Los Angeles90038
In my mind, LA is the burger capital of the world, churning out delicious burger after delicious burger. Thus, it is no surprise that Burgerim, a place with its roots in Israel and a global presence decided to have a go at Hollywood. I was fortunate to be invited to its Grand Opening to try out the goods.
EDIT: This review is of the original. The new Salt’s Cure is apparently bigger and better. We shall see…oh yes…we shall see.
My continued quest for amazing burgers took me to a place called Salt’s Cure in West Hollywood. At this particular intersection, only one of the corners lacks burgers, as the other two are populated by Fatburger and Astro Burger. And while Salt’s Cure isn’t strictly a burger place, a quick look at the high priced menu on the wall when I walked in all but guaranteed I would be eating their burger.
After holding off on visiting Susan Feniger’s Street, Blackboard Eats finally presented me with the perfect opportunity to visit, a 30% off coupon. I had heard some mixed reviews of the place, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. Having a reservation, we were seated immediately and were immediately presented with some sort of grainy yellowish dish. It ended up tasting kind of like a rice krispy treat, but more savory, and with something that tasted almost like dried currant mixed in, except that it wasn’t tart like a currant. Whatever it was, we certainly enjoyed it as we browsed the menu.
Out in Hollywood, there is a little taco stand on a corner called Cactus Taqueria. Having heard a lot about this place, I felt that I needed to stop there to have a Mexican dinner before the Belle and Sebastian concert. I showed up and found the little stand in the corner of a parking lot on Vine. There were a few people waiting for their orders and another few groups eating out in the outdoor, yet covered seating area. It looked like a great place to find a good taco.
As we walked into Csardas around 7:30, we quickly realized we were the only patrons. It boggled my mind how a restaurant could be empty during peak times and still be in business, so I was a little worried about how the food would be.
Having grown up around Hungarian food, I scrutinized the menu, only to find a lack of cherry soup. I asked our waitress (who had an indistinguishable accent that most certainly was not Hungarian) and she told me they actually had the soup. That was a close call, but they passed the first test. To go with the soup, we ordered the Hungarian Appetizer Plate, which was said to come with home smoked sausage, winter salami, korozott (a sort of cheese spread) & liver mousse. All of these fit in perfectly to my unvegan diet. On top of that, I ordered Chicken Paprikash for my main dish.
Pink’s is one of those places that you have to experience in Hollywood. It has been around since 1939 and is a staple. If you live in LA, you know what Pink’s is. If you visit LA, there’s a good chance you’re going to drive by Pink’s and be intrigued by the constant line emanating from the place. With that said, it took me over a year in LA to finally stop and see what it had to offer.
When I arrived, the line didn’t seem too long, but it wound and wound for a good 20 minutes until I finally made it to the counter. Along the way, I stared at the menu on the wall that should have had a disclaimer reading: “Do not eat if you are pregnant, have a history of heart conditions or are on a pacemaker.” In other words, just about everything looked amazing to an unvegan.