Grubtrotters

Sincere apologies for our protracted absence. We recently attempted (unsuccessfully so far) to transfer our blog to a new host. And while our Grubtrotters motto is “chow, fun,” we also spent the past month recovering from a decidedly un-fun family health crisis that coincided with our nation’s economic collapse. We’ll spare you the details, but aside from being homebound making soups and stews and wallowing in despair, it was not the wisest or most seemly time to be spending money eating out.

But things are looking up on all fronts. The country has hope, and so do we. Onward, as Victor says. So to mark our return, I thought I’d share some thoughts on a story I wrote for DineLA.com called Hamburgers — The Recession-Proof Food.

To research this story, I sampled burgers all over the city. I tasted the classic steakburger at Apple Pan, the frozen-in-time Westwood joint with its cranky counter men wearing paper hats. I tried Five Guys, the East Coast chain with a cult following rivaling that of In-N-Out here, which just opened its first SoCal spot in Carson. I tried two of the fancy 8 oz. burgers from Govind Armstrong, who breaks down the meat on premises and ages it in a Himalayan salt locker before grilling it over oak wood. I spent a pretty penny concocting something special at The Counter in Marina Del Rey. And of course, I have eaten the animal style burger at In-N-Out, the Fatburger, The Original Tommy’s dripping mess of a chili burger and the famous Father’s Office burger.

Each of these burgers has its charms. Father’s Office still wins the prize for best burger at any cost. However, I have a new pick for best gourmet burger at a value. And let’s face it, we’re all looking for a bargain these days. Unless you live in the neighborhood, you probably haven’t stumbled across Hole in the Wall burger joint in West Los Angeles. Believe me, the name is appropriate. The address is on Santa Monica Blvd, but it’s tucked behind a Winchell’s Donut shop in the strip mall on the southeast corner of Santa Monica and Sepulveda. To confuse you further, the entrance is actually on Bentley. You’d never find this place if you didn’t know it was there and might not even if you do.

But it’s worth the hunt. The owner, chef Bill Dertouzos, was the founder of Dainties Cupcakes, but he turned his attention to burgers when the cupcake competition grew too intense. “The city got flooded with cupcake stores, and every month I saw my market share cut in half,” says Dertouzos. Hole in the Wall shares space with his catering business, hence the odd location. The burgers here are not fast-food cheap, and you can’t get as many choices as you will find at The Counter. But the quality is incredible, and as Dertouzos points out, do you really need 300,000 burger combinations? He tried offering some fancier cheese options, such as brie, but they didn’t sell so well.

So now he sticks to the basics. You can get a beef, turkey or veggie burger on a pretzel, whole wheat or old-fashioned bun for $7.95. Pick from have a handful of topping options. Dertouzos makes his own pickles and condiments. The burgers are thick and delicious. The turkey burger, with its distinct fennel flavor, is so juicy that it’s hard to believe it’s turkey. His fries are made from Kennebec potatoes, and don’t get me started on the sweet potato fries. You’ll be eating it all at a casual sidewalk table.

I’m sure I won’t settle LA’s burger battle here. If you want your burger with gruyere in a fancy setting, head to The Counter with its modern decor and wine bar.  If you want to step into the past and taste an old-fashioned classic, try Apple Pan. But if you want a great gourmet burger without the frills or the Father’s Office pricetag, head to Hole in the Wall. You heard it here. – Jenny.

–Hole in the Wall, 11058 Santa Monica Blvd., at South Bentley Ave., 310.312.7013

–Father’s Office, 1018 Montana Ave, Santa Monica, 310.736.2224; 3229 Helms Ave, Culver City, 310.736.2224

–Five Guys, 20700 Avalon Blvd, Carson, 310.515.7700

–In-N-Out, multiple locations, www.in-n-out.com

–The Apple Pan, 10801 W. Pico Blvd, Los Angeles, 310.475.3585

–8 oz. Burger Bar, 7661 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles, 323.852.0008

–The Counter, 2901 Ocean Park Blvd, Santa Monica, 310.399.8383; 4786 Admiralty Way, Marina del Rey, 310.827.8600

–The Original Tommy’s, multiple locations, www.originaltommys.com

Photo of a burger from The Counter

I have a new story up on Dinela.com called “An LA Carnivore’s Guide to Veggie Dining.” The biggest delight in writing the piece was the wonderful meal I experienced at Madeleine Bistro in Tarzana. Run by husband and wife team David and Molly Anderson, Madeleine serves fine, animal-free cuisine. Sound like an oxymoron? I was shocked by how tasty and filling the food was. David Anderson is a bit of a vegan genius. A veteran of five-star restaurants, he was the only student in his culinary school class to get an A in butchering, although he temporarily lost his voice from the stress.

My favorites were the artistically presented beet tartar, the grilled lemon rosemary seitan and the chocolate souffle. Don’t ask me how he does the souffle without any eggs or milk. Like I said, he’s a genius. If you’re looking for something a little less fancy, he also makes comfort food, including a surprisingly delicious veggie version of the Big Mac for lunch. I brought the leftovers home to Victor, who is the biggest fan of Fogo de Chao’s all-you-can-eat Brazilian steakhouse that I know. He devoured the vegan cuisine and licked his fingers.

If you can’t imagine driving to the Valley for a vegan meal, then wait six months. The Andersons are currently securing financing and looking for a space in West Hollywood to launch a new vegan restaurant by the end of the year. The new place will be “bigger, with a bar, more of a scene kind of place,” says co-owner Molly Anderson. It will also have a new name.

The Andersons have no plans to close Madeleine, but they are considering making it a more casual restaurant to fit with its Valley setting. Whole Foods is opening up nearby, and Yoga Works is coming in across the street. So they want to capitalize on the post-yoga crowd. Right now, hungry yogis sporting Hard Tail and mats may feel out of place at a fancy restaurant with tablecloths.

As a fledgling yoga teacher who worries about the environment, I’m trying to incorporate more vegetarian meals into my diet. Madeleine makes that easy. When the food is this good, you don’t miss the meat. We swear. – Jenny

Madeleine Bistro, 18621 Ventura Blvd., Tarzana; 818-758-6971.

We are sad to confirm that Chef Kristi Ritchey has left Murano in West Hollywood and is “attending to family matters,” according to a restaurant spokeswoman. She has been replaced by Chef Joe Anguiano, who just joined Mirabelle in April. We do hope Ritchey lands on her feet. She’s a talented, young chef. And, as we mentioned in an earlier post, she’s a graduate of my Dad’s high school, Warrior Run, in small-town Pennsylvania. Murano definitely needs more business to make it, but we think Ritchey’s food was delicious. Just our two cents. –Jenny

LA Times Food Critic S. Irene Virbila rips into Nobu Los Angeles for being more scene than substance. In her weekly review she disses the restaurant for its lack of creativity and for sub-par ingredients.

Some of the raw seafood is first-rate, some just a notch above mediocre. But the rice is gummy, and the nori sash around the sushi is not the best quality. Plus you don’t even get freshly grated wasabi. Maybe omakase is the way to go. Maybe that’s where his chef — Ricardo Sauri from Nobu Miami — breaks out his best stuff. Then again, maybe not.

…We’re already into the third course of our omakase, and still not a bite of carbohydrates. A Japanese restaurant where you don’t necessarily get rice? I’m thinking: This is perfect model food. Pretty to look at, lean, bites like bonbons, fish bonbons. And there you have it.

SIV seems most bothered by Nobu’s “commercialism and repetition,” especially his use of the same sauces he bottles and sells, even in omakase dishes. As for the aforementioned scene, she thinks the blandness of the food and crowd might be related.

The menu offers few surprises, but maybe that’s the point. The bicoastal or bicontinental beautiful people want their comfort food wherever they are. The rest of us come to see what they’re eating or what they’re wearing.

The one positive note for Nobu Matsuhisa is a nice plug for his Beverly Hills restaurant, also a favorite of ours here at Grubtrotters.

What’s missing is the unpredictability and sheer fantasy of the specials at his first restaurant, Matsuhisa, in Beverly Hills — that blackboard scribbled with intricate dishes and combinations of ingredients that the “Top Model”-material servers haul around from table to table. (That restaurant is still open.)