The Counter

*Post by Angela.

Most of the time, our mail is made up entirely of bills. Bills and credit card applications, neither one of which I welcome. But the other day, the mail person also left us a little gift, a coupon for a free burger at the Counter, a burger chain boasting over 300,000 different burger options. The rapidly expanding chain can be found in 11 U.S. states and Ireland, but more than half of their current locations call California home.

The Miracle Mile location on Wilshire does a nice job balancing the classic-look of a 50s-style-diner with the modern touch of bright lights and clean lines. Flat screen TV replace kitschy Americana memorabilia. The extensive bar offers more then malt shakes - there's a decent selection of local craft beers (we washed our burgers down with some Green Flash IPA), wines and even milk shakes made with booze.

Once we were seated, our peppy server presented each of us with a pencil and a slip of paper on which to mark our preferences for our very own custom burgers. We were a little overwhelmed with the choices - customers at the Counter may select a protein, a cheese, up to 4 toppings, a sauce, and a type of bun. Each category offers standard selections plus one market selection which is based on locally sourced ingredients. For those completely paralyzed by indecision, the Counter offers 6 signature burgers, as well as a variety of starters (fried pickles, fries, chili, etc.), sandwiches, and salads. 

We started out with a "Fifty-Fifty" order, half sweet potato fries, half onion strings. Both selections were pretty good, hot and crispy. I will say that the portion sizes are pretty massive, especially if you are planning on getting a burger. We only made it halfway through our order, which is very rare for us.

Mark and I each got the 2/3 lb sized burger, the mama-bear portion between the 1/3 lb and 1 lb options. We had a difficult time fathoming that there was a larger burger on the menu because ours were enormous. The monstrously thick burger patties themselves were surprisingly good (I automatically lower my expectations when I'm dealing with a chain), juicy with a really nice grind and well-seasoned. While the Counter offers an eclectic assortment of toppings like soft-ripened brie, dill pickle chips, and roasted corn and black bean salsa, I decided to keep mine (below) simple, topping it with tomato, organic greens, fried egg, and a tasty roasted garlic aioli.

I really liked my bun selection - I picked the preztel roll (which was the market selection), which served the twin ideals of being sturdy enough to stand up to the juiciness of the meat and the many toppings, yet not being too dense and bready. I won't talk about the toppings too much, since there's so much variation, but if you've never gotten a fried egg on a burger before, you are missing out. My burger (below) was also cooked to a perfect medium rare. 

That being said, it's difficult to go wrong with your choices. Mark took full advantage of the excess of options (below), piling his burger high with horseradish cheddar, hard-boiled eggs, organic mixed greens, tomatoes, applewood-smoked bacon, grilled onions and a wasabi aioli. It sounds like a lot when you write it all out, but it's even more when you have to fit this mountainous concoction into your mouth. All of the ingredients offered are high quality, and the kitchen is generous with the portions. 

In fact, they may have been a little too generous. The danger of the Counter burger is that it's easy to order too much stuff or to mix and match ingredients that have no business together. This time we managed to keep things in relative balance and luckily things worked out. 

We walked out of The Counter generally happy with our experience. And even without our coupon, it would have been a good value - for our monstrous 2/3 lb burgers with 4 toppings (minus extra $1 charge for premium toppings like the fried egg), we each paid $10.95, and another $5.25 for our ginormous order of fries and onion strings.

Yeah, there are better burgers out there. And many times, I prefer to have a chef prepare a burger for me that he or she has determined has the most delicious combination of ingredients. But the Counter definitely offers a very solid burger, and for those picky eaters among us, the opportunity to have someone else make the exact meal we want. So if our mailperson wants to gift us with more coupons to the Counter in the future, I'll say thanks in advance...

 

Umami Burger

*Post by Mark.

This is neither a rant nor a rave. In fact, this may be the least inflammatory review of Umami Burger you could possibly read. People love the chain. People hate the chain. People love to hate the chain. In a few short years since they've opened for business, Umami has become an empire, most recently opening their fifth store in Studio City with an eye on expanding towards other cities.

Depending on who you ask, Umami is either a Japanese word indicating the fifth taste or a mystical pile of feces with little foundation in science. Largely responsible for popularizing the word in American culture, owner Adam Fleischman (who is not Japanese) has taken some heat. So much so that it's funny to see his most recent restaurant venture posting a manifesto that reads more like a preemptive defense strategy against the inevitable haters. Then, once Red Medicine had declared that anyone can cook Vietnamese food, they went one step further to insure that not everyone could eat it. It almost seems like drama is part of the business model.

Here I am writing about hype and controversy, and not the experience itself. It's just become rather difficult to eat at Umami without considering all of the accompanying baggage... wait!

Maybe that's what Umami is! It's certainly difficult to define and always on the tip of your tongue. Who needs salty, sweet, sour and bitter when you have hype, dissent, puffery and provocation? The fifth taste! I get it.

While Father's Office and Golden State Cafe have made a name for themselves pairing craft beer with their burgers, the best drink you'll find at Umami's original location on La Brea is a Mexican Coke. If you're looking for booze with your burger, head to any of their other locations, where various alcohols account for a more considerable portion of the chain's sales.

We kicked things off with what appeared to be the healthiest thing on the menu. The truffled beet salad comes with ricotta, smoked almonds and truffle dressing, all served over a bed of baby arugula (below). For a salad at a burger joint, the beet dish was surprisingly well-executed - the smoked almonds were a particularly nice touch. That being said, neither Angela nor I tasted much truffle in the dressing.

The malt-liquor tempura onion rings (below, left) are a favorite of Angela's. We were also intrigued with the Smashed Potatoes (below, right). The battered rings have a really nice crisp golden exterior, and those smashed potatoes get bonus points for being double-fried. 

Now, on to the burgers. My first trip to Umami Burger came two years ago, shortly after their opening. My take at the time? Best burger I'd ever had. Since then, gourmet burgers have sprung up everywhere, and fast food joints like In-N-Out aren't the only competition anymore. It's a crowded field out there and I was sad to discover on the revisit that Umami wasn't quite everything I'd remembered it to be.

On our first visit, the triple pork burger (ground pork, chorizo and bacon with manchego cheese) and and the hatch burger (made with four types of chiles) fared pretty well with our taste buds. Mixing things up this time however, provided mixed results. The 'Manly Burger' (below) for instance, is topped with beer-cheddar cheese, smoked-salt onion strings and bacon lardons. There very well may be quality meat in this burger, but the excessive toppings and bold flavors make it hard to taste the meat itself. With burgers there is such a thing as too much.

  

Angela went with the SoCal Burger (below) which is topped with butter lettuce, slow-roasted tomato, house spread, American cheese and caramelized onions. She had fewer troubles with the additional flavors overwhelming the burger, and thought the beef was actually pretty well-seasoned and juicy. She especially enjoyed the subtle addition of the tomato spread, which added sweetness and tartness. Neither of us had much comment on the buns - they were fine, not too bready and held up well against the juiciness of the burger and toppings. But they didn't wow us, either.

We finished the meal off with a root beer float (below, left) and Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Sandwich imported from Milk. Both sweet selections were a solid way to end the meal.

And so that brings me back to my original point. Is Umami the best burger in Los Angeles? It's not. Is Umami Burger an insult to the very idea of burgers? Nope. If you can get past all this 'umami' nonsense the burgers are pretty solid. But let's face it, Los Angeles has become saturated with gourmet burgers since Umami turned into a gazillion dollar franchise, and Umami's offering is just not drastically better (or worse) then so many of the other, less hyped burger joints in town. 

If you're planning to try Umami, make sure you hit up Golden State, Father's Office, Stout, 25 Degrees, Go Burger, 8 oz. Burgers, and Juicy Burger (who am I forgetting?) as well. You're likely to find many comparable or better burgers amongst that bunch. For my money, I still maintain that the burger at Oaks Gourmet Market is the best I've had in town. 

A Belated Blogiversary Best of 2010

*Post by Mark & Angela.

One whole year. A year since we started this little experiment of a blog, a year since we took our food game to the next level. Loyal followers of the blog have stuck with us since our ugly layout over at blogspot, and may have noticed a slight evolution in picture-taking (we're still figuring out how this thing works). With this post, we'll have put up 100 recipe posts and a 150 restaurant posts. Not too shabby for our first year.

In that year, we've switched coasts, moving from DC to LA. We've also made a lot of really good friends through blogging, and had a handful of mind-blowing meals, some great ones, some good ones... and a few duds.

But today, as we look back on 2010 - our first year of blogging - let's focus on what was great (like this seared foie gras from Proof in DC, below). Ready?

Best Unblogged Meals

Not every meal lends itself to being blogged. Sometimes toting a camera is inappropriate. Sometimes, you - err... forget said camera at home. 

The former was the case when Angela toured through Chef Keller's 9-course menu at Per Se, and the latter was true when we found ourselves at DC's classy cafe Palena, sans camera. The fried marrow at Per Se blew Angela's mind and the Roast Chicken (crappy iPhone picture below) at Palena was arguably the best Mark had ever tasted.

Everyone knows the old adage, "If a tree falls in a forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?" Well, if you're a food-blogger and you don't take a picture of it... did you even eat it at all? When it's become your hobby to obsessively take pictures of everything you eat, the answer is sadly not as obvious as you might think.

Best Pizza

Ah... a subject very dear to our hearts. Let's start with the runner-ups - our two favorite DC-area pizzerias: Taking the DC crown by a thin slice of pepperoni is 2 Amys (also unblogged) whose Neapolitan pies are almost perfect. Pizzeria Orso wasn't that far off, (Orso's meat-heavy Giamette below) with their volcanic brick-oven churning out pizzas almost identical to 2 Amys. 

A New York trip enabled us to check out the pies (and super long lines) at Grimaldi's, but the real winner in 2010 comes from the birthplace of 'Apizza': New Haven, CT. At Pepe's we were treated to some of the finest, most perfect pizza we'd ever tasted. It wasn't just the best pizza we'd eaten in 2010, it was probably the best pizza we've ever eaten.

Best Cheesesteak

This section exists only because we were lucky enough to make a few summer trips to sunny Philadelphia in 2010. Mark posted not one but two extensive reviews of the best cheesesteaks in town. The winner turned out to be John's Roast Pork (below), whose steak sandwich is even better then the pork it built its namesake on.

Earning points for creativity is Jose Andres with Minibar's "Philly cheesesteak" (below), which has a clever and delicious spin on the Philly classic (the 'whiz' is in the middle!).

Hottest Food

You can't have a 'hottest' section without a hat tip to the Thais. At Pa-Ord, Angela found out the hard way just how much spice can go into dish. The boat noodles at Pa-Ord were an easy choice for runner-up. More on them in a minute.

The winner was a concoction of our own, in which we loaded a curry with Ghost Pepper. The best part was that video-taped our friend eating an entire plate of the hot-as-lava curry:

Best Burger

While we have to give a nostalgic mention to our favorite DC burger franchise, Ray's Hell Burger, the winner was an easy choice. Oaks Gourmet's burger (below) comes stacked with black forest bacon, taleggio cheese, red onion, arugula and a jalapeno-pineapple compote. Burger chains, take note - this is how a burger should be done.

Best Sandwich

Our Los Angeles adventures have already made us huge fans of the sandwich shop around the corner, All About the Bread and its fresh baked, crispy-on-the-outside bread. But, aside from all the delicious burgers and cheesesteaks we've eaten this year, the best thing we ate between two slices of bread were the amazing Italian sandwiches (below) at Di Pasquales in Baltimore.

Best Cheap Eats

Nothing beats a great meal that doesn't break the bank. Any short list would have to include Vietnamese sandwich at the DC-area Bánh Mì DC Sandwich, the mouth-numbing mapo tofu at DC's Great Wall, the aforementioned sandwiches from Charm City's Di Pasquales, Ethiopian delicacies from Lalibela, a Luchador-themed taco shop in San Diego and delicious new-wave tacos from Los Angeles' very own Tinga Buena (below)... which, truth be told, aren't even that cheap compared to most taquerias. But this is our list, so be quiet.

Once again, a little Thai hole-in-the-wall just outside of Hollywood has stolen our hearts and left us our wallets. Not only did those spicy boat noodles (below) at Pa-Ord make an impression on us heat-wise, but entrees at this authentic Thai eatery are mostly $6 or $7. 

Best Dessert

A few desserts stand out above the rest. Osteria Mozza's trio of gelatos, the Tre Gelati Misti nearly stole the show from an already amazing dinner. The 'Kit Kat Bar' (below, left) was a memorable meal-ender at Michel Richard's Central in DC. And that's olive oil ice cream melting over the Chocolate Cream dessert (below, right) at DC's Equinox, but it's the chocolate and coffee granules that made it a textural treat...

But the big winner was a subtle dessert that achieved the impossible. This one got Angela, a notorious dessert-skipper with no sweet tooth, to fall in love with dessert. The bacon-seared pound cake at Eola combines an artful presentation with subtle savory flavors. Served over a delicious bacon anglaise, the pound cake is topped with berries, herbs and a cucumber-basil ice cream.

Best Meal At Home 

We love to cook, too. And by 'we,' we mean 'Angela.' Mark has been on the receiving end of more home-cooked food then he deserves. They can't all be winners, but some meals have stuck in our minds longer then others. Take for instance Angela's Chicken Adobo (below), or that one time that the gnocchi turned out the way it was supposed to. 

Angela's Beer Can Chicken (below) combined two things we're passionate about (poultry and beer) to great effect. And we may be trying to forget the finale of the show 'Lost,' but we won't soon forget the dorky-as-all-get-out 'Lost'-Themed Dinner we prepared for the final season's premiere.

But the most memorable meal may have to be our first foray into homemade pasta making, when Angela magically turned hours of frustrating labor into some of the best pasta we've ever had. Angela's Butternut Squash Ravioli with Butter and Sage (below) melted in our mouths. Sure, things tend to taste better when you've slaved over them yourself, but this is a dish I'd be happy ordering anywhere.

Favorite Restaurant Experience

Because it's not just about the food, sometimes service and atmosphere can contribute as much or more to the overall experience. It was pretty awe-inspiring just to be in the house that Ripert built at Le Bernardin and to experience seamless three-Michelin star service. At Baltimore's Woodberry Kitchen (below) we discovered just how far a concept and environment could take an already great meal. 

 

We left San Diego unable to talk about anything besides the fantastic food, service and experience we'd had at Whisknladdle, and had memorable experiences at Chef Byron Brown's Artisa Kitchen in DC and Thursday night Big Fat Greek Supper at LA's Papa Cristos.

But the ultimate dining experience this year was our trip to Jose Andres' Minibar in DC - a six-seat bar where a team of chefs concoct a series of dishes before your eyes with mind-blowing molecular technique. We enjoyed thirty courses in all, like the maki-style, rolled 'Guacamole' (below, left) or the 'Tzatziki' (below, right) created by dropping greek yogurt in liquid nitrogen.

Best Food

Experience-wise nothing tops Minibar, whose food was still amongst some of the best we've tasted over the course of 2010. We also can't leave out Le Bernardin or Per Se. Other close-to-perfect meals, like our memorable trip to DC's Eola, just seemed to have the food-ordering gods looking out for us. We can't leave out our new favorite LA restaurant, Fraiche (Chef Ben Bailly's veal tartare below) after an incredible Christmas evening dinner with family.

But the big grand prize winner of the year goes to Komi, DC's top-rated restaurant for very good reason. Weeks of busy signals finally yielded a reservation, and our treat was a 20-course Greek-inspired menu, crafted by the masterful hands of Chef Johnny Monis. Komi doesn't allow pictures, but we still vividly recall every dish that - arranged in a journey that culminated with homemade pastas and a feast of slow-roasted goat shoulder - is still something we dream about. 

Thank you all for sticking with us this year! We're looking forward to another year of eating great food and meeting wonderful people. 2011 is sure to be even better then 2010.

8 Oz. Burger Bar

*Post by Mark.

The problem with having two authors is that occasionally they disagree. Sometimes they disagree a lot. No... no... we're not breaking up. But, we did have two starkly different opinions of the burgers at 8 Oz. Burger Bar on a recent visit. 

First, the good news. Angela liked it.

We'll get to the bad news in just a moment.

The Melrose location of 8 Oz. is one of three for the franchising company, with other outposts in Miami and Louisiana. The Burger Bar is a neighborhood pub at heart, with artisanal brews flowing freely and a hormone-free blend of beef comprising their burgers. Their burgers are highly customizable, but I thought for my first visit I'd stick to the signature burger and take it exactly how they were serving it.

Perhaps it's my fault for ordering incorrectly. But if ordering the recommended burger that bears the restaurant's name is incorrect, well... you can see where I'm going with this. I was struggling to find anything about the 8 oz. Burger (below, house blend, iceberg, pickles, tomato, white onion, 8 oz. special sauce) that I liked. The meat - whatever its quality - gets lost in a dollop of the "special sauce" (Thousand Island?), but the heaping pile of iceberg lettuce is the real ship-sinker. Take my words with a grain of salt - I hate iceberg lettuce on a sandwich, so this may have been the wrong burger for me. But then there is the matter of the bun - a bland piece of bread that couldn't bail this burger out.

On a positive note, the sides we ordered with our fries were fantastic in contrast. The roasted baby broccoli and fried pickles went down easy alongside our meals in lieu of fries. Angela went with a special for the evening in the Wild Boar Burger (below) - to its credit - a burger that Angela was relatively pleased with. The Wild Boar came free of any offensive sauces, and offered arugula in place of iceberg.  Angela enjoyed the strong flavor of the boar, the relative juiciness of the burger, and the crispness of the accompanying bacon.

I'd like to think there's a better burger to be had at 8 oz. Even though I failed to find it, I have friends who swear by this place. Looking through the selections on their menu I can't help but notice the fried mozzarella, cucumber raita, poblano relish, sunflower sprouts and charred escarole. I think I could make a pretty mean burger pairing the right ingredients. Next time? 

Marvel vs. Capcom 3 Event: Ludo vs. Greenspan Food Fight

*Post by Mark.

While passionate gourmands may geek out over food, it's not often you see those geeky interests crossover into say, the world of gaming. It's also safe to argue that most gamers are more familiar with the Taco Bell Value Menu than haute cuisine. This past Saturday, Capcom, SA Studios and LA Street Food brought those two worlds of geekery a little bit closer with a VGA pre-party and Food Truck tailgating event to promote the upcoming release of Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds.

While two of LA's hottest chefs were parked in food trucks outside (above), the crowd of mostly gamers (below) were treated to advanced Marvel vs. Capcom 3 gameplay on the inside with an array of free food, and live DJs. A line of hundreds of avid gamers stretched down the street just hoping to get inside. Of the early-birds who did get in, some had even camped out over night.   

Snacks were provided by Gram & Papas (the downtown lunch spot that formerly played host to Ludo Lefebvre's LudoBites 5.0). Slinging hearty comfort foods like Mac & Cheese with Brisket, Gram & Papas kept the packed house satiated until the main event. Undercard noms included a bean salad (below, left) and grilled peanut butter & jellies (below, right).

After perusing the floor, we made our way back to the food trucks. While Capcom and Marvel had brought out some of their biggest stars, some of the gamers didn't know just how good they'd have it, as some heavyweight chefs had been brought in to do battle.

First on the docket was Chef Ludo (below, at right). Having graced Los Angeles with the most sought-after reservation in town at his pop-up LudoBites, Ludo Lefebrve has challenged standard restaurant practices with one of the country's most inspiring and innovative concepts. For the food fight, Chef Ludo would be repping the red Marvel truck and was challenged to create a food inspired by a Marvel character. 

Ludo tackled Marvel's imposing green giant, the Incredible Hulk (below, left). His 'Hulk Hamburger' (below, right) was served with pomme paille (super skinny fries) and radioactive green ketchup. The juicy and flavor-packed patty was made from three different meats and stuffed with Velveeta cheese. 

Topping it were two different types of onions and jam. The burger was then served on a green bun (below) made from spinach and potato. Between LudoBites and the fried chicken served on the LudoTruck, I'd say that Ludo's doing just fine. But, were he to make a side venture into the world of burgers, this was clear evidence that he'd excel in that arena as well.

Next up was Chef Eric Greenspan (below, right), head chef of The Foundry on Melrose, whose been getting some recent Food Network airplay with appearances on Iron Chef (defeating Chef Bobby Flay, no less) and The Best Thing I Ever Ate. For us, this would actually be our second Eric Greenspan meal in just three days, as we were lucky enough to catch his six-course Hanukkah dinner at Test Kitchen this past Thursday (post forthcoming).

Representing the blue Capcom Truck, Chef Greenspan dug into the realm of Street Fighter to create the Ryu Fireball. Served on a perfectly proportioned griddled Bao, the spicy sandwich featured seared tuna, pork cracklings, cabbage and a spicy miso sauce. Ludo's burger may have been awesome, but I was actually more impressed with Greenspan's spicy tuna creation - all the ingredients came together to form a deliciously fresh and flavorful bite. This one left me craving seconds. 

Chef Ludo wound up winning the challenge. I think his burger (which was legitimately awesome) catered to the specific crowd a little better than seared tuna. It was a call too close for me to make, but I think I'd lean towards the Ryu Fireball if push came to shove. Either way, we were happy we had the chance to try both inspired creations, and to take part in the geekdom of both foodie and gaming worlds.