After researching LA’s best burgers online, one of the lists rated the burger at The Foundry on Melrose as the best in town. This rating is just from one list, but I needed to start somewhere. So after having an amazing burger at Umami, which was about number three on that same list, I figured number one wouldn’t disappoint. Unfortunately, I forgot my camera, which I was very disappointed about, but I still wanted to write something about this burger.
We started out with some homemade tater-tots. These came served in a miniature cocotte with two dipping sauces, bleu cheese fondue and violet mustard. The tots were basically mashed potatoes lightly coated and deep-fried. Nothing surprising about these homemade tots, but it did the trick. The mustard wasn’t as tangy as I thought it would be and cut through the oil nicely. I thought that the bleu cheese fondue could have had a little more bleu flavor, but it was creamy and a great contrast for the mustard.
Three people at our table ordered the burger, and the presentation was something to smile at. Because I forgot my camera, I created a layout of the plate so you can get an idea of what the presentation was like.
First, I’ll describe the visual. The burger was served on four connected Hawaiian rolls, creating the shape of a square. To one side of the burger, there were three small condiment dishes, each with a little spoon. Starting from the top, we have caramelized onions, followed by apple bacon tarragon chutney, and then ending with some homemade mayonnaise. To the other side of the burger, there were handmade fried onion rings. For the burger itself, we’ll start with the meat. After talking to the waiter a little bit, he informed us the meat was mixed with a little foie gras. On the burger itself, you had arugula, small sweet and sour pickles cut lengthwise, roasted tomatoes, and melted sharp cheddar.
The presentation was nice (kind of fun, actually), but it was little overwhelming if you didn’t know what you were working with. The burger had an amazing taste to it. How couldn’t it really? Foie gras, roasted tomatoes, caramelized onions, and I could go on and on. The one thing our table agreed on was that the burger had a lot of sweetness coming in all kinds of direction. The apple bacon chutney, Hawaiian bun, roasted tomatoes, and the mayonnaise and onions certainly don’t scream savory. The surprising sweetness didn’t ruin it for me, but it would take more research on my part to title this best burger in LA.