Candle Cafe & Grill--Venice, CA

325 Ocean Front Walk
Venice, CA 90291
310-314-4456
website

Happy Meal and I were originally going to meet The Marinater at The Fig Tree in Venice, CA, but that joint was closed when we arrived at 7 PM. We were already beachside in Venice, so we walked a block or so to the next restaurant that we saw, and they had a burger on the chalkboard. Sold! The establishment was Candle Cafe and Grill. Parking?  We were in Venice, CA, so parking was a giant pain in the arse. We parked many blocks away and hoofed it. Anyway, Candle Cafe and Grill was right by the beach, but it was already dark out--we sat inside. The establishment was kind enough to provide Snuggies to its outdoor patrons...nice touch. We ordered a triumvirate of cheeseburgers and settled in for a 15-minute wait.

The Burger Breakdown...

The Beef: Candle Cafe and Grill used 80:20 Certified Angus Beef (CAB), and the cut was Chuck. Accordingly, we ordered our burgers Med-Well. The burgers were beefy. The grind was coarse, so the burgers had a pleasant firmness to the bite. The burgers were juicy without being greasy. The was not a hint of funk, iron, or other notes to complicate the simple flavor of beef and spices. There was a little more connective tissue than I cared for, but Happy Meal didn't seem to mind.

The Seasoning: A generous blend of salt and pepper was used to season the exterior of our1/4 pound burgers. Salt and pepper was all that it took to maximize the flavor that the Chuck brought to this party. The seasoning was just right.

The Sear: The sear on the cheeseburger at Candle Cafe and Grill came courtesy of a hot flat top. The sear was reasonably dark, but it lacked any real crispness. Looking back, it would have been tough to get a great sear on a 1/4 pound burger.

The Preparation: The burger patties were formed gently, so that any protein bonds that formed were minimal. This resulted in tender rather than chewy burgers. The burgers were cooked to a competent Med-Well. Chuck burgers taste best when cooked to Med-Well, because it brings them up to a temperature where the collagen melts. It's that melted collagen that creates the potent, beefy taste associated with Chuck.

The Cheese: We ordered our burgers with a slice of American cheese. The American cheese did its job. Sadly, they dinged us for an extra buck for it. So it goes. Still, I love American cheese. It is simply appropriate on a cheeseburger.

The Bun: The bun was delivered by California Bakery of San Diego. The seeded burger buns were fresh, moist, sweet, yeasty, and lightly toasted. I would have preferred a crispier bun, but this was fine.

The Meat To Bun Ratio: The buns were probably better suited to Candle Cafe and Grill's 1/2 pound burger, but the bun was moist enough that it didn't completely overwhelm the burger patty.

The Toppings: The menu promised Butter Leaf, but the Romaine that showed up in its stead was just fine. The tomato slice was on the green side, but it was flavorful and not at all mealy or hard. The chipotle aioli was especially nice, and it went well with the fries.

The Fries: These were cut in house. The fries were peel-on, par-cooked, and fried to a perfect color in vegetable oil. Candle Cafe and Grill seasoned the fries in vinegar and sea salt. Delicious! The interiors were creamy while the outsides were crisp. The fries were the star of the meal.

The Value: 10 bucks for a 1/4 pound of Chuck was a little too much. Still, the burgers were good, and the fries were better.

Candle Cafe and Grill served up a fine burger and some truly excellent fries. It made me wonder why everyone didn't use vinegar and sea salt on their fries. I was an instant convert.

Burger Review : The burger was fine but a little pricey. The fries were epic.

Rating...4 Bites

Smashburger--Culver City, CA

10704 Venice Boulevard
#B Suite 330
Culver City, CA 90232
310-893-6244
website

Do you know what I like?  I like a good burger located near my home. Enter the recently opened Culver City, Ca location of Smashburger.

This is excerpted from the Smashburger website: "...Why meatballs, not patties?  Because unlike the other burger places, we don’’t squish.  We smash.  Place your order and we spring into action, painting the grill with real butter, adding a dash of our secret spice blend, and smashing the meatball with a tool we invented ourselves (it’’s so new, it doesn’’t even have a name — let’’s just call it the smashing tool).  Smashing caramelizes the beef, creating a sear that locks in the juices as no other cooking method can.  The result is a burger that’’s more tender and flavorful than anybody else’’s..."  Ok, we all know that it's not really caramelization but rather the Malliard Reaction, but that's fine...they were pretty close.

Happy Meal were actually on our way to Yogurtland when we discovered that a Smashburger had opened under our noses. They had only been opened for a day or so, and not all of the metal serving trays had arrived yet. On a subsequent visit, the usual stuff was present. We found free parking in the large lot in the strip mall where the newly minted restaurant was located. We ordered our burgers, fries, and drinks, and we settled in for a 15-minute wait.

The Burger Breakdown...

The Beef: Smashburger's beef was 100% certified, Angus Chuck, which had never been frozen. The flavor was solidly beefy and buttery. There was a pleasant note of funk and a bit of iron. The texture was loose. The beef was juicy, and little on the oily side...cooking a burger in butter will do that. The burger patty was about 4 ounces. All told, the burger meat at Smashburger was darn good and very satisfying.

The Seasoning: The burger patties were properly seasoned with salt, pepper, and other spices. The seasoning perfectly enhanced the strong beefy flavor of the Med-Well Chuck.

The Sear: On our initial visit, the sear was average, but on subsequent visits, the sear was nearly glassy. A Smashburger with a good sear is terrific...a Smashburger with a weak sear is still pretty good.

The Preparation: See above. The burgers came out a perfectly juicy Med-Well. They were cooked on a 425 degree, gas-fired flat top. The cooking method, like the burgers at Super Duper Burger in San Francisco, resulted in tender, juicy, and flavorful cheeseburgers.

The Cheese: There were a number of cheese choices, and I went with American...good choice. The American cheese provided that perfect amount of iron, salt, and creaminess to round out the bite.

The Bun: There were also a number of bun choices at Smashburger. I went with the classic egg bun. This was a fresh, yeasty, moist, sweet, and nicely chewy bun. The bun was properly toasted, and the edge bites had a nice crispness to them.

The Toppings: Smashburger offers a the opportunity to customize one's burger with 8 sauces, 9 veg choices, 7 cheese choices, and 4 bun choices. Those choices varied from location to location. The Romaine lettuce was fresh and crisp. The tomato slices were ripe and juicy. The Spicy Chipotle Mayo was just that, and it was a nice addition to the burger.

The Fries: The fries at Smashburger were hand-cut and peel-on. The seasoning was the right combination of coarse sea salt. The fries were perfectly crisped and golden brown. Win!

The Value: Cheeseburger $5.99--Fries 1.99--Beverage $1.89.  That was about 11 bucks with tax for a meal. The value was fine considering the quality of the preparation and the tasty ingredients.

I was pleased to finally have a Smashburger in my area. MIRU 8691 was gone, and Wolfgang's Steakhouse only served a burger at lunch. Happy Meal was equally pleased since he was partial to the shakes. Everything at Smashburger was good...not amazing....but really good.

Burger Review : Smashburger provided a nearby "really good" cheeseburger at a reasonable price.

Rating...4 Bites

Carney's--Los Angeles, CA

8351 West Sunset Boulevard
Los Angeles, CA 90069
323-654-8300
website 

From the Carney's website. "...Carney’s is a family owned business that prides itself on serving some of the best hamburgers and hot dogs  in LA, and probably the world. We use the freshest ingredients on the market and have never skimped on quality.

Carney’s was founded in 1975 by John Wolfe, Sr. and his wife Pat Wolfe. Together they worked countless hours building the restaurant into a Sunset Strip destination. In a time when hamburger establishments were popping up all over the place, John chose to build a restaurant out of an old Pacific Railroad passenger train..."

Happy Meal and I were enjoying the day off, and I was dying after dragging my dead arse up and down the Santa Monica stairs a bunch of times. A nasty case of the H3N1 flu had really set me back, and my athletic performance was decidedly lacking. I went from sprinting the damn things in 33 seconds to praying for a quick death after 5 sets. Nothing a burger couldn't cure, though! I had a Groupon for Carney's, and it was in danger of expiring. So off we went. Carney's was, in fact a restaurant inside an old railroad car, and the attached kitchen and storage area was in 2/3ds of another railroad car--points for novelty. Parking was free in the lot behind the restaurant, and that was nice, because parking could be a pain on Sunset.

We ordered a couple of cheeseburgers, an order of fries, two large sodas, and a hot dog for about 20 bucks. The hot dog just looked too good to pass up. Our order was ready in about 15 minutes.

The Burger Breakdown...

The Beef: The burger meat at Carney's was fresh,100%, certified, Angus Beef. The flavor was strongly beefy, and some iron notes developed as the burger cooled and oxidized a little. There were no flavors of aging or anything to suggest that the burgers were anything but Chuck. Happy Meal had the double cheeseburger with the 3 ounce patties. I ordered the 1/2 pound cheeseburger. The burger meat was loose and juicy. The fat content was probably right at 20%, and the cheeseburgers were not at all greasy. Overall, the beef at Carney's was better than average.

The Seasoning: There was none. I scoped out the grill area, and I was unable to locate a seasoning shaker.

The Sear: The sear on the cheeseburgers at Carney's was delivered courtesy of a gas-fired flat top. The sear was neither thorough nor crisp. I would have like a solid sear on this burger. As it stood, the sear was average.

The Preparation: The burger patties appeared to have been gently hand-formed by pressing the ground Chuck into a mold. The result was a very tender and juicy bite of burger. The grind was medium. I ordered my burger Med-Well (appropriate for a Chuck burger), and that was how it arrived.

The Cheese: American! No other choices were apparent, and no other choices were needed. Happy Meal's double cheeseburger arrived with two slices of cheese, and this created a gooey, decadent mouth feel. My 1/2 pound cheeseburger arrived with a single slice, and this was not quite enough cheese to compensate for the lack of seasoning on the patty.

The Bun: The unseeded, flattish, burger bun was delivered by Puritan Bakery in nearby (nearby for Los Angeles) Carson, CA. Both Hook Bistro and Burger Lounge (just down the street) used Puritan Bakery buns. Sadly, both Hook Bistro and Burger Lounge served up some weak chow. This was not the case for Carney's! The bun was fresh, sweet, tender, and mildly yeasty. The bun should have been toasted more thoroughly.

The Meat To Bun Ratio: This was just right.

The Toppings: The cheeseburgers at Carney's arrived buried in a heap of toppings. The Iceberg lettuce was shredded and fresh. The thick tomato slice was a brick (note the clever Jethro Tull reference), and I did not bother to bite into it. The pickle chips were wonderfully sour without being laced with garlic.

The Fries: The fries were standard, frozen, food service, peel-off, par-cooked items, but they cooked up nicely in the zero trans fat vegetable shortening used by Carney's. The fries were lightly seasoned. The fries arrived hot, crisp, and satisfying.  The manager was kind enough to provide us with a sample of the chili. I loved the chili...it was meaty, creamy, and just greasy enough to sit on top of a hangover.

The Hot Dog: Damn, that was a tasty hot dog! Happy Meal only allowed me a single bite, and that was grudgingly at best. The snap and flavor reminded me of the amazing bockwursts that I used to get at the Berlin zoo. There was cart outside of the aquarium building that served up bockwurst that I still crave. I don't blame Happy Meal for bogarting the hot dog. Happy Meal described it as eating a Krabby Patty at The Krusty Krab in heaven (drop on the deck and flop like a fish).

The Value: The value at Carney's was quite good, and I was unable to finish my burger due to its generous size.

The cheeseburgers at Carney's were just fine and a good value. The hot dog was world class, however. The chili was a delight. Sadly, I had already crossed the Rubicon of staggering down Sunset after a night of drinking. I could see how Carney's would have been especially satisfying in that mode.

Burger Review : Carney's served up a slightly better than average burger in a very novel setting.

Rating...3 Bites (3 really fine bites..seasoning and sear would have boosted the score)

Nikki -- Venice, Ca

72 Market Street
Venice, CA 90291
310-450-3010
website

Happy Meal, and I had just recovered from the H3N1 flu that was making the rounds. This was the first year that I skipped getting the flu shot, and it shall be the last. We called up The Marinater, who was taking a break from bench pressing his car (he got his flu shot), and discovered that he had a Groupon for Nikki in Venice, Ca. The metered parking was free on the street after 6:00 PM...bingo. The name of the joint was confusing. The website and other official listings, came up as Nikki, but the signage read, "Nikki's."  Nikki had received wildly mixed reviews on Yelp and the lot. We ordered a gang of burgers and settled in for a 20-minute wait.

The Burger Breakdown...

The Beef: The menu at Nikki touted 100% Angus beef, and our server's knowledge of the burger did not extend past that. The burger meat appeared to be standard 20% fat Chuck. The flavor was firmly beefy. There was no trace of funk, minerals, or anything else that would have led us to conclude that there was more in the blend than Chuck. The beef was a little rubbery around the edges--we ordered the burgers Med-Well to develop flavor from the Chuck. The grind was coarse, and the mouth feel was firm. Overall, the beef was fine and just a little above average.

The Seasoning: The exterior of the irregular, hand-formed, half-pound burger patty was nicely seasoned with a perfect blend of salt and pepper. The seasoning blend perfectly complemented the beef to maximize the impact of the one-note Chuck.

The Sear: Meh.  The Sear on the burger patty at Nikki was unimpressive. The gas-fired grill imparted some moderate grill marks, but there was no crispness.

The Preparation: The burger meat at Nikki was over-manipulated during the patty forming process, and this created too much by way of protein bonds. This resulted in a chewy burger. The burgers were only flipped once during the cooking process--that was appropriate. Additionally, the burgers were juicy, so the kitchen was not guilty of pressing on the patties during the cooking process.

The Cheese: The cheese choices at Nikki were Monterey Jack, Cheddar, and American. I went with American, and I was pleased with the result. The double helping of American cheese worked its customary and expected magic by providing a dependable amount of iron, creaminess, umami, and moisture to the bite. The cheese was a winner.

The Bun: The burger bun at Nikki was a fresh, moist, tender, sweet, seeded burger bun. The bun was nicely toasted. The bun provided just enough sweetness and crunch to balance out the cheeseburger.

The Meat To Bun Ratio: This was ideal. The bun barely managed to contain the large burger patty. Nonetheless, the bun was up to the task of keeping one's hands grease free without dominating the bite.

The Toppings: The Romaine lettuce was fresh and crisp. The large tomato slice was under-ripe and mealy.

The Fries: The peel-off fries were perfectly crisped and managed to maintain their crunch as they cooled. The fries at Nikki were perfectly salted.

The Value: The cheeseburger and fries at Nikki was listed at $10. All things considered, the value was average.

The burger at Nikki certainly appealed to Happy Meal. The Marinater and I found the cheeseburger to be better than average but not something that we would go out of our way for.

Burger Review : Nikki served up a slightly better than average cheeseburger with terrific side of fries.

Rating...4 Bites (rounded up from 3.5)