Hamburger Hamlet -- West Hollywood, CA

Hamburger Hamlet
9201 Sunset Blvd.
West Hollywood, CA 90069
Hamburger Hamlet Website

Parking is a big bitch when it comes to Hamburger Hamlet.  Valet will double the price of the meal, and it's just a burger, right?  We got lucky and found a spot--up the hill--and somehow we did not get towed, so WIN.

The burger...meh.  The sear was nothing to write home about. They hit it with salt and pepper--more pepper than salt, which was not awesome. It was coarsely ground chuck--lean but over-manipulated, which made it a little chewy--that, coupled with the leanness, didn't work from a mouth feel standpoint.  The big MEH here was the sheer bloodlessness of this burger.  It was perfectly Med Rare, and it had that front note of aged beef, but  the umami middle note of salty blood was missing.

Meat is tasty, tasty murder, and a good burger should taste like a crime scene--this burger tasted like a lab coat.  The lacking middle note with the end note of pepper was just odd.

The potato (?) bun was toasted  and just soft enough to balance out the chewiness, and the American cheese almost filled the void left by the missing blood, fat, and salt.

This burger fell well short of the flavor mark, but was just fine in terms of preparation and presentation.  The beef really needs to change if this burger is to ever be worth eating.  The mesquite fries were good.

Burger Review --  Bloodless and joyless.

Rating...2 Bites