California: Rosti

I think PDX Gwailo's calling all of us out!

Who goes looking for a burger at a classy Italian place? Who actually orders one? PDXGwailo, that’s who. While you guys are safely hidden between your screens vicariously eating, I’m taking one for the team. Or two. Or six. Mmmmmm, burgers.

Rosti offers meatball sliders, 3 to an order, on fresh baked in house ciabiatta’s, some nice mozzarella, and a dab of homemade red gravy, on the burger, and on the side. The also make a full-size version. With the minis or the biggin’, you can choose beef or turkey for your grind. The beef mince was fine, no noticeable presence of additives or fillers, soft in texture, mildly-spiced. My personal palate would have preferred a heavily noticeable dose of fennel and garlic, but that’s not their recipe.

Alright Hamburlgers, to arms!

Also, for those confused on PDX Gwailo's nation hoping tour, the order of submission was lost during the blog transfer. I apologize for the confusion, and suggest you do as I do and just imagine he has a magic flying hamburger...

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California: Cinco De Mayo (Culver City)

Proving right his massive investment in Pepto Bismol, PDX Gwailo continues

Cinco De Mayo, Culver City, CA
Formerly “Lucy’s #2”, Cinco De Mayo is a place I have been eating burgers in the middle of the night for over 20 years. Located on Sepulveda Blvd, between Venice and Washington in Culver City, CDM is a late night hang-out for fans of fast, full-menu, cheap entrees. I’ve always had cheeseburgers there, they offer a choice between regular and jumbo, and are able to make an ordinary institutional food service burger into something rather special. The griddle-friend 3 oz patty is placed on a well-toasted bun and served with the whole range of salad condiments, pickle, onion, mayo, salad, chopped lettuce.

As you know, I prefer mine simply with pickles, onion, mustard, but in my excitement at being back at CDM for the first time in ten years, neglected to tell them. They have incredible fresh squeezed juices, as well, if you are into that kind of thing.

Cinco De Maya
11204 Washington Pl
Culver City, CA 90230

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Palm Springs: ACE Hotel / King's Highway

BurgerBlogger and BurgerHoover like to document their burgers (just imagine how many pictures they would have if they had a kid?):

Burgerhoover and I were told about the ACE hotel in Palm Springs by our homegirl Connie W. we had to check the burger from it's restaurant "King's Highway".

We had the Amigo Burger, a handmade Burger with Tillamook cheese and the tastiest bun..BUT what made it the best is the grilled tomato and how fresh everything looked and tasted ,like the lettuce and the sprinkles of parsley on the garlic fries.

Another really really good addition to the menagerie of southwest flavors were the pickled onions, I remember these onions from mexican dishes my mom makes. These tasted like they were cured in lime juice which gave the burger that extra fresh zippy zing. They were perfect with the burger...

We rate the Amigo burger very highly. As well as the experience at the Ace hotel (and swim club) probably the hippest place to be in Palm Springs, so full of details that require a different post.

We'll be staying there again.. So if you are going to Coachella this year this will be the place to stay, if not for the choice of pools, the BIG BOY size mini bar, private fire place or burger then stay for the taste of home in the hungover mornings. STUMPTOWN COFFEE served in a french press and all.

Ace Hotel Palm Springs
701 E. Palm Canyon Dr.
Palm Springs, CA 92264
(760)325-9900

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California: Jake's (Santa Barbara)

BurgerBlogger and BurgerHoover probably don't care that Rick Rubin is courting Portland's new hot s**t band. Mystery photos:

Señorita Burgerhoover and I went to Jakes in Santa Barbara. We frequent this place for breakfast (just image if The Delta Cafe served breakfast, maybe they do. do they?).

So one late afternoon we closed Jakes down with a burger. We knew the burger would be good since the grits, hush puppies, chicken fried steak, and bisquits are. But, our expectations were surpassed. The burger was super dope. Good patty flavor, perfect onions, good presentation, and you have to order it with cole slaw and bacon grits, This sounds like a heart attack, but it's surprisingly lean, the grits aren't greasy they are perfect same with the burger. Add this location to your must do when in Santa Barbara.

P.S. I liked Burgerhoover's sweater and nails better then the burger tho.

Jake's Cafe
2911 De La Vina St.
Santa Barbara, CA 93105
(805)898-2233

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California: Village Idiot (Hollywood)

BurgerBlogger says harro:

So one of my tracks got featured in a film and the DVD release party was going on in Horrywood. The venue was located a few blocks from JapanLA, a cute store owned by my highschool homegirl Jamie, we met for dinner and took me to her favorite neighborhood spot "The Village idiot". It turns out they have a great burger: Patty is mashed up by hand and marinated with lotsa pepper (rearry good), The bun was proper and the onions were nice and pickley. I recommend.

Village Idiot
7383 Melrose Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90046
(323)655-3331

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California: Father's Office (Santa Monica)

If your are from Portland and in LA you probably want to call this place "My Father's Office", but alas, it would be the wrong kind of twaddle. SpecialSauce is in LA:

While I was in LA I rode 30 miles out to Santa Monica with El Jimmy for some burgers at My Father's Office. This is quite the burger experience, not just dining but a sport. After waiting in line to get in (the place is tiny) you order at the bar and then it's a free for all to actually get a seat. Most everyone in there looked to be a professional of some sort and they were ruthless. We managed to get some standing room at one of the counters to enjoy our burgers. These were delicious, worth the ride and $12. Good beef, caramelized onions, arugula and cheddar on a french roll. The thin cut fries were good too.

Father's Office
1018 Montana Ave.
Santa Monica, CA 90403
(310)393-2337

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California: Tee Off (Santa Barbara)

BurgerBlogger aka has about a 1000 more burger options then us....just a lil' jealous:

This place is a must when visiting Santa Barbara, they're known for steaks and fried chicken. Being that i come here often I decided to go for the burger....

A general rule of mine: a burger from a steak house is most likely good, sadly this one was just ok. The patty and cheese just didn't mash together, it was too greasy (specially with the onion rings) and the bun was standard, but it looked good, especially as shown by Kenny and her rad outfit (when you come to taste the burgers stay at Kenny and Chris's place The Presidio Motel).

And when you go to the Tee-Off have their fried chicken it's much better then the burger.

Tee-Off
3627 State St
Santa Barbara, CA 93105
(805) 687-1616

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California: Burger 90210

BurgerBlogger and BurgerHoover didn't even need to take an egg to a 7-Eleven to get directions to the party :

So Burger 90210 is the name of the joint and it was no Peach Pit. After a long weekend of trade show parties with free Chopin Vodka and 6hours of sleep a night I headed to burger 90210.

It was home made tasting in that it tasted like it was cooked on a bbq grill, but it was all standard: patty , bun, cheese, French fries and paper plate.

I had the "90210 Royale": sautade onions, american cheese, "90210 special sauce". Burgerhoover had the "Rocky Protein" burger: bed of lettuce, cottage cheese.

I think that next time I'll have the "Mulberry Burger": marinara sauce, mozzarella cheese, "90210 special sauce" . Maybe I'll have 4 coronas instead of 2 so it tastes more like an $8.00 burger.

Burger 90210
242 S Beverly Dr
Beverly Hills, CA 90212
(310) 271-7900

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California: Lucky's (Santa Barbara)

BurgerBlogger was in town for a moment with accomplice HamburgerSlayer, only to escape to more hospitable environments:

The Super Lucky Burger

So the end of the Locash Bash Tour was the night we played in Portland and Tuesday morning at 6am Dj Mayday (aka Hamburgerslayer) was to fly back to Montreal.

What better way to celebrate the success of the tour then with a Filet Mignon hamburger at a place that's special. Since Apple Bee's wasn't around I decided to take us to Lucky's, a steak house in Montecito Ca. I was told about the $20 hamburger and decided to get it. It was delicious specially with the Roquefort cheese and the homemade Mayo on top of the medium rare Filet Mignon burger. PLUS Firestone Santa Barbara Ale to down it with.

HamburgerSlayer had the Goat cheese salad and we shared a delicious onion soup, it's all coming back now....... i had a few too many Makers Marks as appetizers.

We ended the meal with some Crème brûlée and a snifter of Courvoisier X.O., when in rome.

I recommend it!

Lucky's
1279 Coast Village Rd
Montecito, CA 93108
(805)565-7540

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California: Gladstones (Malibu)

BurgerBlogger is coming back to town and plays this friday at the Goodfoot with DJ Mayday on their "Locash Bash Tour":

My homegirl Dj Mayday and I ended up at Gladstone's after coming from LAX. Gladsones's is in Malibu on the way back to Santa Barbara. and being that Dj Mayday is a Canadian (MTL) burgerslayer we decided to start off her Cali experience by going to Gladstone's for a well presented tasty hamburger.

The patty was hand built and rare, what made the burger was the bacon (not sure what kind it was but it wasn't just no regular bacon) plus I added swiss and cheddar. It's a must for the burgerblogger to have two. They call this the "Sunset Burger" and it was their only burger. We saw a seagull trying to eat a strand of xmas lights it was a great addition to the burger experience.

Gladstones
17300 Pacific Coast Highway
Pacific Palisades, CA 90272
(310)454-3474

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California: Fonda Restaurant (Berkeley)

You would probably remember Paul Burgerhart from a couple Portland bands years ago, but we won't be re-hashing the past for you here. Just let it be known that he has a "freak folk" voodoo doll and uses it:

Last night me and several companions went to this place. They have a happy hour menu that includes a Cuban Mini-Burger with chorizo, mustard, and sweet potato fries. Also three slices of tart, crunchy pickle on it. The chorizo is mixed in with the burger meat, giving it a spicy, smoky flavor. As you can see from the picture, the thin sweet potato fries are right on the burger and you'd think they'd be pointy and pokey, but they actually blend in and add a nice texture to the burger.

Of the 5 and 6 buck items on the Happy Hour menu (which includes a couple different kindsa tacos and mayan hot sauce hot wings), this is the best with the big, strong margaritas. My companion liked the wings a lot. There are also 8 other 5-dollar drink specials, some of them are semi-fancy. Liveley, noisy, fun place.

Fonda
1501 Solano Ave.
Berkeley, CA 94707
(510) 559-9006

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California: The Spot (Carpinteria)

Ya, I know. Where is Carpinteria? Its south of Toro Canyon, thats south of Summerland, thats south of Montecito, that is south of Santa Barbara. Its all one big suburb anyways.

BurgerBlogger fills us in:

My only good shot of the Pastrami, Guacamole, and Cheeseburger from "The Spot" in Carpinteria right by the beach.

SUPER GOOD. I worked in Carpinteria for about a month and had a few of these burgers...

The Spot
389 Linden Ave.
Capinteria, CA 93013
(805)684-6311

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California: Canters Deli

We are starting to get a bit worried about BurgerBlogger's colon. He's a soldier though, and has the daunting challenge of sampling Southern California (the hamburger mecca of the world) burgers.:

So Ryan B and I went to Canters Deli and ordered the burger. Hooked it up propa. Add jack and cheddar and Pastrami. Really good.

We sat at the bar on Sunday night and listened to some good comedian folks. I gotta big up the bartenders and Ryan B for giving a hand with the lighting of the burger shot.

The bartender said that Carl's Jr. shot their ad for the pastrami burger there.

Canters Deli
419 N Fairfax Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90036

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Burger Tour: ERS-ONE/Magneto - Le Bon (Santa Barbara)

The BurgerBlogger is all over the place lately and thinks he finally found the best burger in the Santa Barbara area. You think the term "California Style" toppings has to include sprouts by now right?

By far the best burger in Santa Barbara.

I had the "Bison Burger" with three cheese, seasoned fries, and some fancy-ass $20 beer (I think we got ripped off).

My friend Marina had the Bison bleu cheese hammy with bacon, that was the ish, best one. That's what I'm getting next.

Le Bon
138 East Canon Perdido
Santa Barbara, CA
(805)965-7025

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