A British tourist and a local find the best cheeseburger in Los Angeles
"Food Wars" hosts Harry Kersh and Joe Avella travel across Los Angeles to find the best cheeseburger in the city. They'll be visiting four different locations in just one day to see what the city has to offer. This is "Food Tours."
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00:00I'm so stoked for today.
00:01We're going to some of the best burger joints in LA.
00:04The cheeseburgers specifically in this city,
00:07forgive me if I come off a bit hyperbolic,
00:10are the best in the world ever.
00:12Okay, that's high praise.
00:14Because I feel like London and New York
00:16have both brought the heat in food tours so far.
00:18Okay, yes.
00:19I know you're an honorary Angeleno.
00:21Yeah, we're gonna be going to some old school places
00:23that have been here for a long time,
00:24and you'll see why when you taste the great food.
00:26We're going to a couple of upstarts
00:28that are literally killing the game right now.
00:30And we're going to maybe a fancy pants place or two
00:33to see how the other half lives.
00:35Regardless, every burger you're gonna have today
00:37is a little bit different,
00:39but no doubt, absolutely delicious.
00:41I've been looking forward to this all month.
00:43Yeah, I really appreciate the history side of food,
00:45and I know this is kind of where some people say
00:47the modern cheeseburger was invented.
00:49I would say that, yes.
00:50Yeah, so I'm excited to taste it from the source,
00:52the original cheeseburger.
00:53We started it here, we perfected it here,
00:55and today we're going to some dynamite places.
00:58Let's go, I'm excited.
01:05So, this first place I've taken you today,
01:07Pie and Burger.
01:08What do they sell?
01:12Personally, I think it should be Burger and Pie,
01:13but this is old school, classic diner vibes.
01:18The current owner started coming here when he was nine years
01:20old, eventually started working here,
01:21worked his way all the way up,
01:22and now it is his restaurant.
01:24Everything you see here, preserved, authentic,
01:27has been here since whenever it was put in here.
01:29Amazing, wow.
01:30I thought for a second you said he started working here
01:31when he was nine.
01:32No, no, no.
01:33That's like American labor laws are all over the place.
01:35But if he started coming here when he was nine,
01:36that makes way more sense.
01:37And yeah, wow.
01:38Like, I'm loving the wood paneling, old school.
01:41One of the grills looks like it's been here for ages.
01:43Well, I am ready to get some cheeseburgers.
01:45You want to order?
01:46Absolutely, yeah, what are we getting?
01:48We're getting two of the classic cheeseburgers
01:50they got here, by the way.
01:51They're going to have the lettuce, tomato, onion,
01:54and a thousand island dressing.
01:55It's so good, I can't believe it.
01:58Got some fries in the mix,
01:59and I'm going to get a slice of pie.
02:01We're at Pie and Burger.
02:02We got to try the pie, we got to try the burgers.
02:04Let's go order, I'm excited.
02:05And I'm saying this now, please pace yourself, okay?
02:10Pace yourself.
02:11I'm slowly learning my lesson on that front.
02:13Fantastic.
02:14I'm getting there.
02:17Thank you so much.
02:18Thank you, thank you.
02:20Okay, man, look at these.
02:22I made a judgment call.
02:23I went with the raw onion over grilled.
02:25And normally I don't like a big stack burger,
02:27but I made an exception for this one
02:28because everything on this is so delicious.
02:30You got, obviously, lettuce, tomato, onion, raw.
02:33You can see the thousand island dressing,
02:34there's dripping pickles,
02:36and the fantastically prepared burger.
02:39I think like, because we just went for the single burger,
02:41right, not the double.
02:42So there's actually like not too much meat in this,
02:44in the kind of like ratio perspective.
02:47But I do think that with all of this stuff,
02:49I like the wrapping because then you bite into it,
02:51and instead of all the stuff just flying up the bottom,
02:54it's contained.
02:54Burger ingenuity right here on the paper.
02:56You look really excited to bite this,
02:57so I think we should just give it a try.
02:59Cheers, man.
03:05It's got that great crunch thanks to the lettuce
03:07and the tomato and the onion.
03:09Yeah, I think one thing that stands out to me
03:11is the texture.
03:12You don't often get that much crunch from a burger,
03:13but with the onion in there, the pickles in there,
03:16the lettuce in there, it's a crunchy burger.
03:18I had some reservations about how this has been assembled,
03:22but now that I taste it, now that I feel the textures,
03:24it all kind of makes sense.
03:25Fantastic, right?
03:26And it's a big burger too, right?
03:28They're feeding you here.
03:29This burger has probably, not evolved,
03:31but at least withstood the test of time
03:33since the 50s or 60s,
03:34however long the restaurant has been here.
03:36Seeing they're doing something right.
03:37Yeah, it feels very traditional.
03:39It feels very classic.
03:40It matches the vibe in here of like slightly old school.
03:44They've taken something, and you know,
03:45if it ain't broke, don't fix it.
03:47And now that it's not broke,
03:48they have perfected it here, I think.
03:50And I wouldn't let you escape
03:53without having a slice of pie.
03:54You got room for pie?
03:55Of course I do.
03:56Always got room for pie.
03:57Oh, thank you.
03:59They've not skimped on the ice cream.
04:01Oh my God.
04:02They put a little ice cream on it,
04:02a la mode as they call it.
04:03Did you just say a little ice cream on this?
04:04Yeah.
04:05This specifically is boysenberry,
04:07not to be confused with poison berry,
04:09which we will not be eating today, hopefully.
04:12Boysenberry dropped in the 20s by my boy Rudolf Boysen.
04:16Combination, European raspberry, European blackberry,
04:20a loganberry from here, I think,
04:22a dewberry, a drewberry more.
04:25Put them all together and invented a new berry.
04:27In the UK, we might not have a ton of fruit pies.
04:30Like apple pie is fairly common in the UK,
04:32or like apple crumble is probably more popular.
04:33Sure.
04:34But I do love the hot and cold contrast
04:37that you get when you put ice cream
04:38on like a pie or a crumble.
04:40So did you say this is what,
04:41so a la mode, when you see a la mode on a menu,
04:44is that just with ice cream?
04:45Yeah.
04:47All right, let me get a try of this.
04:48I'm in pie mode, sorry.
04:50I'm gonna try a delicious boysen.
04:56Come on, USA baby.
04:58We got berries locked down.
05:00You wish this was over on your side.
05:02These berries, again, flagged at Heathrow as contraband.
05:06They've never let this in your country.
05:08Too dangerous.
05:09It would blow British people's minds.
05:10This hits the streets.
05:12That's it, that's it.
05:13That's delicious.
05:14I want to get a bit more of the pastry
05:16because most of that was just the filling there.
05:19How do you invent a berry?
05:21I guess just like cross pollinations
05:23and things like that.
05:23What?
05:24Well, you know, you like cross pollinate.
05:26Seeding bees.
05:27Yeah, or you can do it artificially.
05:29So you got all those berries by each other
05:31and then you're hoping like a bee goes near all of them
05:34and like, and then does what?
05:36It's how pollination works, right?
05:37The bee goes in for the nectar.
05:39While it's in there, all the pollen gets caught on it.
05:42And then it flies to another flower,
05:43collects more nectar.
05:44How do you do it with four?
05:45Does a bee gotta hit all four?
05:46Maybe, yeah.
05:47Did he train bees?
05:51You're acting like this is a normal thing.
05:52This doesn't make any sense.
05:54Rudolph, his name's Rudolph Boysen.
05:55He can do whatever he wants.
05:57I love it here.
05:58I am a sucker for like a slightly old school,
06:00historical place.
06:01Does feel like you stepped slightly back in time.
06:04The food, while it might be traditional,
06:06is very, very tasty.
06:07Fantastic.
06:08Can't fault the food at all.
06:09Burger, it's just about as classic as a hamburger gets,
06:12you know, but done well.
06:13I hear that we have more spots to hit.
06:15We do.
06:16Yeah.
06:17Let's hit it.
06:17Let's go.
06:20Why did we just park next to a freeway?
06:22Where are we going?
06:23The thing about LA, for whatever reason,
06:24we like putting really important things
06:26right on the sidewalk.
06:27And I got something burger related to show you.
06:28Check this out.
06:29Behold, a plaque commemorating the exact spot
06:34where the cheeseburger was invented.
06:37I have some notes.
06:38Sure, go on.
06:39Okay.
06:39As you've noticed, we're kind of by the expressway.
06:42Yep.
06:43Now I get...
06:44Now whoever this Lionel Sternberger is,
06:47and his name's Sternberger,
06:49first dude to put cheese on a hamburger,
06:511924, exactly 100 years.
06:54I think it's great that we have
06:56the invention of the cheeseburger.
06:57Yeah.
06:58We have just highways.
07:00Yeah.
07:00With the biggest cars you've ever seen.
07:02And we have a credit union.
07:04I think this is like America,
07:05just in one tiny condensed location.
07:08What's going on with the burger
07:10right in the middle of the paragraph?
07:12Like who laid this out like this?
07:14Not one graphic designer was just like,
07:15you know, we just move it.
07:18What happened here?
07:19Graphic designers, their passion, clearly.
07:21I really like it.
07:22I love that the guy who invented the cheeseburger
07:23had burger in his name.
07:25Yeah.
07:25It's a piece of history.
07:27We're at the source.
07:28Do you feel closer to the hamburger
07:30and the cheeseburger than ever?
07:31I kind of do.
07:32Yeah?
07:33Yeah.
07:34I would have liked something a little bit like
07:36a burger, like fountain.
07:38Yeah.
07:39Think about how famous a cheeseburger is.
07:42One of the most iconic dishes in the world.
07:44Right.
07:45And it gets a tiny plaque next to a highway.
07:46Yeah, I mean,
07:47they could maybe have gone a little bit more
07:48all out for it.
07:49Yeah.
07:50But I still appreciate it.
07:51If I worked here, I'd be touching this every morning,
07:53like the, this is Anfield sign.
07:55It should be shaped like a, let's go.
07:58Let's get out of here.
08:02At this, his Gold Burger, we're located in Highland Park.
08:04They also have a location in Los Feliz.
08:07Been here several years.
08:08This place, fantastic.
08:10I could gush all day about how much I love the food here.
08:12One thing that I think we should note for this place,
08:15the burgers, 100% grass-fed beef.
08:17Okay, nice.
08:18I will say that's a weird thing to brag about
08:20because in the UK, that's like standard.
08:22I'm pretty sure all of our beef is grass-fed,
08:23but in the US, you know,
08:25I know your standards are a little bit lower,
08:26so I'm glad they're at least matching the UK beef.
08:28So our beef is what, mostly grain and corn fed?
08:31I guess like food pellets, random other stuff.
08:34But yeah, if I have the option to do grass-fed,
08:36then I'm glad they're doing it.
08:37Okay, well they're doing grass-fed here.
08:38Great stuff.
08:39Here they do LA-style smash burgers.
08:41Those are thin patties, man.
08:42The guy like really gets in there.
08:44He has like this stamp thing to like really make them thin.
08:46That makes the edges nice and crispy.
08:48This might be my favorite smash burger in all of LA.
08:50Possibly the entire world.
08:51That's right, I said it.
08:53We haven't even finished the video yet, Joe.
08:54You've got to keep an open mind.
08:55Is LA like becoming the spiritual home of the smash burger?
08:58I feel like that's much more the style over here.
09:00They really are popping off here.
09:01I can't speak for the rest of the country,
09:02but smash burgers in LA, very popular.
09:04I feel like the ones that we had in New York
09:06tended to be a bit thicker, like diner style.
09:08But on average, if you order a burger out here,
09:10is it going to be smashed?
09:11Not to say on average, but the smash burgers here,
09:13they're always, they're so thick paper,
09:15you could write a note on these smash burgers.
09:19Back in 2018 when Allen was just doing this as a pop-up,
09:22this won best burger in LA by LA food and wine.
09:26Okay, so let's go some pedigree.
09:27Yeah, that's a great word.
09:31British buddy over here got pedigree.
09:32I mean, I could talk about
09:33how great the burger is here all day,
09:35but why don't you taste it and find out?
09:37I'm gonna get us two of the burgers,
09:39the double patty version,
09:40a thing of curly fries and some drinks.
09:42Sounds great.
09:42Sound good?
09:43Absolutely.
09:44All right, stay right here.
09:45Hey.
09:46All right.
09:47Let's go.
09:48Thank you so very much.
09:48Thank you so much.
09:49That's fantastic.
09:50These are beautiful.
09:52Wait till I tell you about that paper.
09:53Look at that, look at that.
09:54That's paper thin.
09:54You know, I could like fold it up and throw it
09:57like an airplane.
09:58Looks like a cheesesteak.
09:59Also, they have a house aioli and mustard mixed together
10:03to make their own kind of like Dijonnaise, I guess.
10:05I like that.
10:06Mustard on a burger.
10:08That's underrated, I would say.
10:09Oh, absolutely.
10:10Great condiment.
10:11I mean, I'm ready to go.
10:11Do you want to take a bite and then talk?
10:12I think we should get it while it's hot, man.
10:13Okay.
10:14Oh, man.
10:18Just by the virtue of smashing it,
10:20it has such a profound effect on the flavor.
10:22I think it's because it's like crispier edges
10:24and with the cheese and the sauce and the onions,
10:27it's just a different combination of elements.
10:29When you smash it that thin,
10:31these crispy bits around the side
10:32are almost like caramelized.
10:33Yeah.
10:34There's like a sort of almost sweetness to them,
10:37which is incredible.
10:38It's a simple burger.
10:39Yeah, you can see in there,
10:40in contrast to the other one we went to,
10:41it's just the meat, cheese, onions,
10:43and obviously some pickles kind of stuck in there.
10:45Like, it really is just,
10:46you're mainlining meat and cheese.
10:52The sauce, this aioli mustard they're making here.
10:55I mean, that's a secret weapon.
10:57I don't know if they sell that.
10:58Actually, don't sell it.
11:00No.
11:01No, no, no, no, no.
11:01Keep that under lock and key.
11:03Yep.
11:03So juicy.
11:04I think it's so juicy.
11:06I thought to get it that juicy,
11:07you'd have to kind of like keep the patty kind of thicker.
11:09No.
11:10But the amount of juice that's coming off
11:11these thin smash patties is incredible.
11:14And the bun is holding it all down, right?
11:16Not falling apart, still pillowy, still fluffy.
11:19It's a fantastic burger.
11:21Yeah, you can tell they've really thought
11:22about every component of this burger,
11:23like how it's going to work together.
11:25Well-assembled and really delicious.
11:27Awesome, right?
11:28Mm-hmm.
11:30Mm.
11:31Also, the price is nice out here at all these places.
11:33This burger, they have a combo here.
11:35One of these burgers, fries, and a drink for $16, I think?
11:38Yeah.
11:39For a full meal.
11:40Yeah, it's honestly really good value.
11:41That's like a big portion,
11:42filling food, really, really tasty.
11:44I know New York's expensive.
11:46Everyone says New York's expensive.
11:47In my mind, I thought LA would kind of be the same,
11:49but so far I've been pleasantly surprised.
11:51Yeah.
11:51I guess maybe it depends slightly
11:52on like where in LA you are.
11:54Yeah, I think Rodeo Drive, this would be $70.
11:58But you'd get it when you buy like a Prada jacket
12:01or something.
12:03Yeah, stop off at Era One for your groceries
12:05and then grab a burger on the way home.
12:06Yeah, this at Era One would be like $115.
12:10It'd be impossible for every place we go to
12:12to have like specifically the same type of burger.
12:15Already, you can see how this differs
12:16from the last place we were at.
12:17For me, today is all about just showcasing some of the best.
12:21And although it isn't direct comparisons,
12:24you're getting kind of a feel
12:26of all the different types of burgers
12:27you can get out here in LA.
12:28Yeah, I think even like toppings aside,
12:29like lettuce, tomato, onion, whatever,
12:31even just the way that people are cooking the meat
12:34and the cheese and the bread is wildly different.
12:36So it's hard to do like a direct comparison like you say,
12:38but so far I've been impressed by what we've had.
12:40And I'm intrigued to see where else
12:42they can take the humble cheeseburger.
12:44How is this compared to our London burger exploits?
12:47This is really good.
12:48I think in terms of smash burgers,
12:50that's much more of a recent addition to London.
12:53They've only made their way over to us
12:54in the last couple of years, I think,
12:56and are really catching on, but we're still getting there.
12:59I would say one of the best smash burgers,
13:01if not the best smash burger I've ever had.
13:04Nice.
13:05So suffice to say,
13:07we would have no problem finishing this meal.
13:09No, I really want to,
13:10but I'm having to physically restrain myself.
13:12But we have more burgers to eat and you need room.
13:15I know, I know.
13:16I'm trying to learn my lessons from the past.
13:17All right, come on, let's go.
13:20So I feel like so far most of my time in LA
13:22has been spent in cars.
13:23Is that representative of the experience?
13:25I think so.
13:26Now the city does get a bit of a bad rap
13:29about being car-centric.
13:30It is more car-centric than that.
13:33There's a train here, there's plenty of buses.
13:35I find that the city has so many great neighborhoods,
13:39but getting from one neighborhood to the other is hard.
13:42But once you get into a good neighborhood,
13:43you do lots of walking.
13:44Sure.
13:45To be fair, London's got great public transport,
13:46but even there, getting from one part of town to another
13:49can be really annoying.
13:50I mean, there's way worse American cities,
13:52like Houston, where it's like
13:54you gotta drive to go everywhere.
13:55There's traffic pockets that are tough
13:57closer to the western part of the city,
14:00like in Hollywood and those areas.
14:02If you look at how the city's laid out,
14:04it's like there's these huge mountains
14:06that you gotta go over to go to Burbank,
14:07where you guys are.
14:08Yeah.
14:09You guys have one or two expressways,
14:10so yeah, of course those are gonna be jammed,
14:12but I don't know, it's not so bad.
14:15Okay, dude, Oinkster, right?
14:18Oinkster.
14:19Good enough for Guy Fieri?
14:20See the thing over there?
14:21I did, yeah.
14:22If it's good enough for him, it's good enough for me.
14:23I was about to say.
14:24All right.
14:25This place, the reason why I take you here
14:26is all the awesome burgers they have.
14:28They have a burger here that has pastrami on it.
14:30Remember the pastrami episode we did for New York?
14:33How could I forget the pastrami from New York?
14:34This place flies through pastrami, all right?
14:36They sell, from what I read online,
14:381,500 pounds of pastrami a week.
14:41Also, they got this, I'm gonna pronounce it right,
14:42ube shake?
14:44Mm-hmm.
14:44Ube, yeah, they have one of the specialties here.
14:46Fantastic.
14:48Some of the menu items, like the ube shake,
14:49is kind of a nod to the owner's Filipino heritage.
14:51Oh, cool.
14:52Yeah.
14:53I like the name.
14:54Yeah.
14:55With a name like the Oinkster, you know,
14:55they're gonna be pretty serious about their meat.
14:56Absolutely.
14:57I hope so.
14:58So, definitely wanna do the pastrami burger.
14:59We're gonna get another, just regular cheeseburger,
15:02get like a baseline.
15:03And they do have a vegetarian burger
15:06that is sourced from Burger Lords down the street.
15:09Set that up, try one of those, see what you think.
15:11Cool, sounds great.
15:12All right, you hungry?
15:13I've still got some room in the tank, yeah.
15:14The pacing myself plan.
15:15We're figuring this out.
15:16Kind of working, yeah.
15:17It's only taken us like four seasons.
15:18Yeah, no.
15:20We're figuring it out.
15:21I can see a soda machine over there.
15:23A free refill is still a thing in America,
15:24because that's like not a thing we do in the UK.
15:26Yeah, it's always been a thing.
15:27I didn't know it wasn't a thing
15:28until I left this country.
15:30That's quite nice.
15:30So, you guys don't have that?
15:31No, we do not.
15:32If you get another cup of soda, you're paying for it.
15:34Do you ever find yourself getting to the end,
15:35be like, ah, I should've gotten the large.
15:38I usually just play it safe and order the large.
15:40Gotcha.
15:40There's a couple of exceptions.
15:41Nando's lets you refill your own drink.
15:43Wow, very nice.
15:45Yeah.
15:45It's like Nando's is doing so well.
15:47Hey, thank you.
15:48Oh, thank you so much.
15:48Thank you, thank you, thank you.
15:49So, this is a Grimace shake.
15:52It's not a Grimace, did you have the Grimace shake?
15:54I did, yeah.
15:54I never had it, so why don't you taste it
15:55and tell me how close it is.
15:56Okay, I will.
15:58It's so good.
15:59No way Grimace shake tasted this good.
16:01No, yeah, this is way better.
16:03The Grimace shake was like the most artificial berry flavor
16:06you've ever tasted in your life.
16:09There we go, thank you.
16:15That's a crazy looking burger.
16:16Yeah, yeah, yeah.
16:17All right, so we got the Royal.
16:18This is the one that's like with pastrami.
16:19And also got us a regular cheeseburger.
16:22Well, I mean, look at the size of it, right?
16:23Forgot to mention this burger also has chili on it.
16:25Yep.
16:27Conveniently withheld that information.
16:29Oops, and bacon.
16:30I have what I will say is an above average size mouth.
16:34I don't think I can get nearly all of this in one bite.
16:38I'm gonna try it.
16:40Oh my God.
16:45This is like, how ridiculous is this?
16:46This is so good.
16:48The pastrami's incredible here,
16:49but with the bacon and the chili,
16:52this is so incredible.
16:54Mm-mm.
16:56Ridiculous is the word that comes to mind.
16:59This is absurd.
17:00They've been like generous with,
17:02oh my God, look at the juice just pouring off that.
17:03Yeah, you better believe it.
17:05Jeez, meat waterfall.
17:08They've been like generous with all of the toppings.
17:11So not only is there like a bunch of stuff in here,
17:13but all of it is in quite a healthy dose.
17:15Like look at the pastrami.
17:16There's like a solid like inch of pastrami in there.
17:19I do think that while I've enjoyed
17:21the individual components of this burger,
17:22I think this is slightly too much for me.
17:25And it's just like, there's a lot going on
17:27with all the different flavors.
17:28Some of them are working together.
17:30I think the pastrami in the burger is good.
17:32I think the addition of the chili
17:34has maybe taken that slightly over the edge for me.
17:36Okay, I could see that.
17:36Would you agree?
17:38No, but I could see why you would think that.
17:39That's fair.
17:40I also think like, particularly with the chili,
17:42when it's an ingredient that's that like wet and sloppy,
17:45quite difficult to eat
17:47without it just completely falling apart.
17:49And also the pastrami's pretty juicy.
17:51It is, yeah.
17:51It's a juicy burger. Very tasty.
17:53And everything's in there is tasty.
17:54Just maybe scale it back slightly.
17:56I think we should try the regular cheeseburger.
17:58Yeah.
17:59It's slightly more approachable.
18:00I can actually probably fit all of this in my mouth, so.
18:02Yeah, take the pickles out.
18:04Oh yeah.
18:05You gotta get with the pickles at some point, man.
18:06This actually.
18:07This is so big.
18:09I'd say in terms of like the structure
18:10and assembly and ingredients,
18:11this pretty closely represents the pie and burger one.
18:14Yeah, very close, yeah.
18:15Basically this, their version of that
18:16with a thousand islands, the onions, lettuce, tomato.
18:23Mm.
18:24Right? Mm-hmm.
18:26It's fine to do a burger
18:27that's like a little bit out there.
18:28Yeah.
18:29A little bit crazy.
18:30Yeah.
18:31But I think to earn the right to do that,
18:33you have to be able to do the basics well.
18:34Fantastic whip.
18:35The fantastic whip, yeah.
18:36They definitely are doing the basics well.
18:37Yeah.
18:37That's really, really tasty.
18:38Mm-hmm. Yeah.
18:40Wow.
18:41Oh man.
18:41Time to wash that down with one of these bad boys.
18:43Mm-hmm.
18:44Mm.
18:45Happy birthday, Grimace.
18:47Stop it.
18:47I'm going to town on this shake.
18:48This is so good, right?
18:50It is really good.
18:50I'm trying to like think of things
18:51to compare the flavor of ube to,
18:53but it's really tough.
18:54I think there's obviously some other stuff,
18:55like there's like vanilla in here,
18:57but the ube itself has given quite like
18:59an earthy, rich flavor.
19:02Okay.
19:04The day's starting to hit me.
19:06That was really sudden.
19:07I feel like you just like-
19:08Yeah, yeah.
19:09I suddenly hit a wall, but I'll power through it.
19:11So Burger Lords, as you can see right here,
19:14has a really great plant-based burger that I love.
19:17And since they sell it here,
19:19I thought we're not visiting Burger Lords,
19:21but we can try this patty here.
19:23Just to see what you think.
19:24I think it's really great.
19:25I really love Burger Lords.
19:26I go there a lot, even though I am not
19:27clearly a plant-based eater.
19:30But I like it a lot and it's here,
19:32so I thought you would try it and see what you think.
19:35Absolutely, man.
19:36I'm open-minded.
19:36I like the collaboration between the burger chains as well.
19:39I'm seeing a lot of like pulses in there.
19:43A lot of what?
19:44Like pulses.
19:45Pulses?
19:46Yeah, you know how that, like beans and pulses,
19:48grains and pulses, like lentils and stuff.
19:50Oh.
19:53Mm.
19:55I have to taste that.
19:56Mm.
19:59Mm.
20:00I love it.
20:01It's so good.
20:02So flavorful, right?
20:03Mm-hmm.
20:04That's really good.
20:05They haven't like gone full kind of fake meat.
20:07Right, correct.
20:08It's more like they've just taken a bunch
20:09of other delicious things and kind of crammed them
20:12all together.
20:12It's a really, really tasty mix.
20:13I'm getting like quite a lot of mushroom from that,
20:16some lentils, some onions, some peppers.
20:17I love how you can get both of these under the same roof.
20:21Absolutely.
20:22Yeah, I think it's like good that it's a space
20:23that like you say, can cater to people who yeah,
20:25love meat and people who might not love meat
20:27or just want to reduce the amount of meat they want to eat
20:29but don't want to compromise on flavor.
20:31Yeah.
20:32So once something tastes good, you can come to Youngster.
20:34Well, good news.
20:36We've got one more place to go and we're heading there
20:39right now.
20:39Yep.
20:40After that, we are done.
20:41Mm-hmm.
20:42All right.
20:43One more, let's rally and let's go.
20:45Okay, we can do one more.
20:46All right, let's go.
20:48So whereabouts are we now, Joe?
20:49Okay, this is Father's Office in the downtown Los Angeles
20:52area of Los Angeles, California.
20:55Now the distinction is there's three.
20:56There's another one in Culver City
20:58and I believe another one in Santa Monica.
20:59They have a fantastic burger, I want you to try.
21:01That's why we're here.
21:02And also they got a beer selection.
21:06I knew you had an ulterior motive for bringing us here, man.
21:08We eat lots of burgers.
21:09I think we've earned a beer.
21:10I think we've earned a beer.
21:11That's fine.
21:12And it's late enough to where my drinking
21:14isn't uncomfortable for my coworkers.
21:16Yes.
21:17And that could have started at 11.
21:18I could have cracked one open at Pine Burger,
21:20but society is all like, you got to wait
21:23till you're not working anymore.
21:25I speak on behalf of the rest of the crew
21:26when I say we appreciate your restraint.
21:29Yeah, where's my plaque?
21:30You're all good.
21:31And this spot, Joe Avella,
21:34restrained from getting drunk in the middle of the day.
21:37We'll get you a plaque next time.
21:38It's a plaque of me going like this for a beer,
21:40like, and it's right in the middle of the type.
21:44We'll get you a plaque like on a freeway
21:46next to a Wells Fargo or something.
21:49I like the vibe around downtown.
21:51It feels much more like a city.
21:52I feel like the other ones we've been more
21:54in the sort of like neighborhood, I guess, areas of LA.
21:57Whereas this one, yeah,
21:58we're kind of in the midst of things here.
21:59Actually, Father's Office is one of the first
22:02drinking establishments to completely ban smoking.
22:04They did it way before the ordinance, like in 1991.
22:07And shout out to them.
22:08Yeah, I'm not a smoker, so I appreciate that.
22:10Yeah, yeah, yeah.
22:10Were you able to go into pubs, as you call them,
22:12when you could still smoke inside of them?
22:14When I was little, I wasn't of drinking age,
22:16but I used to like occasionally go into a pub
22:18with my parents.
22:19It was the opposite.
22:19I smoked it, and I was like, we have to stop this.
22:21This is a nightmare.
22:22Yeah, so we're getting the burger here.
22:24The Office Burger is one of the signature menu items.
22:27This thing is supposed to be incredible.
22:29I personally have not had it yet,
22:30but I've heard nothing but great things.
22:32It was named the best burger in America
22:33by both the Today Show and Esquire Magazine.
22:36In America, not just in LA.
22:38Right.
22:38Damn.
22:39Esquire Magazine.
22:40Remember magazines?
22:41I do, yeah.
22:42Those physical newspaper things, yeah.
22:44They used to print out the internet
22:45and you had to carry it with you, yeah.
22:46What a dumb idea.
22:48According to Yelp, it's the best burger in LA.
22:49Okay.
22:50So it's got the voice of the people backing this one.
22:53Yeah.
22:54As well as Esquire Magazine.
22:55That's right.
22:55Esquire print publication.
22:58Of course.
22:59We're covering all the bases here.
23:01That's a lot of praise.
23:02High expectations.
23:03Yeah, dry-aged beef, caramelized onions.
23:06I know you're a big onion head.
23:07I am.
23:08Gruyere cheese, applewood, smoked bacon.
23:11And arugula, this was on a soft roll.
23:13Okay, interesting.
23:14Sound good.
23:15So like a slightly fancier burger maybe
23:18than we've had so far today?
23:18Yeah, Lodi or Serrano's my guy, fancier.
23:19But you know what, the price isn't so bad.
23:2121 bucks.
23:22So not cheap.
23:24No.
23:24But upscale place.
23:26Yeah, I mean, I'll have to wait and see, obviously.
23:28Make my own call.
23:28But $21 for a burger of that pedigree.
23:32Using the word pedigree again.
23:34I'm excited.
23:35And yeah, I don't think it's too bad.
23:36I think we should order.
23:37Okay.
23:38I also think we should take advantage
23:39of their very wide beer selection.
23:41Yeah, what do you want to get?
23:42Some kind of lager.
23:42I'll get two lagers and I'll get two burgers.
23:45Sounds great.
23:46BRB.
23:48Yes, please.
23:49Thank you very much.
23:51Enjoy.
23:52Fantastic, thanks very much.
23:54A few notes here.
23:55Not your standard burger.
23:56Yeah, I guess not.
23:57Not your everyday burger.
23:58It's more almost like a sort of hero roll.
24:00Yeah, shaped like a sandwich.
24:01Like long sandwich bun.
24:04Toppings, different to some of the other ones
24:05we've had today.
24:06Definitely.
24:07They've not skimped on the arugula or rocket,
24:09as we call it.
24:10You guys call it rocket.
24:11We do call it rocket.
24:12And I've been told by another British person
24:13it's because it's kind of spicy.
24:16I don't know if that's the case.
24:17Yeah, arugula's spicy to you guys, isn't it?
24:20Our poor British palates can't handle a leaf.
24:22Yeah.
24:24I love the look of the beef.
24:25They also, they asked us how we wanted it cooked.
24:27Yeah.
24:27First time today.
24:28First and only, yeah.
24:29Which is much more of like a steakhouse-y thing.
24:31And I don't know, for me that just signifies
24:33like attention to detail.
24:35I was going to say the same thing,
24:36attention to quality.
24:37They're paying attention.
24:38Yeah.
24:40Dude, this is so good.
24:43Oh wow.
24:44Oh my god, I've been eating burgers all day.
24:45I think I'm going to finish this.
24:47Mm-hmm.
24:48Maytag, which is a type of blue cheese, right?
24:50Mm-hmm.
24:51Also, it's a Gruyere.
24:52The cheese blend is incredible.
24:53I know you did point out there's a lot of arugula,
24:55but I would argue to say, I don't think there's enough.
24:58The arugula paired with this, fantastic.
25:00Dude, this burger is incredible.
25:01Are you kidding me?
25:02This beef is sensational.
25:04Now I want to point out,
25:05I'm not a huge fan of arugula.
25:07This beef is sensational.
25:08Now I want to point out,
25:09this burger was the only one we had today
25:11that was cooked over an open flame.
25:12And I am noticing that difference.
25:14I do like a flat top, obviously, you know?
25:17I'm all about that,
25:18but it really brings out the flavor of the fact
25:19that this was cooked on a grill.
25:21You can see the like grill marks on it.
25:23I do love the sort of like textural contrast
25:25and flavor contrast you get from the grill marks,
25:27the like slightly charred bits.
25:29But they also, we said medium rare, right?
25:32That is perfectly medium rare.
25:34That's a perfect medium rare.
25:36If it was for the show, I would have gone rare.
25:38Just because like, I like living dangerously.
25:42I'd say this has by far the most complicated flavors
25:46of any burger that we've had today.
25:47This thing's on another level.
25:49Yeah.
25:49They've taken the concept of a hamburger or a cheeseburger
25:53and they really have like, I think, elevated each element.
25:57Yeah, I don't know.
25:58Yeah.
25:59I wouldn't want to change the formula.
26:00Yeah, it's funny.
26:01You should mention that you're not allowed to.
26:02Another thing that this place is famous for
26:03is no substitution.
26:04So you can't change it.
26:06You can't put anything else in there.
26:07You can't add a little this and that.
26:09No ranch, right?
26:11Not doing it.
26:12And then they get a little spicy with you too, if you ask.
26:14Like, if you look at the bad reviews this place has gotten,
26:16some of them being like,
26:18I wanted them to put this on instead of that.
26:19And they got yelled at me.
26:20Like, good, you should get yelled at, right?
26:23Eat the thing the experts made.
26:25Just knock it off.
26:25Right, they're the experts.
26:27Let them handle it.
26:29I put my trust in them and they've delivered in this case.
26:31Yeah, they have delivered, absolutely.
26:32I think it's interesting because the other burger places
26:34we've gone to today,
26:35they definitely have an emphasis on the efficiency
26:39of like, get your food and go, you know?
26:41Nothing wrong with that,
26:42but definitely places that kind of had this like,
26:43you got it, enjoy your meal and go.
26:45This feels more of a considered burger.
26:49And also this environment of, you know,
26:52they got a full bar over there,
26:53so hang out, have a drink, have a burger,
26:57have a couple more drinks, couple more burgers.
26:59Spend your whole evening here.
27:00Yeah, spend the whole evening here.
27:01So what's the rush?
27:01I think it's kind of like,
27:02always pushes the boundaries of what a burger
27:05can be.
27:06Because obviously I think at its core,
27:07a burger is a bun on either side, meat in the middle.
27:10And then you can kind of build from that.
27:13But even like the bun, they've kind of slightly changed.
27:16The meat almost tastes and feels more like a steak
27:19in the way it's kind of like cooked to order.
27:21The quality is really great.
27:22The rocket on there is like very unusual.
27:24I'm not sure I've had rocket on a burger before.
27:26Arugula.
27:27Arugula.
27:28Caramelized onions I've definitely had and I love,
27:29but like the cheese blend as well.
27:31I personally, I do just love American cheese.
27:33I still think that's kind of like the benchmark cheese
27:36for a burger.
27:37There are times when I've had burgers
27:39with other cheeses on them before
27:40and I think it hasn't worked.
27:42I think with this one, it definitely works.
27:44It's like clearly thought has gone
27:45into balancing the flavors.
27:46Yeah.
27:47Well, we've had four fantastic cheeseburgers today,
27:49but we have to decide on our favorite.
27:52I'll just run it through real quick.
27:53We'll start with the pie and burger.
27:54Classic institution.
27:56Been there for a long time.
27:57That burger has been how it's been for decades.
28:00They perfected the formula.
28:02It's big, juicy, fantastic meat.
28:04We love the sauce, the veggies on the burger.
28:06So good.
28:07After that, made a stop over at Gold Burger.
28:09They're doing smash burgers.
28:10Maybe the best smash burger in the city.
28:12I would say it is, if not, definitely top three,
28:15but almost like a 180, just the meat, the cheese,
28:18some onions, nice and slim.
28:20We went to town on that burger.
28:21Remember how good that was?
28:22Mm-hmm.
28:23After that, oyster.
28:24I mean, pastrami and meat and cheese and chili and bacon.
28:29Come on.
28:30And also, their standard cheeseburger.
28:32Incredible.
28:33A little bit closer to the pie and burger type burger,
28:34where it just was a lot of veggies and a real thick one,
28:36but I mean, so good, right?
28:39And of course, father's office.
28:40We just gushed about it for 10 minutes,
28:42nothing to recap.
28:43But if you had to pick only one as your favorite, Harold,
28:48which would be your favorite burger in Los Angeles?
28:53Well, Joseph.
28:54Yeah.
28:55Coming into this, before we got here,
28:58Gold Burger, for me, was clear.
29:01I think that was probably the best smash burger
29:03I've ever had.
29:04And I think if anyone was coming to LA
29:07and wanted a good old-fashioned LA smash burger,
29:10I think that is where I would send them.
29:11Gold Burger's the spot, I agree.
29:13However, I think father's office might have swooped in
29:18at the last second and taken the number one spot,
29:20just because I don't think I've had
29:22anything like this before.
29:23It's so tasty.
29:25Every element is so finely crafted, finely balanced.
29:29It all works together so well.
29:31And yeah, I think it might not be a traditional cheeseburger,
29:35but damn, is it a tasty cheeseburger.
29:37It's a fantastic burger.
29:37And I'm gonna go ahead and agree with you.
29:40This is the best burger we've had today.
29:42It's fantastic.
29:42Gold Burger was winning for me,
29:44but this thing's incredible.
29:47So, and it just barely beat it up.
29:49But just a little bit more of an attention
29:52to the cook of the meat, the cheese and onion toppings.
29:57Just so good.
29:58I know it's a higher price point,
29:59but I definitely think it's worth it.
30:00Yeah, I think the value of all of these
30:03has actually impressed me quite a lot.
30:04Like I thought LA would be way more expensive.
30:06Actually, these have all been, I think,
30:09pretty reasonable for the quality
30:10and the flavor that you're getting.
30:12Yeah, would happily recommend all of them to anyone,
30:14but this is probably the number one for me.
30:16Fantastic.
30:17All right, well, cheers, man.
30:19Cheers, man.
30:20Till the next episode.