Westwood Burgers and Falafel...or should that be Westwood Falafel and Burgers

1945 1/2 Westwood Blvd.
West Los Angeles, CA 90025
(310)475-4070
Mon-Sat 11AM-9PM

This may be one of my stranger posts. Don't let this deter you. Westwood Burger has been one of those locations that can't seem to survive and therefore changes owners and menus every couple years. My wife used to work directly in front of them for Monster.com in 2001 and ate there at least a couple times each week, and we had gone back to see if we'd be able to include it as a part of last week's "Tribute to the LA Burger Stand". Now, if my memory serves me correctly, Westwood Burger has morphed 3 times since she worked there. The new owner has had his version open for about a year now and though it's called Westwood Burgers and Falafel, I would highly push to call it Westwood Falafel and Burger.

We ordered up a lamb pita, a couple of cones of falafel (we started with one, which lead to another), and of course a burger. The lamb pita was pretty rocking with good sized chunks of tender juicy lamb of surprisingly high quality in a very fresh pita. The lettuce and tomato were equally as fresh. The overall eating experience was, to say the least, more than pleasant.

As stated just words ago we got a couple of cones of falafel. We originally ordered just one cone, ate those, and realized "Wow...these are pretty good...pretty darn good" (not to mention the killer sauces they served with them) . With that, we bought a second cone and devoured those as well. They weren't overly hardened and bland the way many many falafel are in LA. These things kicked serious butt, and heck, with their barely crisped exterior and flavorful well textured interior, they could possibly just sell these and do quite well for themselves.

How can you come to a place that says burger in the title and not get a burger? The burger, while done well and tasted pretty solid, didn't have much to it. Yeah, it was fresh, but the meat flavors didn't jump out at you. Don't get me wrong, it was still a good burger, just not up to the standards we held for last week's burger stands. And that's ok, because where they really shine is in their Mediterranean dishes.

Parking is street parking but there's also a parking lot connected to it that they give validation for, so you're completely covered no matter how you want to do it. The owner, who by the way is a totally sweet guy, was really enthusiastic about everyone who came in, and really, why shouldn't he be? He seems to be doing what he loves, making people great food that reflects his culture. I love LA.

Free Refills: No
Entree Price Range:$2.75 (those amazing falafels), $4 (those tasty pitas), to $8 (plate combos)

Tribute to Burger Stand Week on What's To Eat LA: The Burger Stand

3413 Crenshaw Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90016
(323)733-3133
Mon-Thurs 10AM-9PM
Fri-Sat 10-12AM
Sun 10AM-6PM
CASH ONLY

Small history lesson for people who don't know me so well. I grew up in Connecticut, but before you think of White Christmas Connecticut, let me explain that I lived in Bridgeport, in the projects. If I may, I'll say that when you're in it, it's nowhere near as bad as people often portray it to be. It's more like one big family of people who all understand the big picture. So when I begin to say that today's painfully good entry into the hall of burgerdom is in an area that some would deem too scary to tread foot upon, please stop being idiotic and prejudiced. In the neighborhood I grew up in, called Marina Village, there used to be a corner store that had a grill next to it. Say what you may about the griminess of the place, but they made real deal cheeseburgers that can only come from years and years of the same person making them just right. They pounded out and put together ground beef with their own blend of spices and topped them with, what had to have been, government cheese. I know you're laughing, but it's really good because it's a really hard cheese that, when melted, soaks into the meat. They were, to put it lightly, SPECTACULAR. The place got shut down eventually and went into disrepair, never to return. I would put that burger in any contest against the majors and I'm sure it would have placed. Sometimes you have a little bit of brilliance that is only shown to a small few and then fades away.

In LA we have a handful of places like that. One such place is The Burger Stand. Now I'm not going to tell you that it's like that place I grew up with (though it's pretty close), but after you've had plenty of great burgers, and then one leaves you saying "Wow...that was a good freaking burger", not once or twice that evening...but 20 or 30 times, then you have something extremely noteworthy. Not only that, if you look around on Google or any search engine, you're not going to find any reviews or websites for this place. So here's me showing love for one bit of "brilliance", one of my very own underdogs, that's worth the trip even if you live by the ocean.

Upon inspection, you'll notice there's no way to create the pretense that this is a picturesque restaurant burger. Don't let this fool you. The meat is much much better than most patties in LA...period. There's bit of toasted pepper in these obviously freshly made patties. When you order it takes them 4 or 5 minutes, cause they only make that thing once you've ordered. The burger itself has a HUGE explosive flavor to it. I hate getting so emotionally attached to certain meals...then I have a harder time explaining how DEVASTATING they are. Needless to say, if you like burgers, this is a place you should not miss that will put every Fatburger you've ever consumed recently to shame, standing heads and shoulders above most burgers in LA! Maybe THIS is what Fatburger used to be before they went the corporate route, after all they both started in the same neighborhood.

Now for tricky part. Parking is only street parking, but since this is on the Crenshaw strip, which happens to be one of LA's heaviest arterial routes, parking seems non existent until 7PM. Don't despair though, the first little street south of it has plenty of street parking on it. As stated above it's cash only, and though it's a short wait, there is no seating. But people, I can not stress this enough that this is one of the my top spots not to be missed. It's just freaking ridiculously good!

Free Drink Refills: No
Entree Price Range: Cheeseburger is around $4 and worth every cent!

Tribute to Burger Stand Week on What's To Eat LA: The Original Marty's

10558 W Pico Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90064
(310) 836-6944
Daily 7AM-6PM
CASH ONLY

When did LA turn into a health mecca? Why is it that Angelenos started converting to being healthy and giving up eating what they liked? Was it propaganda from movies and the stars that are made to look like perfection personified? Was it the fact that the news told them obesity would hit you no matter what you do cause America is just full of fat people? I doubt it. I think it slowly crept into people consciouses when fine dining told us to eat less and less. Thank you Californian cuisine. In LA we have a life of excess but eat less portions (and healthier) to accommodate that lifestyle. Slightly backwards, but it's just the way it is. There is still one untouched category that we Californians celebrate, and that's the burger. The burger by definition guarantees a little bit of weight gain and the bigger and greasier it is, (often) the better it is. Marty's has a burger that made them famous ("the combo") and is not for the weak of heart. It's a burger and hot dog with chili all in between one bun. You know what? It just hit me...the only people still alive are the healthy ones and they open businesses that cater to their needs. Sadly though this explains why havens like Marty's are a dying breed. Thankfully there are still plenty of people that succumb to it's goodness.

The cheeseburger that you see here is what I would define as "All American". Now I'm not talking about the dying burger joint known as All American Burger (thank you Fast Times at Ridgemont High) . I'm talking about a simple personification of chomping into a piece of cow that makes you thank God we can live in a country as great as ours where we can live and afford to eat meals like this. Where the little guy can open up this tiny little hut (some people's walk in closets are bigger) and can last a very very...very long time. The one guy I know who works there has been working there for like 20 years. How's the burger taste? Dang good. Don't you hate when food writers tell you something's good? That means nothing to you personally but what can I say...it's really darn good. The patties are grilled to perfection without any dryness whatsoever, the tomatoes are rockin and always fresh, and the buns are light but have some grip-able mass to them that doesn't fall apart after two bites. Here, they make a textbook burger that defines the word classic.

And another classic...the split grilled hot dog with diced onions, relish and mustard on a lightly grilled bun. I think the hot dog is one of the best food items you can get at stand that reflects the age and seasoned metal of an old grill. Juicy, smokey and just plain yummy.

This hut is a landmark and therefore won't be going anywhere anytime soon unless an act of God causes it to crumble. The parking is only street parking which kind of is a bummer but they're quick and worth the short wait. Honestly, this burger stand is one of the few the proud that will outlive us all probably but especially if you have too many of their combos.

Free Refills: No
Entree Price Range: Pretty darn cheap...too cheap to print...and I don't have a menu in front of me to quote it.