One fateful afternoon at Dodger Stadium, a raging drunk who had been told of my meat blog decided to proclaim their love of burgers at The Golden State. Never having heard of this restaurant, my girlfriend took the opportunity to look it up and plan a dinner there. The place itself is pretty small, with only about 8 or so tables and their menu is also pretty small. There’s only one real burger on it, with an additional turkey burger, veggie burger, sandwiches and hot dogs. Fortunately, the lone burger looked pretty tasty.
For 10 bucks, it’s made with Harris Ranch beef (what?), Fiscalini Farms cheddar (who?), bacon, arugula, housemade aioli and ketchup. Unlike other burger places, The Golden State was more than happy to accommodate me when I asked for my burger to be lacking in arugula. I ordered it cooked medium, with fries as my choice of sides and with a cool glass of Helles Bock, then headed to my table to await my order.
After a decent wait of around 20 minutes, my burger finally was delivered. It was misshapen, smothered with cheese and totally devoid of arugula. I dug right in and and found a very tender burger with great taste. It was also nice and juicy. The bacon had a good crisp to it and the delicious white cheddar was a great addition to the meal. Finally, the bun was soft and complemented the burger perfectly. Even the fries were great.
Unfortunately, I was the only one at the table that had chosen the burger, and reviews of the rest of the food were pretty subpar. Yet, this had no effect on my meal and I found The Burger to be one of the top burgers I’ve eaten in LA.
And it’s all thanks to a drunken Dodger fan.
Hi Zack, God I wish you were still here … “they” are bringing in food trucks weekly thru September to dispense free grub. I passed along the “trucks” portion of your blog to help with vendor selection. Miss you; hope all is well at the House of Mouse!
FYI … Harris Ranch is in central California (Coalinga, if memory serves) and sells only corn-fed, hormone-free beef … reason your burger cost ten bucks and not $1.99 … primarily to restaurants and small groceries/meat markets and not supermarket chains. (I used to write ads for their products which is why I know this totally uninteresting crap.)
You’re on your own re: the history behind the cheese.
Miss you; hope all is well at the House of Mouse!