L.A.’s 5 Most Genius Hamburger Toppings
I was once told that when attempting to judge the greatness of a hamburger the only acceptable toppings are cheese and maybe ketchup. Being a fat man who loves throwing shit on top of stuff or stuffing stuff in other shit, I kind of scoffed. But since then I’ve come to appreciate the burger in its most simple form. Lettuce and tomato is rabbit food. Bacon is so 2009. And a runny fried egg?! Actually, don’t fuck with the fried egg. A fried egg makes everything better. And so does grilled onions, and onion rings, and blue cheese. Even pastrami. Oh, who am I kidding, I love burgers with tons of stuff on them. And while at one time topping a burger with any one of those things might have been unique, now burger chefs have to get a little bit crazier with their ideas to really get noticed. Here are my 5 favorite, most crazily genius, individual burger toppings in Los Angeles…
KETCHUP LEATHER – PLAN CHECK
Pay no attention to the stuff on top, the real genius is underneath.
Did you seriously think that the chef who helped to build Umami Burger would open a restaurant in West L.A. specializing in hamburgers, and *not* have some crazy trick up his sleeve? It looks like a fruit roll up. It feels like a fruit roll up. But it tastes like ketchup, and as you eat the thing the gooey sweetness starts to melt into the burger. It’s almost like the chef came up with this while working at UB, and thought “hmmm… I think I’m going to keep this one for myself.” Genius. Will it cause Heinz apologists to suddenly embrace the idea of house made ketchups? Probably not. But fruit roll up enthusiasts now have a burger topping to get super excited about. 1800 Sawtelle Boulevard. 310-288-6500