dineL.A. Burger Trek

It’s “quality forever” at The Apple Pan, a legendary three-sided West LA counter that dates to 1947 and recently sold to preservation-minded owners Shelli and Irving Azoff. The restaurant’s Steakburger remains unchanged, featuring a griddled patty topped with tangy signature sauce, mayonnaise, pickles, and thick iceberg lettuce in a soft toasted bun. Clearly, a burger this classic calls for pie, which is baked in back daily.

Longtime hospitality pro Hitesh Ambalal and wife Trina brought in friend Avner Levi from DTLA’s Cento Pasta Bar to design a wine-friendly menu at Arcwood Restaurant + Wine Bar in Tarzana. For their namesake Arcwood Burger, they grind Australian Wagyu chuck, short rib and navel in-house and top rich, juicy seared patties with whole-grain mustard Cheddar and sweet mustard aioli on soft steamed buns.

It’s hard to get anybody to skip steak at The Arthur J, but chef/co-owner David LeFevre created a compelling alternative for the lounge menu. The Arthur J char-grills a house-pounded burger patty on a grill named Bertha over smoldering white oak. This rich 70/30 patty features chuck, brisket and short rib and hosts Nueske's applewood smoked bacon, caramelized onions, and Emmental cheese to a house-baked Parker House bun.

Pawan Mahendro and sons Nakul and Arjun hail from Toronto and now serve “badass” Indian food at Badmaash in DTLA and Fairfax Village. Their two restaurants nail a number of classics, and also deftly stray with stylish signature dishes. Their Spiced Lamb Burger stars rosy, house-ground, hormone-free leg meat that’s seared and piled with onion, lettuce, tomato, and cilantro & paprika spiced mayo on a soft brioche bun.

Anya Fernald and business partner Todd Robinson preach the sustainable meat gospel at Belcampo Meat Co., their vertically integrated operation with a ranch at Mt. Shasta’s base. L.A. locations in Grand Central Market, Mid-City, and Santa Monica serve a Double Fast Burger featuring two thin grass-fed beef patties, American cheese, butter lettuce, tomato, onion, and house sauce on a potato bun with hand-cut Kennebec fries.

91-year-old burger legend Bill Elwell personally grills every burger at Bill’s Burgers in Van Nuys. He’s stood behind the same flat-top griddle on weekdays since 1965, bending every burger to his will. His special L.A. style specimens feature seared patties, sliced tomato, shredded lettuce, pickles, and mayo on soft buns. Melted American cheese is a beautiful binding agent. A second patty and crispy bacon only aid matters.

Darren Thomas and Marlan Cooper have featured more than 20 different burgers at Bunz Gourmet Burgers in Downtown San Pedro since 2014. Tempting, atypical options include their spicy Caliente and a pizza-inspired Italian Stallion. The Pedro, named for their hometown, features crispy applewood bacon, smoked Gouda cheese, fresh-shucked avocado, and a seasoned tomato. Bonus: all Bunz burgers come with fries and a drink.

Brothers Fred and Max Guerrero launched a Burgerlords window in Chinatown’s Central Plaza in 2015 and added a Highland Park outlet. The Oinkster chef Andre Guerrero’s sons are both vegetarian, and they take their vegan patties as seriously as their beef burgers. They make vegan patties daily from barley, roasted mushrooms, eggplant, leeks, chickpeas, cashews and more. The toothsome patty joins tomato, lettuce, onion, and vegan Thousand Island dressing on a soft “sponge bun.” Follow Your Heart Vegan cheese, made with coconut oil, is available, or substitute cow-based American cheese.

Burgers Never Say Die chef Shawn Nee built a sensation with the smash burger pop-up he launched with partners in Hollywood and Glendale Tap before going permanent in Silver Lake. Inside their white and red shop, a motto encourages customers to “Always Order Two.” Twin patties tout crunchy meat skirts, ketchup, mustard, pickle and raw onions on a soft bun.

Chef Christian Page and his partners at Hotel Normandie helped to revive a Koreatown classic in 2015. Version 2.0 houses vintage signs, an open kitchen, and the restaurant’s original cross-broiler, which imparts a historic sear on both sides. Patties weigh 1/3 lb. or 2/3 lb. and feature a house-ground blend of chuck and brisket. For their Patty Melts, they pair patties with caramelized onions and a choice of Cheddar or Swiss on griddled rye.

Sometimes, a Single Burger is all you need. Chef Matt Molina, Silverlake Wine co-founder Randy Clement and partners transformed a rundown Arts District corner into a destination with an open-air back patio and blue bocce court. Their single burger has drawn praise thanks to a textbook ratio for the griddled Prime chuck patty, sharp Tillamook cheddar, aioli, and toasted egg brioche bun, which join a dill pickle spear.

Sang Yoon is the godfather of L.A. gastropubs, and the Helms Bakery outpost of Father’s Office is even more impressive than his Santa Monica original, which he took over in 2000. The sleek, elevated space features a bar with mirror image craft beer and wine taps, 36 per side. The famous burger incorporates caramelized onions, applewood smoked bacon compote, Gruyere, Maytag blue cheese and arugula on a baguette.

Jason Bernstein and James Starr’s Cali-centric café has become a Fairfax Village mainstay. For The Burger, chuck, short rib and trimmed rib-eye fat from Harris Ranch form a winning patty, which sports a good sear from being finished in the broiler. The patty joins Fiscalini Farms cheddar, applewood smoked bacon strips, arugula, aioli and ketchup in a soft Rockenwagner brioche bun. Each burger comes with a choice of fries, highlighted by supple, skin-on fried sweet potato wedges with punchy garlic aioli.

Grill ‘Em All has never been bashful in their approach, topping burgers with everything from sausage gravy to peanut butter. Chef Ryan Harkins and business partner Matt Chernus started with a truck, which won The Food Network’s Great Food Truck Race, before they opened an Alhambra restaurant in 2013. Their Behemoth Burger lives up to the intimidating name, featuring a half-pound “burg” sandwiches between two grilled cheese buns with Cheddar cheese, BBQ sauce, bacon, grilled onions, and pickles.

Hawkins House of Burgers is a legendary Watts burger destination that favors never-frozen Angus beef. Cynthia Hawkins currently carries on her father’s burger tradition. She serves three specialty burgers, including the Whipper Burger® crafted with a double patty, lettuce, tomato, onions, pickles, mustard, mayo, and two devastating toppings: pastrami and a butterflied, griddled hot link on a soft bun.

Jerry Greenberg started HiHo Cheeseburger with Matt Levin, Ajay Sahgal, and Lowell Sharron in Ojai in 2015. The flagship relocated to Santa Monica in 2017 with more modern branding and patties ground daily, primarily from chuck. They favor a patty made with well-marbled, grass-fed Wagyu beef from First Light Farms in New Zealand. Their signature burger starts with a double portion of patties featuring mustard-grilled beef, cheese, ketchup, onion jam, lettuce, house-made pickles. They also have a more basic “classic” cheeseburger constructed with just beef, cheese, and ketchup.

Howard's Famous Bacon and Avocado Burgers has been offering the “same good food” since 1971 in a Culver City strip mall. People pile into booths beneath retro movie posters to eat burgers stacked with seared beef, iceberg lettuce, tomato, crispy bacon, and creamy avocado on a toasted bun that’s generously slathered with mayo.

Lynsi Lavelle Snyder carries the In-N-Out banner for grandparents Harry and Esther Snyder, who founded the iconic chain in Baldwin Park in 1948. Their Double-Double stars two burger patties, two American cheese slices, raw onion slices, tomatoes, iceberg lettuce, and Thousand Island spread on a soft toasted bun. In-N-Out is famous for their not-so-secret secret menu, which is now on their website. “Animal Style” unleashes extra Thousand Island dressing and pickles, mustard-grilled patties, and grilled onions.

Monty’s Good Burger proved to be such a big hit at festivals like Coachella and Stagecoach that business partners Nic Adler and Bill Fold (Goldenvoice), Erin & Derric Swinfard (Monster Media) and Dirk & Amy Alton (Best Beverage Catering) teamed on a bold plant-based Koreatown restaurant. Their signature Monty’s Good Burger features an Impossible patty with Follow Your Heart vegan Cheese, house spread, lettuce, tomato, pickles and grilled onions on a Bosch Bakery potato bun.

Andre Guerrero reinvigorated life an old Eagle Rock A-frame in 2006, focusing on craveable comfort food. The Royale is a truly deluxe burger featuring a 1/3 lb. Nebraska Angus beef patty, bacon, chili, pastrami, dill pickles, onions, sliced tomato, crisp iceberg lettuce, 1000 Island dressing, and a choice of American or sharp Cheddar cheese.

Petit Trois is a classic Paris-style “bar à la carte,” now in Hollywood and Sherman Oaks, from Ludo Lefebvre, wife Krissy and partners Jon Shook and Vinny Dotolo. While many menu items would be instantly recognizable in the 6th Arrondissement, Parisians would no doubt be stunned by the Big Mec (in a good way). Petit Trois’ decadent double cheeseburger features twin patties, melted American cheese, garlic aioli with minced pickles, and a cascading pool of sticky Bordelaise sauce on a brioche bun.

Pie ‘n Burger is a Pasadena favorite near Caltech that dates to 1963. Current owner Michael Osborn has worked there since 1972. Their griddled burgers come with Thousand Island dressing, iceberg lettuce and pickles on a soft bun. Swiss cheese complements the seared meat. So does pie. A neon clock by the entrance features a coconut cream pie at the center of the clock hands. Listen to the clock for more than time.

Plan Check Kitchen + Bar delivered delicious counterprogramming to Sawtelle Japantown in 2012 and also runs outposts in Downtown L.A. and in Santa Monica.  The modern, industrial burger destination features a rich seared beef patty topped with Americanized dashi cheese, dehydrated ketchup “leather,” schmaltz onions and pickles on a sturdy panko-studded crunch bun. Burgers come with skin-on Russet fries or cole slaw.

At Republique, the multi-faceted Mid-City restaurant and bakery from chefs Walter Manzke and wife Margarita Manzke, brunch is always in session during the day. Their dry-aged beef burger has been a breakout hit, teaming a substantial, medium-griddled beef patty made with equal parts short rib and Prime dry-aged rib-eye, American cheese, caramelized onions, and special sauce (ketchup, mayo, and house-made pickle relish) on a house-baked, poppy seed-studded pain de mie, served with French fries.

Jason Neroni is fluent in comfort food at The Rose, a juggernaut that reopened in 2015 and draws throngs of Silicon Beach techies, bohemian Venice denizens, and every person in between them on the spectrum. On the lunch and brunch menus, his Double Smash Burger features twin patties topped with smoked cheddar, pickles, caramelized onions, and special sauce. Each burger comes with house potato chips.

For brunch at their Bologna-inspired Italian restaurant in the DTLA Fashion District, chef Steve Samson and wife Dina feature a Bolo Burger featuring a house-ground 6-ounce patty crafted with Prime chuck, brisket, and dry-aged beef fat blanketed in ragu Bolognese made with ground pork shoulder, more brisket and chuck, prosciutto, mortadella, and dry-aged beef fat. Each burger’s cooked on a wood-fired grill to medium rare and served with crunchy cabbage slaw, Béchamel and Fontina fonduta on a house-baked, poppy seeded milk bun.

Chef Chris Phelps showcases sustainable, humanely raised animals at Salt’s Cure in Hollywood. The 5 Oz Bacon Cheeseburger is a delectable 70/30 blend of grass-fed beef chuck, round, brisket, ribs. He grills each five-ounce patty to medium rare. Red leaf lettuce provides roughage, house-made mayo adds richness, and onion brings crunch. Seascape is sharp cheddar crafted from cow and goat's milk. The ingredients coalesce on a griddled bun. The burger comes with distinctly flat, skin-on French fries.

Shake Shack, a growing global burger sensation from Union Square Hospitality Group with eight L.A. locations at last count started as a burger shack in Manhattan’s Madison Square Park, builds on the success of ShackBurger®. This Angus beef patty sears to medium and comes with lettuce, tomato, pickle, and onion on a soft Martin’s potato roll.

Mike Simms and brother Chris have been a boon to Manhattan Beach with multiple concepts and they started with Simmzy’s, a tiny gastropub that launched four other L.A. locations. Simmzy’s has four different burgers on their menu, but the Oak-Charred Simmy’s Burger stands out, featuring a signature Angus beef patty, Tillamook cheddar cheese, chow chow onions, lettuce, sliced tomato, and garlic aioli on a BREADBAR bun.

“Top Chef” champion Brooke Williamson and chef/husband Nick Roberts have found a nice culinary niche in Playa del Rey. Playa Provisions is a multi-faceted compound, and burgers star at The Tripel, their beer-friendly gastropub on the beachside neighborhood’s main drag. Yes, they serve a more straightforward “backyard” burger, but their signature Tripel Burger fuses duck confit, pork, and aged beef before topping with sharp, pungent truffle Pecorino, arugula, and house-made apricot jam on an onion brioche bun.