Burger Bar Las Vegas

So much stuff has been happening lately that I've hardly found the time to blog. Lots of changes in the personal life of me.

This past weekend I went to Las Vegas for a wedding with Charlie to see our friends Christina and Eric bite the dust tie the knot at the LOVELY Mandalay Bay Casino. Food is always a huge part of our outings, which is probably why we mesh so well together, and Vegas was no exception. After a weekend of hoity-toity food and drink, we were happy to find this little gem.

Burger Bar, is the brainchild of Uber Chef Hubert Keller. Burgers are our life.

Burger Bar is set up like a super fancy Burger Subway where you start with the bun and pick everything you want to build the most epic burger of all time.

I opted for the Black Angus Burger, with caramelized onions, peppered bacon, whole grain mustard and peppered jack cheese with buttermilk zucchini fries as my side.

Charlie opted for a plain burger, well done, with cheddar and peppercorn sauce on the side and fat fries.

Don't bother the man with petty pictures when he's eating.

The cool thing about Burger Bar is they have loads of awesome toppings, some basic and some very gourmet. In fact they have a $60 kobe burger on their menu that is topped with shaved black truffles and sauteed foie gras, which if you're into that is awesome, but I'm more of a extra pickles kind of girl.

Charlie snapped a few pictures as I attempted to fit the burger in my mouth. This one is my favorite.

Burger Bar has an awesome Sweet Burger Menu filled with amazingly delicious looking treats, which we didn't order, and also some Beer Floats which I was tempted to order, but we had to be hitting the road.

Cooked perfectly pink and juicy.

All in all it was a great experience that we both loved and still talk about to this day. The only downside is you're going to have to be ok with spending at least $20 for a burger and side, but I think it was more than worth it.

Kono's

My favorite burger in all of San Diego is at this tiny lil' hole in the wall at the end of Garnet Ave, just before you walk down Crystal Pier and into the ocean.



Kono's has been a staple of my families diet since I was a kid. There was a time, in fact, that for about a year in High School I was a vegetarian. It was the hip thing to do I guess. The day I walked by Kono's, was the day I crossed back over to the meat side and never looked back. I suppose it says something about the quality of the burgers here.

Breakfast is served all day and a favorite of the patrons, but I've never had it. I prefer the Cheeseburger and fries. Luckily today it was on special.

Once you snake yourself through the line outside, you'll enter to find a very easy menu. Breakfast, burgers, sandwiches, fries. It's easy to figure out what you want. Everything here is delicious.

The "Quote of the Week" blackboard is one of my favorites. I just love landlocked tourists.

They have seating inside, but one would be foolish to pass up the "secret" outdoor patio. Just outside to the left, past what used to be the shell shop, you'll find a great little seating area with an amazing view.

I've always loved Kono's because they just do good burgers, well. There isn't anything fancy schmancy about these burgers, just nice big hand packed meat patties, grilled and piled high with condiments. I got my burger pretty plain; ketchup, mustard, pickles and grilled onions.

My friend got the works, with bacon and avocado added.

We shared a HUGE order of hot crispy steak fries.

Pair the view with a Kono's burger and some of the best steak fries ever had, a beautiful 75* San Diego day, and you've got a perfect afternoon.

Father's Office.

So for years I have been hearing about the "Best Burger" East Coast/West Coast battles. Those rivalries extend past rappers, and into food you know. And since then I have also been on my own quest for the best burger ever. It's hard to decide what exactly makes a burger the best, and even then my tastes will differ from the next. All I know is I want some medium cooked juicy hamburger, some amazing toppings, and the satisfaction that I must have this again soon. I got that last night with Melissa at Father's Office. Let me share it with you.

Santa Monica Location
1018 Montana Avenue
Santa Monica, CA 90403
(310) 736-2224

We started off with some beers. Father's Office has a at any given time at least 35 awesome craftsman beers on tap, Melissa go the Maredsous 10.

I had an Old Speckled Hen. It was nice and light, and heavenly creamy.

One of the main problems of Father's Office that I've heard and the main reason (besides laziness) that I've stayed away is the crowd partnered with the Soup Nazi style of ordering. This isn't the kind of place you would want to go on a first or second date to, in fact let's keep this place for something more along the lines of a 6th or more date.

You wait outside in an astonishingly long line, only to be slowly trickled in by the doorman into a tiny hole in the wall sized room, lined with tables, with a bar at the far end. Mozy up to the bar and wait to place your order, and don't even worry about finding a place to sit yet. Grab a beer, and just wait.

FO's is famous for its burger envisioned by Sang Yoon, a self proclaimed "chef and a beer sommelier", and what we both ordered. It comes stacked high with arugula, soft tender onions caramelized in bacon, and a blend of melted blue and gruyere cheeses piled on big burger cooked to order (anything cooked longer than medium is blaspheme.) on a soft roll. For a bit more add an order of shoestring fries with parsley garlic aioli. Don't even think about substituting anything because, well, you can't. It comes as is.

After we ordered, it only took about 5 minutes to find a place to sit, and another 10 to get our burgers despite the large crowd on a Thursday night. My burger was cooked medium, juicy and AMAZING. I'm usually a burger purist and just dig meat on some bread with light condiments, but wowee was this burger worth it. The onions were quite possibly the best thing I've ever tasted on a burger, ever. The fries were thin, crispy and tasty with the aforementioned parsley garlic aioli, which tasted like fancy ranch. I think what made Melissa the most happy is, you will not find a drop of ketchup in this place, so don't even bother to ask.

The Father's Office burger definitely ranks up there in my top 10 burgers of all time, and I will be enjoying another one very soon.

In-n-Out Burger

For as long as I can remember, In-N-Out Burger has been a fast food staple in my life. In fact, other than Chick-fil-A, In-N-Out Burger is the only other fast food place I will make exceptions for.

In-N-Out Burger
Various Locations throughout CA, AZ, and NV
and now UT!

My mother introduced me to In-N-Out burger at a tender age, and my choice dejour was a cheeseburger, with extra pickles and ketchup only. She taught me that if you special order your meal, it will always be fresh. Over the years I have gotten a lot more adventurous with my choices and the freshness factor has never been an issue here.

Quality you can taste!

At every store I've been to, and they have LOADS of locations, it's always been clean, fast and efficient. Despite this fact, there is always a line, and always a wait. In my experience the typical wait time, be it through the drive-thru, or inside is around 10 minutes. Luckily everyone is there for the same thing, and everyone, in my experience have been very friendly. In fact, while I was there an older gentleman struck up a conversation with me about where I was from and told me about his experiences growing up with In-N-Out Burger.

Working hard to make my burger.

The menu is very straight forward and easy to read. Hamburgers & Cheeseburgers of various meat and cheese denominations, fries, soft drinks and shakes. If it seems too simple and plain to you, there is a special secret menu that the locals and loyals know by heart, full of variations of the staples, including grilled cheese, low carb options and the ability to customize your burger's meat and cheese factor expoentially.

The Basic Menu.

I, in fact, use the secret menu to order my food, getting a Double-Double, Animal Style (mustard cooked, with spread, and grilled onions), no lettuce or tomato, and extra pickles (somethings never change). I get my fries well-done, with a side of spread, yet sometimes, if I'm feeling particularly gluttonous I'll opt for them Animal Style as well, which comes topped with spread, cheese and grilled onions.

Double Double, Animal Style with well done fries.

If I steer towards a shake, its the Neopolotian one, consisting of equal parts vanilla, chocolate and strawberry yumminess in that familar palm tree adorned cup. Today I decided on just a plain ol diet coke with my giant burger and fries, yes *I AM* that person.

The familiar Palm Tree cup.

In-N-Out Burger tops many "Best of" lists and after having one it's pretty easy to understand the hype. It's the only fast food burger I will eat, and it rivals many more expensive burgers I'd had at well known restaurants. For the value, service and quality, In-N-Out truely is what a hamburger is all about.

The Vortex

The original plan was to go to Ann's Snack Bar on Memorial drive because Raymond Sokolov of the Wall Street Journal claims it's the best burger in America, and it just happens to be in Atlanta. I will tell you that I have been to Ann's, twice, and both times it was really lovely and quite the experience. The first time I went I got yelled at by Miss Ann for not knowing what I wanted (the menu isn't very clear) and the second time I was more than prepared, but my friend got yelled at for the same thing.

Ann's is a tiny little shack off of Memorial Dr in East Atlanta and it's famous for "The Ghetto Burger", which is a double cheese burger piled high with chili and deep fried bacon and "The Hood Burger", which offers the same with the extra topping of Cole Slaw. Both sound nasty to me, so I have always opted for the basic cheeseburger.

I was hoping to take Brian here seeing how Ann's is somewhat of an Atlanta institution since the Wall Street Journal article, but sadly, it's also the reason for the sometimes upward of 2 hour wait and I had a plane to catch at 4:00.

I feel as if I can make the claims in this entry because in Sokolov's article, I have had 5 of the burgers listed. Ann's Snack Bar, The Earl (also in Alanta), In-N-Out, The Apple Pan, and The Vortex; which is where I took Brian instead.

The Vortex, Home of Atlanta's Best Burger! (or so they say...)
878 Peachtree St NE # 4
Atlanta, GA 30309

(404) 875-1667

The entrance to the one in Little 5 Points is through the mouth of a giant tripped out skull, which I find rather charming and is the main reason I go to this one.

Brian outside the entrance.

Inside is a mish mosh of Biker-esque decorum, vintage posters, and kitschy knick-knacks, hanging from every possible location.

Inside The Vortex's L5P location.

We sat down and got to staring at our menus. I recommend that you really read everything on it, as its good for a laugh.

The Vortex's Menu:Full of Lulz

One of the things they are famous for is their Double Coronary Bypass Burger. Brian asked the waitress how often if was ordered and she told us its a lot more often than you think. The thing is made up of a big sirloin patty topped with 2 fried eggs, 4 slices of American cheese, 5 slices of bacon, and a big fat side of mayo, with 2 grilled cheese sandwiches replacing the buns. It's something you would find on This is Why You're Fat. Sadly no one ordered it while we were there or we would have snapped a photo. (Luckily another Foodbuzzer blogged about it and I linked it above if you're curious!) In fact if you want, you can make your own!

Horrible and blurry attempt at Macro lens of The Vortex's Menu
showing Double Coronary Burger. This is just for proof.

We started off with the Fried Cheddar Bites. Deep fried balls of white cheddar, and served with a yummy horseradish sauce that to me was reminiscent of the stuff they serve with a Bloomin' Onion at Outback.

Deep Fried Cheddar Bites with Horseradish dipping sauce.

Serious, swear to you, these things were AMAZING. I had never ordered them before and Brian spotted them on the menu and the waitress concurred that they shouldn't be missed.

Brian, enjoying delicious Cheddar Bites.

I ordered the Vortex burger with American cheese, grilled onions and extra pickles, and a side of fried zucchini with ranch. Good luck finding much here that isn't deep fried or covered in cheese.

Vortex Burger with American Cheese and Grilled Onions and Fried Zucchini.

Brian opted for the Black&Blue burger. It's coated in Cajun spices with a HUGE (and I mean HUGE) glob of their Blue Cheese Spread. He got Onion rings as his side and I gave him one of my pickles.

Black & Blue Burger with Onion Rings.

He liked it, but these burgers are seriously huge. We could have easily gotten one and shared but we have different, discerning tastes. Neither of our plates we're even close to being cleaned, and Brian took most of the left overs home.

The Vortex Cheeseburger, scale to my face, and I have a HUGE face.

When I asked the unbelievably easy to please with cooked meat Brian whether or not the Vortex was one of the best burgers he's ever had, he replied with a simple and to the point "yea" and then he called me "newspaper lady".

I think that speaks for itself.