Best non-chain Hamburger Place

Centaur said:
I realize that this is a thread about burger joints. But if you find yourself in Culver City (West Los Angeles, near Santa Monica) and have a hankering for really good pastrami, go to Johnny's Pastrami.

It's been there since the 1950's, and still has that diner feel - table top jukeboxes, chrome & naugahyde

And don't get me started on the Kosher pickles :thumbup:

But they do have burgers... I just never tried one....

4017 Sepulveda Blvd (cross street - Washington Place)
Culver City, CA 90230
Phone: (310) 397-6654

JohnniesFDP.jpg
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So how does their French Dip compare to the "originals" from Coles or Phillipes? My only trip to LA was a one day stay last New Years Eve. I was going to Vegas for a birthday party, but they wanted stupid money to stay at Caesars the 31st and I needed to fly out then to make gold with Delta, so I stayed down by LAX and drove the town. I know why liposuction got popular out there because you guys have more "junk" food joints per square mile than anyplace on the planet...........and most of it looks damn good!!!!! lol
 
RWS said:
Don't forget Mama D's Italian in Manhattan Beach near the pier. It's a hole-in-the-wall but pretty good stuff.


BACK TO BURGERS....
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Mama D's!! :eek::D

Can't believe I'd forgotten that place. Good food, indeed.

I mis-spent four years in SoCal going to 'SC. Manhattan Beach was definitely 'in the hood.'

Thanks for the memory!
 
OldPhysics said:
Mama D's!! :eek::D

Can't believe I'd forgotten that place. Good food, indeed.

I mis-spent four years in SoCal going to 'SC. Manhattan Beach was definitely 'in the hood.'

Thanks for the memory!
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Hey! I grew up in Manhattan Beach. 42nd and The Strand - actually El Porto. Graduated from Aviation H.S. which has since been torn down so an office complex could be put up.

Off the subject of burgers and back to Playa del Rey. On the next corner east of The Shack is one of the smallest bars in the world "The Harbor Room." I can't even tell you how many nights I spent - around closing time -during high school sitting in a booth drinking a coke waiting for my alcoholic father so I could drive him home. PDR was closer than downtown L.A. to pick him up. And on a school night. Sheesh. Drunken fathers. That's a whole different thread! Bartenders called many, many times. I HATE BARS. :grumpy:

TJ
 
Since you brought up Philippe's, where I ate french dips before every Dodger game I went to growing up, what do you think of Jerry's? The best pastrami sandwich I've ever had was from there.
Damn, after all the complaining I do about California and Californians, there is some great food there.
I can't believe I have good memories of that place.
 
If you are ever in the Atlanta area. I highly recommend Dudley's Food and Spirits in Lithonia.
The burgers are great and the fried mushrooms are out of this world. I'm not sure what they use for their batter but it is fantastic.
 
I know it's a chain but Five-Guys is the best burger I've ever had, and the same goes for the fries. There is nothing better.

As far as non-chain, Voltzy's in Dayton, Ohio is pretty damn good and ultra-low key. It's the home of the "Bill Clinton Divorce Finale" burger - Five 1 pound patties with grilled onions on a massive Hawaiian bread bun. His standing offer is that if one person can finish it in under an hour, he'll give you a Benjamin.
 
Yeah, Five Guys' burgers and fries are right up at the top of the list. The fries are fresh cut and fried in peanut oil and they load up the bag with them - a small order can be enough for two people. :thumbup:
 
jdm61 said:
So how does their French Dip compare to the "originals" from Coles or Phillipes?
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Believe it or not, I never have been to either one of those spots. I was more of a West Side kind of guy.

Seriously, how can they both claim to be the "original?" Personally, I think it was Cole's - he has only one story about how the sandwich was invented. Phillipe has three different stories.

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Want a pastrami and chili fries at 2:30 AM?
No problem - They're open to 3:30 on Friday & Satuday nights!

The sandwiches are almost big enough for two people. The pastrami is not as peppery or spicy as other places, but it is lean, moist, and full of flavor.
 
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Centaur said:
Believe it or not, I never have been to either one of those spots. I was more of a West Side kind of guy.
Want a pastrami and chili fries at 2:30 AM?
No problem - They're open to 3:30 on Friday & Satuday nights!

The sandwiches are almost big enough for two people. The pastrami is not as peppery or spicy as other places, but it is lean, moist, and full of flavor.
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Dang, now I'm getting hungry for a pastrami and some chili cheese fries. I grew up around the owners of Jim's burgers and Douglas burgers. Both places have great chili cheese fries.
 
OldPhysics said:
These are all in my neck of the woods, I've never tried any of them, and he never mentioned it.
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OP, of the three, Riverside Lunch was probably my favorite. The burgers are smallish (think meatball mashed flat), but man, they are good. They used to sell Coke in the 6.5 oz bottles too.
 
Guyon said:
OP, of the three, Riverside Lunch was probably my favorite. The burgers are smallish (think meatball mashed flat), but man, they are good. They used to sell Coke in the 6.5 oz bottles too.
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6.5 oz bottles. That takes me back ... and rather dates me. :(

A great reason to slide on down to Charlottesville. :)

I'll let you know how it goes.

Oh -- is that place near UVa?
 
The best burger I have had in recent memory was in a little diner inside a gas station in a little fishing town on the gulf that no one has heard of. Not even a traffic light or grocery store (well one gas station has a decent selection of groceries but not huge).

I got a bacon cheese burger and it was awesome. It wasn't cooked on a real grill but it was really juicy and all the flavors really stood out. It tasted like a BLT with strong flavors of cheese and beef. I didn't go last time I was there but I am going to make sure I do next time I go. I want to know if it was a fluke or if its normally that good.
 
I have a little place about 5min. from my house in Chesterfield VA., It's called the Boathouse and it has a Wagyu beef burger, that has to be the best burger I've ever had. It's a little pricey at $17 but every now and then its a nice treat.
 
There's another place not far from here,it's also just a few miles north on RT 77 from the Corfu exit of the NYS Thruway.It's called the Indian Falls Log Cabin,a small place always crowded on a Sunday afternoon,a very popular place with bikers but it's always quiet during the day on Sundays anyway,that's the only times we ever go there.
 
OldPhysics said:
Oh -- is that place near UVa?
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No, the White Spot is just across the street from UVA, but Riverside Lunch is, well... over by the river.

http://maps.yahoo.com/map?q1=1429+H... Hazel St Charlottesville VA US&gid1=12746400

SPXTrader said:
Guyon, what were you doing in Riverside Lunch (other than being stared at)? I eat there every time I'm in town! Great greasy fries, too!
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Scarfing down burgers? :p I was in school at UVA, but when I found Riverside, I was actually working with a carpentry crew during the summer. Some of those guys told me about it.
 
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protourist said:
If you are ever in the Atlanta area. I highly recommend Dudley's Food and Spirits in Lithonia.
The burgers are great and the fried mushrooms are out of this world. I'm not sure what they use for their batter but it is fantastic.
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Is that place still around? Dekalb County has changed so much since I hung around there in the late 70's and early 80's when my best friend from college still lived in Lithonia. It is still decidely middle class, but almost exclusively black today whereas it was mostly urban redneck back in the day. I drove out Memorial Drive to Stone Mountain for the first time in maybe 20 years and much to my great disapointment, Mountain Pharmacy and what may have been the best milkshake on the planet was nowhere to be found. The entire old downtown of Stone Mountain had become an antique district.
 
Guyon said:
OP, of the three, Riverside Lunch was probably my favorite. The burgers are smallish (think meatball mashed flat), but man, they are good. They used to sell Coke in the 6.5 oz bottles too.
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Funny you should mention meatball burgers. There used to be a place near the UK campus in Lexington, Kentucky called The Nook. It has been gone for a goodly number of years, but my dad owned it for about a year back in the mid 60's before we moved to Florida. The specialty of the house was the Nook Burger which was like a half pound meatball mashed down just enough to fit on a standard sized bun and cook rare to medium rare. Pretty darned good as I recall, but i was only 6 at the time, so I can't really compare it to some of the others I have had since my tastebud and beer gut developed:D The place was quite popular with UK students and working class locals alike, but the land that the building was sitting on became too valuable eventually and was torn down in the late 80's when the neighborhood was "gentrified" There is a shop that sells expensive mountain bikes and probablya Starbucks there now.:D
 
Guyon said:
No, the White Spot is just across the street from UVA, but Riverside Lunch is, well... over by the river.

http://maps.yahoo.com/map?q1=1429+H... Hazel St Charlottesville VA US&gid1=12746400



Scarfing down burgers? :p I was in school at UVA, but when I found Riverside, I was actually working with a carpentry crew during the summer. Some of those guys told me about it.
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No sweat. I'll find it.

I've found stuff in places where there are no roads and darn little infrastructure at all.

The grill will be no problem.
 
APPLE PAN!!!! Totally Judy is a true American! my sister felt so uncomfortable there but i was right at home, making friends with my (very close) neighbors over a huge piece of apple pie and 'gourmet' burger and then getting told the hurry the **** up and get out! a must for anyone going to the los angeles area.
+5
P.S.
BRING CASH
 
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