9418 Venice Blvd.
Culver City, CA 90232
310-837-3836
website
I had been meaning to try Mad Dogz and Burgers for some time, and with Happy Meal sick with a cold, and me needing lunch, this seemed like a fine time. Metered parking was plentiful on the street, but I took my chances (gambled and won) and parked in the medical office parking next door to the tiny establishment. I ordered my cheeseburger from the disinterested and dismissive counter attendant--she had the personality and customer service skills of a stick. When I walked up, she was sitting on a counter, and she was in no rush to take my order. Beyond that she didn't bother to inform me of any choices that I had, up-sell me on a beverage, offer me some water, or do anything other than getting back to parking her butt back on that counter. My order of cheeseburger and fries ($7.50 before wasting money on a tip) was up in about 5 minutes.
The Burger Breakdown...
The Beef: Mad Dogz and Burgers used "Angus-grade" Chuck. I don't know what that meant, but I assumed it just meant Angus Chuck. The sliver of a patty was about 2.5 ounces and about a 1/4 of an inch thick. The flavor was beefy, and that was about it. It was clear that the burger patty had been mechanically created and stamped out. The grind was fine, and this resulted a somewhat chewy bite. The burger was neither juicy or dry. The beef was just below average.
The Seasoning: The burger patty was aggressively salted. If it hadn't been for the relatively massive bun, this would have been a deal killer. As it was, it was barely tolerable.
The Sear: Mad Dogz and Burgers got a nice sear onto the meager patty. The sear was imparted by a blazing hot flat top. This was the highlight of the meal.
The Preparation: Meh. A good sear on an over-salted, preformed patty with rubbery fries did not speak to any attention to standards in that kitchen.
The Cheese: I had a number of choices, and I went with American. I only became aware of the cheese choices after taking a fresh look at the menu board. This should have been a question that came up in the ordering process...but I digress.
The Bun: The bun, while daunting in size compared to the wee burger patty, was fresh, moist, and sweet. It was moderately and unevenly toasted.
The Meat To Bun Ratio: The bun at Mad Dogz and Burgers simply dwarfed the miniscule burger patty.
The Toppings: The Iceberg lettuce was fresh and crisp, however, the "leaves" that I got were from the center of the head, so they where pale and bitter. The tomato slice was tough and under-ripe. Consistency!
The Fries: Frozen, peel-off, par-cooked, and properly salted. Sadly, the fries were rubbery since they were under-cooked. Also, the fries were lukewarm since the fries were put up in the pass window 3 minutes before the burger was ready, and there was no heating element to maintain the temperature....sloppy but consistently sloppy.
The Value: $7.50 for poor quality service and preparation was a lousy value.
On the day that I paid a visit, Mad Dogz was consistent...consistently weak. The staff was clearly not interested in turning out a quality product or in serving customers in any way.
Burger Review : Move along folks--nothing to see here.
Rating...2 Bites (2 generous bites)
Culver City, CA 90232
310-837-3836
website
I had been meaning to try Mad Dogz and Burgers for some time, and with Happy Meal sick with a cold, and me needing lunch, this seemed like a fine time. Metered parking was plentiful on the street, but I took my chances (gambled and won) and parked in the medical office parking next door to the tiny establishment. I ordered my cheeseburger from the disinterested and dismissive counter attendant--she had the personality and customer service skills of a stick. When I walked up, she was sitting on a counter, and she was in no rush to take my order. Beyond that she didn't bother to inform me of any choices that I had, up-sell me on a beverage, offer me some water, or do anything other than getting back to parking her butt back on that counter. My order of cheeseburger and fries ($7.50 before wasting money on a tip) was up in about 5 minutes.
The Burger Breakdown...
The Beef: Mad Dogz and Burgers used "Angus-grade" Chuck. I don't know what that meant, but I assumed it just meant Angus Chuck. The sliver of a patty was about 2.5 ounces and about a 1/4 of an inch thick. The flavor was beefy, and that was about it. It was clear that the burger patty had been mechanically created and stamped out. The grind was fine, and this resulted a somewhat chewy bite. The burger was neither juicy or dry. The beef was just below average.
The Seasoning: The burger patty was aggressively salted. If it hadn't been for the relatively massive bun, this would have been a deal killer. As it was, it was barely tolerable.
The Sear: Mad Dogz and Burgers got a nice sear onto the meager patty. The sear was imparted by a blazing hot flat top. This was the highlight of the meal.
The Preparation: Meh. A good sear on an over-salted, preformed patty with rubbery fries did not speak to any attention to standards in that kitchen.
The Cheese: I had a number of choices, and I went with American. I only became aware of the cheese choices after taking a fresh look at the menu board. This should have been a question that came up in the ordering process...but I digress.
The Bun: The bun, while daunting in size compared to the wee burger patty, was fresh, moist, and sweet. It was moderately and unevenly toasted.
The Meat To Bun Ratio: The bun at Mad Dogz and Burgers simply dwarfed the miniscule burger patty.
The Toppings: The Iceberg lettuce was fresh and crisp, however, the "leaves" that I got were from the center of the head, so they where pale and bitter. The tomato slice was tough and under-ripe. Consistency!
The Fries: Frozen, peel-off, par-cooked, and properly salted. Sadly, the fries were rubbery since they were under-cooked. Also, the fries were lukewarm since the fries were put up in the pass window 3 minutes before the burger was ready, and there was no heating element to maintain the temperature....sloppy but consistently sloppy.
The Value: $7.50 for poor quality service and preparation was a lousy value.
On the day that I paid a visit, Mad Dogz was consistent...consistently weak. The staff was clearly not interested in turning out a quality product or in serving customers in any way.
Burger Review : Move along folks--nothing to see here.
Rating...2 Bites (2 generous bites)
Finally a review! Cool.
ReplyDeleteI never figured you for a tipper for poor service.
The last photo of that burger is hilariously lame. What the hell! LOL. Looks like our old elementary school burger, except more bun.
Sorry for the lack of reviews. I've been working to get down to a ridiculously low % of body fat for my b-day.
ReplyDeleteMissed your reviews. I can understand needing to back off for dietary reasons. But let us know. A month without a post -- we worry about you.
ReplyDeleteYou are too kind, and I will be more faithful in my updates. I had to get my metabolism tracking. I am working to get down to 5% in early December. A birthday gift to myself.
ReplyDeleteI got down to 5%....back to burger reviews again.
ReplyDelete