RECON: NOOK

West Los Angeles, CA


My best Canadian and I kept hearing about this new place called Nook.  We heard it was on the corner of Bundy and Santa Monica, so we set out on foot, but when we reached the intersection and saw nothing called Nook, we hit up the iphone for better directions and found we had several blocks to go. The IHOP was tempting due to laziness, however we continued on, and it was definitely worth the walk. Its buried in the corner of a mini mall, with nothing but a bright orange door indicating there's something back there. The inside had a crowded but pleasant ambiance, with a few small tables and a couple big, tall bar tables that were family style seating. We climbed into our high chairs and tried to wriggle them up to the table. The menu was small but everything seemed tantalizing.  

We both chose the Nook Burger, made with gruyere cheese, red wine-onion jam and baby arugula on grilled rustic bread. We opted for fries of course and then the waiter offered us something that I didn't quite hear, but I never say no to free food, so I responded 'yes, please!' He then placed a little dish of boiled peanuts in front of us. I had never heard of such a thing but according to the Canuck its very common in the south. I was absolutely fascinated by them and wanted to make my own version immediately by boiling them with garlic or some such thing.  

The burger had rich flavors that complimented the perfectly cooked meat well.  The lower bun definitely got a little soggy, but overall, tasty. During all this recon I've seen a  redefining of "the restaurant burger:" it always has caramelized onions and arugula, and the cheese is usually gruyere or stilton. Every up and coming restaurant puts this "gourmet" burger on their menu, regardless of cuisine. The Nook is a relatively new restaurant, and while the quality of ingredients upped the flavor, it seemed like it was on the menu simply because of this unspoken rule that you must offer a gourmet burg. 

The fries I enjoyed, though they were similar to the Library fries the Canuck is not so into, and they came with a lemon aioli that was quite original. Once the Canuck realized there was a wasabi aioli, that drowned out the disappointment he felt over the crispy fries.  I haven't been back to Nook yet, but I have a feeling the other items on the menu are going to be much more interesting- I want the shrimp and grits. The Canuck suggests making reservations if you want a private table, all conversations are open to eavesdropping at the family style seating!

RECON: LIBRARY ALEHOUSE (Again)

Santa Monica, CA


The Canuck and I were down on Main Street, and being creatures of habit, when faced with where to eat, we settled on Library Alehouse.  We continued being creatures of habit by ordering our usual beers, a Bitburger for the Canuck and a Lost Coast apricot for me.  I was in a healthy mood, so I ordered the Ahi burger with wasabi coleslaw, daikon sprouts and a side salad, but the Canuck chose the Blue & Bacon (again) which as you might guess has bacon, and stilton bleu cheese with fries of course.


Burgers came out looking good as always, and we took our first bites. The ahi burger tasted very plain, so I stole the mustard off the Canuck's plate and then suddenly the ahi burger was delicious.  I don't know why something that supposedly had wasabi in it was so bland, but the mustard made the burg. Side salad tasted way too healthy and boring, it was more like a little pile of rabbit food than a salad.

This time the Blue & Bacon burg was cooked properly - medium - and the flavor combination is delicious as you'd expect for Kobe beef. The sweetness of the onions balanced the salty-ness of the bacon and cheese.  

The Canuck complained about the fries, but I like them bite size and crisp, tossed with parsley.  I concede that they were well done, but what's not to love?  Overall, the food at Library Alehouse is consistently good, but the service not so much.  I don't know if its because we are usually on the back patio, or if its the same up at the bar, but the bus-ers have better game than the servers. Let's be real though, it won't stop me from returning... 

RECON: STOUT

Hollywood, CA


I made the trek out to Hollywood to catch up with my buddy Leo and we landed at Stout.  I had been to Stout before, but there were several burgs on the menu I still needed to try.  Leo opted for the Shu burger which has pepper jack cheese, bell spread and chipotle sauce.  I went for an equally rich - though less potent burger - the Six Weeker, which consists of brie, fig jam, arugula and caramelized onions.  We caught up on our writing and sipped a Lost Coast apricot wheat beer.  Side orders are large, so we split an order of fries.  

Leo drowned his fries in ketchup while I politely requested mayo, which Leo hates, so I made a point of dipping my fries in the mayo first then the ketchup, just to disgust him.  The fries are more than satisfactory, but nothing to write home about.

Then the burgs came out and conversation took a back seat to nom-ing.  My burger was perfectly cooked, had excellent flavor and the arugula was pleasantly placed under the meat to help prevent sog, although the meat was so juicy this might have been an impossible task.  I do feel like the brie was overshadowed by the caramelized onions, and might alter the ratio of cheese to onion to draw out the subtler flavors.  Leo enjoyed his spicy burg, but I am weak and can't handle that kind of heat. 

The place was busy for a week day lunch, which I suppose adds to the joint's legitimacy.  The staff was friendly and plentiful, and I found it reasonably priced, for the quality of food and location.  If I lived over there, I would really take advantage of the fact that Stout stays open until 4am!  

RECON: MR. BARTLEY'S BURGERS

Cambridge, MA


Sadly, Cojo went back to California before I did, but Murph and I carried on and went to Mr. Bartley's.  Bartley's has been a part of Cambridge for around 50 years.  The restaurant has family style seating and the walls look like a frat house. It's chaos, and all in good fun. If you know me, you know I don't like strangers, but Murph loves to talk to strangers and she struck up a conversation with the father and son duo seated uncomfortably close to us. (She's so brave!) All their burgers are named after pop culture phenomenons and politicians. I chose the Joe Biden burger, and Murph went with the Bill Clinton. Joe Biden comes with American cheese, bacon and BBQ sauce; Bill comes with BBQ sauce and cheddar cheese. (There's a sex joke in there somewhere...)

Murph got sweet potato fries and I got onion rings so we could mix and match. They didn't provide anything but ketchup, and we all know a proper dipping sauce is key or I'm not interested, so our waitress brought out a blue cheese dressing which was the perfect companion for the fried treasures. She did warn me this dipping sauce would cost extra- Bartley's is a little pricier than Flat Patties, but I think you're paying for the name and heritage as well. The sides come piled next to the burgers, the burgs are probably 3-5 inches high, and they stack the sides as high, if not higher. It is 100% too much food.

It was delicious: rich, salty, filling.  We were starving, my blood sugar was super low and we probably waited 30-40 minutes for the burgs to come out, but we scarfed them down in half that time.  We were so gung-ho at first and then your brain tells you you're full, but you keep eating because its tasty, and then your brain threatens you, "If you eat one more bite I will make you puke." And your tongue is like, "Fuck you, Brain." It's a bitter battle. Your stomach is the real victim, it doesn't have a voice.  

If you go to Boston, or if you're an Asian over-achieving tourist checking out Harvard, don't miss Mr. Bartley's.  You would be doing your tongue a disservice to skip the politically charged fare.

RECON: FLAT PATTIES

Cambridge, MA

One of my best friends, Murph, just got her masters at Tufts University, so Cojo and I popped out to Boston for a week of exploration.  We took the red-eye and powered through our first day. It was hot and muggy and we walked around Cambridge and Harvard getting a feel for things. In need of a big meal after dour airplane food, Murph took us to Flat Patties, according to them they are the: "2010 WINNER BEST OF BOSTON & MOST AFFORDABLE!" 

I opted for a single cheeseburger and added bacon and avocado. And obviously I got fries, and mixed my own dipping sauce with the ketchup and mayo.  I don't know who's relish that is in the picture.  I'll attribute it to Murph.  She always eats my pickles.  ANYWAY, the burg was solid. Fresh ingredients, and natural tasty fries.  After such food deprivation, it really hit the spot. Not the most inventive burger, or best flavors, but a good showing none the less. The joint was certainly popular, people were hovering, waiting to snatch our table the minute we got up. I'll agree with their affordable title- I only paid $8.88, but I wouldn't put it in the best of Boston category...

Mini-Recon: LIBRARY ALEHOUSE

Santa Monica, CA


The Canuck and I continued our burger feast at Library Alehouse on Main. I wanted the tuna tartare as an entree, so I chose to have a slider appetizer with Niman Ranch beef, lettuce, tomato, onion, Tillamook cheddar and their Alehouse thousand island. The onion was diced, which I thought was odd, and I got the slice of tomato that has the little circle where the stem grows which I didn't approve of, however these are aesthetic issues, not taste issues. The slider was satisfying and I would order it again, especially with the amazing Apricot Wheat beer I was drinking from Lost Coast. I do appreciate when a restaurant shreds its lettuce, and the thousand island was a good addition.

The Canuck went all out and had the Blue N Bacon burger with Kobe, double bacon, stilton blue and caramelized onions. Fries too of course and they were natural cut with solid flavor, a perfect compliment to our beers.

The bacon was excellent, and the stilton and caramelized onions were a great flavor combination. That's a side of dijon, which almost had to fight the stilton for flavor power. Sadly, the Canuck ordered this burg medium and it came out well done. Now, I don't know how that chef was raised, but in my world, overcooking kobe beef is a big no-no. Regardless, the flavor was satisfying- better than the Umami Port and Stilton burger? No, but maybe it was just an off day for that chef. There are many other burgers on the menu and you can build your own, so I will come back and give the place another try.

Recon: HILLSTONE

Santa Monica, CA

Last Friday the Canuck and I returned to Hillstone for an impromptu fancy feast. We started with the spicy tuna roll from their mini-sushi menu and it was fantastic. Then the Canuck ordered a martini, so of course I had to have one too.  (I hate being left out.)  After our sushi, our martinis were probably half-consumed and are lovely waitress brought out fresh chilled glasses to pour our martinis into to keep them chilled. It was glorious.

The Canuck opted for the Hawaiian Ribeye, and I honeybadgered him into getting the baked potato so we could trade tastes of sides.  I chose the California Burger, for two reasons: 1) it sounded great and 2) the regular Hillstone burger seemed similar to the R+D burger. Both restaurants are owned by the Hillstone group, so I wanted to make sure I was trying something new. I opted for fries. Obviously.

The burg is fresh ground, with jack cheese, avocado, arugula and red onions. It was very classically flavored to me.  A nice balance of creamy avocado and cheese with the salt of the meat and tang of the onion. I asked for mayo with my fries, and they were golden and crispy. The Hawaiian ribeye had great flavor and was properly cooked.  The Canuck was in steak heaven. The baked potato was also good, though I felt the flavors could have had a little more punch.  It came out with all the fixin's but they didn't blend the way I anticipated.  I recommend the restaurant both on its own, and for the burger.  There's just something about high quality ingredients that can make classic seem gourmet.