Burger Lounge - a San Diego Burger Chain finds a home in LA

*Post by Angela.

These days I’m filled with all sorts of conflicting needs/wants when it comes to my dining options. I want to consume food in a way that is socially and environmentally responsible, but I don’t want to sacrifice taste. I want to eat healthier, but I also feel the allure of all those delicious summer grill items (steaks, brats, burgers, etc.) that are generally not as conducive to a beach-ready body. I want to sprawl about on a patio with a beer or glass of wine in my hand, but I don’t want spend a whole lot of money for the type of sit-down meal that so often accompanies the right to outdoor seating. Burger Lounge, a San Diego burger chain focusing on organic fast food, seeks to bring a little balance to my life at its newest, certified green location in West Hollywood.

Located on Sunset Boulevard, Burger Lounge shares a parking lot with under-the-radar gems Sushi Park and Joe’s Pizza. Unlike its more non-descript neighbors, Burger Lounge ups the style quotient of the shopping plaza with a sleek patio and bright orange awning – it’s a burger place that feels at home on the Strip.

While the establishment was still alcohol-free when we visited, Burger Lounge is set to offer local craft beer and wine by the glass (once the permits are processed, which should be any day now). Designated drivers and non-imbibers will delight in the house-made, Fair Trade, cane-sweetened fountain soda from Maine Root. You'll find actual Mexican Cola on the fountain rotation, but the highlight? The orange soda. Trust.

Before we hit up the burgers, we laid the groundwork by splitting a Fresh Vegetable Salad ($7.95). We had been excited to see husked ears of corn cooking away on the grill in the kitchen, and here’s where the kernels ended up: tossed along side a lightly-dressed mélange of romaine, spinach, arugula, tomato, cucumber, red onion, jicama, and ricotta. Knowing we were about to tuck into some meaty goodness, we did not take advantage of the option to add chicken or the various patties (veggie, salmon, turkey, beef).

We didn’t try the wild salmon burger ($8.95, below), but were awfully tempted by its promise of fried green tomato topping and BBQ glaze. The Quinoa Veggie Burger ($7.95), made with quinoa, brown rice, zucchini, garbanzo, carrot, corn, and chipotle also sounded promising. But on this trip, we were looking to eat some MEAT.

The Lounge Burger ($7.95, below) features a medium rare patty made of 100% single-source, American grass-fed, beef, and like all the other burgers on the menu, pairs it with iceberg lettuce, tomato, organic cheese (white cheddar or American), fresh or grilled onion and house-made 1000 Island. All burgers come served on a blended wheat and white flour bun. If you forgo the cheese and dressing, all of the burgers come in at under 570 calories.

The All-Natural Turkey Burger ($7.95, below) blends dark and white meat turkey with fresh basil. It’s definitely one of the more flavorful turkey burgers I’ve had, really juicy.

The Classic (below), which we almost didn’t order (because it’s a secret!!), was far and away our favorite. Basically a riff on your typical fast-food chain burger, the Classic swaps in a fat beef patty and pickles while omitting the iceberg lettuce.

The Burger Lounge offers options to indulge our fatty cravings as well. We shared an order of the Half-and-Half ($4.99), a heaping combination of great, crispy onion rings and fries. We also indulged our hankerings for sweetness with a chocolate Lounge Shake made with Dreyer’s ice cream and loads of whipped cream.

All right, so our meal ended up being a little over-the-top, and yeah, maybe we ate ourselves uncomfortably full. But that’s on us. If you’re a reasonable person, Burger Lounge offers a healthier, more stylish alternative to fast-food, using organic, high quality ingredients but keeping the price very affordable.

*Disclosure: this was a hosted meal.

Pumpernickel Ice Cream

*Post by Mark.

It's just about summer again, which means the days get longer and it's okay to overload on ice cream again. Here's an ice cream recipe I came up with after a friend randomly texted me with the idea to make pumpernickel into an ice cream. Always up for an ice cream challenge, I decided the best way to incorporate the bread's taste would be to steep it in the cream. For this little experiment, I used a fresh baked loaf of pumpernickel, but you can easily sub in pretzels or sugary cereals to make equally unique desserts. 

Here's what you'll need:

• 2 cups whole milk, divided
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 cups heavy cream
• pumpernickel bread, cubed
• Maldon sea salt

First, heat one cup of the whole milk in a microwavable bowl with the sugar for about 2 minutes or until dissolved. Slice up your pumpernickel bread (about enough to fill a medium-sized bowl 1/3 of the way).

Next, combine the sugared milk, the remaining cup of milk, the cream and the pumpernickel in a medium bowl or container, cover and refrigerate for at least two hours. You'll want to shake or stir it along the way to make sure that the pumpernickel taste has been absorbed into the cream before moving on to the next step.

 

Strain the cream through a colander. You'll want to press down on the pumpernickel to get as much of that flavorful cream out of the bread as possible.

Finally, process the mixture in your ice cream maker. Just before removing from the machine, fold a little Maldon sea salt in to taste. Pumpernickel has such a unique flavor you don't expect to find in an ice cream, yet here it is. I was surprised at just how well this one turned out. As the days of summer get longer, we'll definitely be making this one again.

Pailin Thai Cuisine

*Post by Angela

Sometimes, when it feels like the world is thwarting you, it’s really just trying to herd you in the right direction. A couple of Saturdays ago, we attempted to have lunch at Krua Siri in Hollywood. Despite the website’s insistence that the restaurant was open for lunch at 11:30, when we arrived at our intended destination, we were confronted with a gated storefront and a staff inside looking (seemingly) mockingly at us. We then moved through a couple more options, facing more closed signs until a light bulb went off in my brain – we had fully intended to visit the highly recommended Pailin Thai for some time, and now we were in the right place at the right time with increasingly growly bellies. Right place, indeed. Pailin serves up really wonderful Thai cuisine at bargain prices.

Upon first glance, there’s not really anything to distinguish Pailin from the hundreds of other Thai eateries in the neighborhood (except that it’s open when it says it will be – hey-o!). The relatively small, clean dining area was sparsely populated when we walked in, and we were immediately seated by the incredibly friendly owner.

Like I said, after wandering around trying to find an open restaurant for about half an hour, we were pretty hungry. A generous plate of tempura squid (below, $6.75) took the edge off nicely. Each little nugget was lightly battered and perfectly fried.

Also perfectly fried? Our tofu appetizer (below, $3.95). The friends accompanying us, veterans of vegetarian cuisine, opined that it was one of the better fried tofu dishes they had consumed – the exterior crisp, the interior creamy, and the plate empty before too long.

Next up, a hallmark of northeastern Thai cuisine, the nam see krong, or fried fermented/sour pork rib (below, $7.25). Yeah, you read that correctly. This is a dish of fermented pork, which sounds really scary. And the ribs, with their softly sour flavor, chewy texture and bits of cartilage didn’t land with everyone at the table. But I really enjoyed the unique delicacy (though it is NOT something I will ever try to recreate at home).

While the ribs may have been divisive, the next round of food won everyone over handily. The roasted duck curry (below, $7.25), with its gorgeous colors, was a showstopper of a dish. Succulent strips of duck swam beside chunks of mellow sweet pineapple, bits of tomato and leaves of basil in a luxuriously rich orange curry.

Because of its off-putting pinkish hue (derived from red bean paste), I was able to slurp a bowl of the sour yen ta fo (below, $5.75) all by myself. The aromatic soup was a circus of flavors and textures, combining wide rice noodles with spinach, fish cake, fungus, and cubes of pig blood. I have to admit, the pig blood was a little intense for my liking, but I still mightily enjoyed the dish overall. 

Mark went with a tried and true favorite, Chinese broccoli with crispy pork. While neighboring newcomer Crispy Pork Gang remains the champion in terms of its crispy pork offerings, Pailin’s version is still very good.

The last dish to arrive was the beautifully plated sweet and sour fish (below, $11.50). The fish, kept whole and deep fried, hid flaky, flavorful white flesh under a crunchy exterior and a mound of sauce-laden vegetables.

Pailin may have not been our first choice that Saturday. Or our second. Or our third. But it should have been, and next time we go, it’ll be on purpose.

Coconut Lime Swordfish

*Post by Angela.

People, I have achieved my end game. I finally managed to make a seafood dish that Mark really, sincerely loved (I did, too!). Don’t get me wrong, in the last few years he’s grown to like seafood when we dine out, and he’s always open to trying new things. But after a few not entirely successful tries to make his mouth water with ocean-dwelling protein prepared at home, I got discouraged. And lazy. And stopped making seafood at home at all.

That all changed last week. We finally made our way over to the Hollywood farmers market at the insistence of our dear friends, who had been talking up the fishmonger there at every opportunity. Some awfully pretty swordfish was on special, and while waiting in line to purchase it, I pulled up this recipe. “BOOM,” was Mark’s reaction, being a lover of coconutty things. I had a good feeling about this attempt, and I was right. The meatiness of the swordfish + the light yet powerfully flavorful sauce is irresistible.

List of ingredients:

• 2/3 cup light coconut milk
• ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 4 tbsp fresh lemongrass, peeled and finely minced (or 2 tbsp grated lemon peel if you can’t find lemongrass)
• 4 tbsp fish sauce
• 2 tbsp brown sugar
• 2 tsp lime juice
• 2 tsp chili paste
• 4 shallots, peeled and rough chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled and rough chopped
• 1 ½ lbs swordfish steak, cut into four 6-oz portions
• Cooking spray or a little bit of olive oil

Honestly, this recipe is as easy as it gets. First, I turned on my broiler. After giving all the choppable ingredients a nice rough run through with my knife, I combined the coconut milk, cilantro, lemongrass, fish sauce, brown sugar, lime juice, chili paste, shallots, and garlic in my food processor and pulsed until well-combined and coarsely chopped.

 

I put the fish in a roasting pan lightly coated with oil and spread half of my delightful smelling shallot mixture evenly over all 4 steaks, creating sort of a coating.

I broiled the steaks for almost exactly 15 minutes (until the fish was just cooked through), then served them up with the remaining sauce, some steamed white rice and a little spicy garlicky bok choy action.

FINALLY. Success was mine! A wonderfully elegant fish dish that Mark loved. Loved so much, in fact, that he suggested we head to the farmers market every other weekend to make Sunday nights seafood night. My friends, the dragon is slain.

Hollywood Pies - Delivering Chicago Deep Dish to Los Angeles

*Post by Mark.

Hey guys, I just remembered why I was so damn fat when I lived in Chicago. It may have had something to do with Giordano's, Lou Malnati's, and Gino's East. Chicago-style pies are like the modified muscle cars of pizza. Sure, I like thin crust, New York-style, and Neopalitan pies - prefer them even - but every now and then there's nothing better than stuffing a cholestorol-packed mass of melting mozzarella, greasy cornbread crust, and gobs of sausage down your gullet. This is America, dammit. 

That's where Hollywood Pies comes in. Hollywood Pies may not have been the first establishment to bring the goodness of Chicago pizza to Los Angeles. Oak Fire in West Hollywood serves deep dish and Masa pulls Chicago style pies from their ovens in Echo Park. But Hollywood Pies arguably does it the best. 

Hollywood Pies is currently just a phone call away. Pies can be picked up curbside at their kitchen at 1427 S. Robertson Blvd. or delivered at no extra charge anywhere within a 5-mile radius. Because of the extended cooking time and the generous delivery radius, a little patience may be required, but it's totally worth it in the end. For those less willing to wait, check the website for details - you might find a nice little discount in it for you if you're willing to pick them up yourself. 

After our delivery guy swiped my credit card with his iPhone, we were pretty eager to dig into our two pies. We got a large cheese ($19) and a large Mancini ($26) which comes stuffed with mild Italian sausage, fresh green peppers and onions. All pies are made with whole milk mozzarella. The crispy golden crust bears an uncanny resemblance to the cornmeal heavy crusts you'd find in the windy city. 

This is definitely as close to the real deal you'll get without the four hour flight. Rumor has it that Hollywood Pies plans to open the restaurant up for some outdoor seating in the near future. We're looking forward to it. About the only thing that could make these pies better is even less time between their oven and my mouth.