George Petrelli's Steak House -- Culver City, CA

5615 Sepulveda Blvd
Culver City, CA  90230
310-397-1438
Website

George Petrelli's Steak House AKA George Petrelli's Famous Steaks, a Culver City institution, seemed like just the remedy for a dull Sunday night...a high-end burger. George Petrelli's Steak House's reviews were all over the place, but I had high hopes for the steak house burger. Wolfgang's Steakhouse and Billingsly's (both steak houses) delivered in terms of value and quality. Free parking was in grand abundance thanks to the attached lot of the stand alone restaurant. When approaching, I noted the wonderful smell of meat smoke.

Here's a little from the George Petrelli's Famous Steaks website: "...George Petrelli was introduced into the restaurant business in 1956 by his Uncle Joe Petrelli, who trained George in every aspect of the business. George specialized in the meat department since his Uncle Joe stressed that Petrelli's customers would be served only the highest quality of meat. George is proud to have carried on the tradition of serving the best in fine quality food while maintaining reasonable family prices.

 

Although Petrelli's Steakhouse has earned its reputation for its steaks, their menu has a varied selection of chicken, seafood and pasta entrees as well. Even though meat has been their trademark, their Eggplant Parmigiana and Baked Lamb Shank have received rave reviews -- and don't forget about those fabulous burgers!..."

 It took about 15 minutes for the Cheeseburgers to arrive. While waiting, I had occasion to speak with the hostess who informed me that Hughes Aircraft held their annual Christmas  party at George Petrelli's. The high-demand item on that menu was the burger. 

The Burger Breakdown...

The Beef: The beef in the 8-ounce, 20% fat cheeseburger was outstanding. The $10.50 burger was composed of equal parts Filet and Sirloin. The Filet created a sumptuous mouth feel with it's tender texture. The Sirloin contributed beefiness, iron, a firm texture, and enough graininess to remind us that we were masticating steak. There was just enough dry-aging funk to remind us that we were at a legitimate steak house, but not so much as to put off Happy Meal.  The fat was just enough to coat our lips as we bit into the burgers...not our fingers....win!  The burger meat in the big, irregular patties was perfectly juicy. The beef was excellent, and the quality of the ingredients was highly evident.

The Seasoning:  I noted a light dusting of salt on the exterior of the juicy, thick burger patty.

The Sear:  The sear was good but not great. This was the only shortcoming of the cheeseburger at George Petrelli's Steak House. Granted, I ordered by burger Med-Rare, and the kitchen delivered a perfect and bloody Med-Rare. The sear was not quite thick or crisp enough to achieve burger perfection, but the sear was better than most. Considering the very high bar set by the beef, I really wanted the sear to be amazing. When I return, I will ask the kitchen to make an adjustment to deliver a killer sear. I pledged to return, because finding a great burger in Culver City, CA had been a bit like tilting at windmills with the standouts being Smashburger and Five Guys.

The Preparation: The beef was aged and trimmed on-site. The burger meat was freshly ground on-site. The large, thick, flat patties were hand-formed during the morning prep cycle. The patties were formed with great care, and this came accross in the tenderness of the bite. The burgers were cooked to a perfect and bloody Med-Rare on a gas-fired flat-top (griddle). The preparation was exactly what one would expect of a steak house with an 82-year history.

The Cheese: There were a couple of cheese choices at George Petrelli's Steak House. I went with American, because American cheese is a safe an consistent choice for a cheeseburger. The slices of American cheese were perfectly melted. The cheese fused gently with the tender ground beef and lent just enough umami and savory notes to round out the flavor of the burger.

The Bun: The bun came courtesy of the newly revitalized Pioneer French Baking Company. This was a non-seeded, standard burger bun. The bun was fresh, a little sweet, tender, moist, and it compressed perfectly when bitten into. The bun was lightly toasted, so it provided little in terms of crunch.

The Meat To Bun Ratio: Perfect. Each bite was a perfectly balanced mouthful of tendef tender beef and tender bun.

The Toppings: The Iceberg lettuce and tomato slislice were both fresh and ripe.

The Fries: Meh. The fries were not in the same class as the terrific burger. The fries not par-cooked, so they were slightly thicker versions of the styrofoam match sticks that one expects at In 'N Out. The fries were only moderately seasoned. The fries paled in comparison to the cheeseburger.

The Value: The The cheeseburger at George Petrelli's Steak House was $10.50. This was a very fair price considering the high quality of the ingredients and the flawless preparation. Happy Meal was unable to polish his off, and that boy is a bottomless pit.

George Petrelli's Steak House should probably just change its name to George Petrelli's Excellent Cheeseburgers. The burgers were a hit with both myself and Happy Meal. Quality ingredients and skilled preparation made for a wonderful, flavorful, juicy cheeseburgers.

Burger Review : Finally, I have found a really, really good cheeseburger in Culver City, CA. Go to George Petrelli's Steak House, and go there often.

Rating...5 Bites

Mo Better Burgers -- Los Angeles, CA

901 South La Brea Avenue
#2, Los Angeles, CA 90036
323-939-0242

Mo Better Burgers was the former home of OBO Burger and the current incarnation of the well-loved Mo Better Meaty Meat Burgers that once was located at Pico and Fairfax. That's your history lesson, kids.

Fat Bruce Lee made a rare appearance and joined me for this review.  Parking was free but tight in the mini mall in which Mo Better Burgers was located. My favorite part of getting there was watching a woman of dubious morality dawdling in a crosswalk and loudly asking where she could procure some crack while waving a crumpled handful of legal tender. I was fresh out and sadly unable to be of assistance-but I digress.

Fat Bruce Lee and I ordered a couple of  burgers at the counter of the small restaurant. We seated ourselves and settled in. Our wait was about 12 minutes.

The Burger Breakdown...

The Beef: I ordered the Steak Burger. This was a $8.25, 5-ounce burger, which was composed of equal parts Chuck and Short Rib. Neither of these was really "steak," but what the heck?  The beef at Mo Better Burgers was juicy--really, really juicy. The flavor was strongly beefy, and that was about it. My burger was aggressively seasoned, so I missed any notes or funk or complexity that the Short Rib may have contributed. The fat content was in the 25% range, so the burger was on the fatty side, but not in an unpleasant way. The coarse grind of the beef combined with the gingerly formed, irregular patties made for a loose but satisfying bite and rich mouth feel. The beef tasted fresh rather than frozen, and I was confident that there was no aging involved. The

The Seasoning: The burgers were hit with salt and pepper. A little too much, but it wasn't overpowering.

The Sear: Meh. The griddle at Mo Metter Burgers wasn't hot enough, and the burger meat was too wet, to get a good sear onto the beef patties. A solid sear from a hot flat top would have added a dimension to the this burger that could have taken it from good to really good.

The Preparation: The burgers were formed on-the-fly using the scoop and smash method. I ordered Medium, and I got Medium Well. The beef was juicy enough to overcome this.

The Cheese: There were a couple of cheese choices, but I went with American. The American cheese was properly melted. However, the cheese was lost in the saltiness and the juiciness of the burger patty.

The Bun: The bun was a generic, non-seeded, barely toasted, standard burger bun. The bun was barely up to the task of containing the juicy beef. The bun was invisible on the palate. A properly hot griddle could have toasted the bun enough to provide some crunch.

The Meat To Bun Ratio: A Mo Better Burgers, the beef was perilously close to dominating the flimsy bun. Still, the bun managed to do its job.

The Fries: The fries were cut in house and were peel-on. Fat Bruce Lee noted that these were a better version of In 'N' Out fries. As usual, he was correct. Like In 'N' Out, the fries at Mo Better Burgers were not par-cooked. As a result, they ended up having that Styrofoam stick feel to them. Still the Mo Better Burgers take was heartier due to the peel.

The Toppings: The shredded Romaine lettuce was fine and the tomato slices were red, juicy, and ripe.

The Value: The burger value at Mo Better Burgers was average. $8.25 for a burger was a little steep considering the 5-ounce weight.

Mo Better Burgers delivered a burger that was pretty much on par with the other neighborhood burgers...Umami Burger (the original location) and Rascal (Rascal, coincidentally, also over-seasoned their burgers). Parking was better at Mo Better Burgers, and the wait was shorter. That combination made Mo Better Burgers the cheeseburger of choice in that area.

Burger Review : An average value for an above average and very juicy burger at Mo Better Burgers.

Rating...4 Bites