Posted by: Mallory
Sacks
in New York City on Jul 27, 2010
Tagged in:
spiked milkshake ,
roosevelt hotel ,
pesto ,
onion rings ,
Not Another Guide ,
gorgonzola ,
fries ,
caramelized onions ,
burrata ,
burger recon ,
burger blog ,
brioche ,
arugula ,
25 degrees
One of my best friends from high school, Laura, came up to LA last weekend for a quick last hurrah before she ducks off to grad school in DC. A dedicated burger fan, she’s kept up with Burger Recon and wanted to hit up a joint with me. We settled on 25 Degrees at the Roosevelt Hotel- which I never tire of visiting- and made the trek from the Westside to this LA hot spot.
The décor is all red/maroon from the painted tin ceiling to the bouncy booths and brocade wallpaper. They have a full bar, and then booths and tables surrounding it, looking out on to Hollywood Boulevard. I opted for the ‘Number One,’ which consists of caramelized onion, prelibato gorgonzola, crescenza, bacon, arugula, and thousand island. Laura opted for the ‘Number Two,’ with burrata, roasted tomato, crisp prosciutto, and pesto. The burgs come with your choice of a side so she went with fries, while I got rings, and we chose a garlic aioli and a parmesan aioli to dip them in.
Fries and rings came out first, on long platters, with more food than could ever be necessary. The rings were sliced thin, with a non-greasy breading that had a powerful kick. There is honest to god SPICE in that breading- you’ll want a creamy aioli to dip them in. Laura is not a huge fan of onion rings, but she was digging these. The fries were extra crispy- almost burnt, the way I like them- lightly salted and tossed in a tiny bit of chopped dill. We loved them. As we marveled at the size of the sides, our burgers came out, and there was barely enough room on the table.
These burgers are 5-6 inches in diameter, with huge, fluffy, sweet brioche buns. I was afraid to pick it up. They come loosely tucked in paper, with lettuce, tomato, onion and pickle on the side. We didn’t even try to stuff these toppings into our already jam-packed burgers. We picked them up to take our first bites and it took a few bites before I finally tasted everything at once. It was fantastic- the arugula balanced out the cheeses and the caramelized onions, while delicious, were not overpowering. Laura’s burger had a great combo in the pesto and cheese but it was very rich. Decadent even. The gorgonzola on mine was strong, but if you like gorgonzola, then you’re all set. I pretty much deconstructed mine and ended up eating it with a fork- which is something I normally would not approve of- but it was so enormous and rich that it felt like a refined meal, and honestly I just couldn’t keep it together.
Having already consumed a bottle of wine before heading out, we opted for diet coke with our burgs. Our generous waiter- who clearly recognized the signs of caffeine addiction- brought out a milk jug full of diet coke for us. We were debating ordering a ‘spiked’ milkshake. Yes, they have alcoholic milkshakes for the booze hound in all of us, but we already had to box up half our meal in doggy bags so there was just no way.
Service was great the whole time: attentive, honest and helpful. I’m embarrassed to say I think we went a little too early in the evening for my taste. We were hungry for sure, but the crowd felt touristy and the place wasn’t packed. It’s open 24 hours a day and I got the impression that if we had come at 10pm or after 2am we would have met a distinctly more raucous and local crowd. The quality of food to price ratio is phenomenal. We paid less than $25 each for perfectly prepared, enormous portions of food. If anything I would say the most ‘expensive’ thing we ordered was the diet coke- at $4 each.
Come starving or share everything, because as Laura summed it up, “This is like an event, it takes time and you’ll be stuffed after.” And by stuffed she means we were in food comas for hours. I want to go back and try other things on the menu- and by try other things I mean move into the Roosevelt indefinitely until I’ve sampled the whole menu. They have a grilled cheese and an extensive breakfast menu that can’t be anything but delicious…
Posted by: Mallory
Sacks
in New York City on Apr 14, 2010
Tagged in:
onion rings ,
Not Another Guide ,
los angeles ,
govind armstrong ,
fried pickles ,
fried egg burger ,
food ,
corndogs ,
burger recon ,
burger blog ,
bloody mary
you’ll love the Fried Pickles, if you don’t like pickles, skip them. The onion rings were hard to describe! The batter was salty and doughy like a donut, and I think I expected more crunch, but I really loved the flavor. They’re served with ketchup unless you say otherwise. Now, for the Truffled Potato Skins: most of us felt they were the best thing we ate all night! Salty, with good texture, they were definitely something unique and tasty, standing out from the other sides and appetizers.
When I first saw the drink menu, the Smoky Bacon Bloody Mary (served with a bacon strip stirrer!) caught my eye immediately, and after Gertie tasted mine she ordered one too. As far as Bloody Mary’s go, its excellent- not too spicy, with a good amount of booze and salt. It’s made with bacon infused vodka, which I felt you could taste initially, but then the tomato juice took over. Samantha and I also ordered beers, which were ok on their own, but much better when our food came out. Dean ordered a Blackberry Collins made with vodka (gin’s also an option), muddled blackberries, lemon juice and soda. She really liked it and she said you could taste the fresh fruit. Their drink menu is extensively filled with artisan beers, wine, milkshakes and specialty cocktails. There are definitely a few more I’d like to try, like the lavender mojito!
The atmosphere was mellow, relaxed and friendly. Our waiter was attentive and patient (we staggered in one by one, thanks to the LA traffic) and he was able to accommodate our every request and answer our questions. We loved the tin ceiling and leather chairs combined with the concrete floor; it definitely had a local neighborhood feel with a hearty and indestructible tone. The clientele started out ranging anywhere from 3 to 70, but as it got later it evened out into a late 20’s early 30’s range. Everyone seemed to be eating with close friends or family which definitely cozied up the joint and the classic rock music gave it a feel-good vibe. On our way out we saw Chef Armstrong chilling at the bar, no doubt keeping an eye on the place.
We paid $34 each including a generous tip and I felt with the cocktails, sides and starters this was reasonable, and my darling friends felt it was worth it. Having sampled so much this time, I think going back I would have a better idea of what to order (Truffled Potato Skins!) and how to put a better burger together (add crunch!)
80z Burger Bar
7661 Melrose Avenue
Los Angeles, CA, 90046
