combination’s. On this particular night they also were having a cruise night with car clubs such as Pride, Maniacos, Lo Nuestro, La Gente, Stylistics, South Side, Classic Creations, City Wide, Thee Untouchables and Better Days. To view more of theses photos visit, Erwin Recinos on Flickr.

Ever in the mood to go back to the 50′s? Perhaps go on a date with Pinky Tuscadero or perhaps go back in time to sock-hops, derbies and 45 rpm records being played from a jukebox.
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Yep that’s right.  Time to get your priorities straight and eat some burgers.  Whether it be soy based or buffalo or turkey or beef; go out to your favorite place and chow down.  Check out some of my favorite places to grab a burger…

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Heavy metal and burgers go together, this is a fact. Until now, there has not been a mobile food wagon to pair these items in the proper way. Enter sandman, er Grill ‘em All, a food truck specializing in meat ‘n metal. As you might expect, they’re on Twitter. We got the chance to interview the 2 man team behind the truck, which will be rolling out next week:

What is the concept behind Grll ‘em All?

Matt: With out getting way too brainy about it the concept is just Heavy Metal and Hamburgers. I know what you’re thinking: finally someone made this marriage happen. I agree, we are really blazing a trail here. What can I say, we are making people happy.

Ryan: Serving good food to good people, but staying true to our roots. That’s the most important thing to us.

What locations will you be serving?

Matt: We will be all over metro Los Angeles. Lunch, dinner and late-night service. Look for the truck outside rock concerts and crazy events. If you’re feeling too drunk after seeing Municipal Waste or Slayer, soak up the booze with a big, juicy burger.

What are your favorite burger places in LA?

Matt: I love Fathers Office, Apple Pan and 8 oz. but you can’t discount all the random burger joints in the valley and the burbs. There’s a charbroiled place in Glendale that I am all about. I had a chicken fried steak sandwich there the other day.

Ryan: I would have to say 8oz is a personal favorite, they have fried cheese curds and that’s a sure fire way into any Midwestern boys heart. The heavy hitters like Umami and Fathers Office are right behind. Jakes burger in Pasadena is a great place to get a custom burger and a Pabst on the cheap, but I also cant discount southern California favorites like In and Out and Tommy’s.

Is Kill em All the best Metallica album or is Ride the Lightening superior? (And French Fries for All?)
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The Ranch ~ 30843 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd. Westlake Village, CA 91362 ~ (818) 575-9033

The Ranch used to simply be the offices of a catering company when one day, not too long ago, chef/owner David Duimovich was fooling around in the kitchen and created humungoid buns that mushroomed out of giant ceramic pots like massive downy muffins. Sensing he was onto something, he nabbed two lunch-bound suits in the parking lot and forced them to sit down and scarf some burgers. The dudes came back with friends the next day, naturally wanting more burgers, and so on and so on until this strip-mall paean to the nation’s favorite sandwich set its culinary roots down and overgrew the cubicles.

The Ranch is big on charm in a very small, atmospheric room with sunrise tones and dark wood furniture. The menu keeps it pretty simple though: burger, cheese steak, beef dip, and 3 chicken sandwich options, all in the airy massive buns, with a few salads that we weren’t too super-keen on. Being my birfday and all, I went for a cheeseburger, having been lured in t by local legends that it was the best for miles. The deluxe “Duimo Burger”, which has a Serbian forename I’m forgetting the meaning of, is crafted from certified Angus steak with two types of cheese, and a blended Ranch BBQ sauce, betwixt the giant pillows of love they call buns.

Our burgers came in gigantic, impromptu foil baskets, held at the nape by our server like fat, decapitated aluminum gease. Inside were huge hamburgers challenging us to take a bite. The bun is soft and airy as can be, exploding open with warmth and serving as the burger’s most outstanding feature. The buns are baked immediately after ordering, as you can see thorough the kitchen doors, making them the fluffiest we’ve tasted, although those pictures of Rio make us think there might be softer buns somewhere out there that need nibbling.

Between the sheets, as our dear friends the brothers Isley might say, is a very wide, though  slim patty of well-grilled beef. The patty is pressed tightly thick but loosely packed, and stays expansive and flavorful, as though it were beaten flat by the under-saddle of a Tartan warrior before becoming a griddled gossamer of tender beef, still maintaining all of its natural juicy qualities, along with those provided from seasonings, oil, and the kiss of the grill. Lettuce shares space on the burger with ‘special’ BBQ Ranch sauce and two kinds of cheese, of which the American added something I didn’t dig. Overall, though, this burger was a joy to try for new and old flavors mingling amongst a classic standard. The star is that bun, and while the meat and freshness make the burger awesome as well, the presentation and taste of the bread is what brings everyone back.

I know some of this has already been posted… but I wanted to put them together…

Fuddruckers ~ 15301 Ventura Blvd. Sherman Oaks, CA

Step 1:  Get Your Burger

Step 2: Build Your Burger

Step 3: Complete Burger!

As you know Fuddrucker’s is a chain, but it’s damn good.  I got this 1/2 pound Buffalo Swiss Melt Burger at the Sherman Oaks location inside the “new” Galleria (15301 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks).  You order whatever you want (veggie patty is an option) and when you get your burger, you go to the bar and build it as high or as low as you want.  Some like it with leaf lettuce, one piece only.  Some, like me, go all out and pile em high.

We got two burgers, fries, 2 newcastles and 1 drink for 25 bux. Those $18 fancy Hollywood burgers can kiss my ass.