New kosher restaurants on Pico’s Kosher Row are just popping up. The latest is a popular Israeli restaurant adapted to America, called Burgers Bar. Granted the name of the restaurant is not perfect but then again what in life is? In my opinion, only Audrey Hepburn is sheer perfection – but that’s completely irrelevant to this review.
There are 50 Burgers Bars in Israel, from Raanana in the north to Emek Refaim and the Malka Mall in Jerusalem. Unfortunately our Burgers Bar on PIco has no affiliation with the chain in Israel. In Pico-Robertson, Burgers Bar is housed in the former Delice Bistro space between Robertson and La Cienega.
Gone are the bistro’s charming sky-painted walls with scenes of Paris and the large Eiffel Tower replica in the middle of the room. Instead, Burgers Bar offers kosher diners something else we did not have before: gourmet burgers served quickly. At least that’s what they are aiming for; they missed the mark ever so slightly.
I stopped by the restaurant during lunch on a school day. Standing at the counter trying to decide what to order, I barely had a chance to scan the menu when I was approached was by the quick and attentive staff. The menu had choices — lots of them. I surveyed the possibilities and ordered the spicy burger. My mother ordered her “cheeseburger” (so quickly that I frankly wondered whether she has treif tendencies). But that was only the beginning of the decisions we had to make.
Would we like the burger on white or whole wheat rolls? What about sauces? I was grateful that the nine options — garlic mayo, chimichurri, pesto, Thousand Island, barbecue, Dijon mustard, sweet chili, hot chili and tehina – were posted and on the menu, because I’ll be darned if I understood the English spoken by the Israelis behind the counter. I picked what I thought would complement a spicy burger perfectly: hot chili sauce, lettuce and raw onion. My mother, who can’t make a decision to save her life, ordered whatever the server decided for her and ended up with a disaster.
As we sat down to eat, our French fries arrived, and this is where I am going to be shocking, because it’s not often that I say something nice. I loved my French fries. They were crispy, salty and delicious. My mom ordered sweet potato fries and she absolutely loved hers too. We swapped fries and I agreed that the sweet potato fries were delicious. Unfortunately I can’t say the same for the burgers.
As it turned out, the only thing spicy about my spicy burger was the sauce, which out the taste of the burger. As for my mother’s “cheeseburger,” being smothered in faux cheese and grilled onions caused the meat to turn to mush. The burgers themselves were dense and flavorless, even though one of them was called “spicy.” So — Burgers Bar is the place to go if you want mediocre kosher burgers.
Still, I did like a bit more than the French fries. The restaurant was clean. I liked the open kitchen concept – you could see the workers cooking and assembling the food while you were in line.
While waiting (not long mind you), I couldn’t help but notice the panoramic mural of Los Angeles. They were aiming for California burger shack at the beach look but missed and wound up with a look that’s hard to classify. Next time you’re there please look at the mural and note that the Downtown skyline ends seamlssly at Santa Monica Beach. Most people wouldn’t be bothered by that but if I am the resident critic, I will point it out. In general the restaurant didn’t look tired, and that’s good enough for lunch.
I also can’t find anything about the service worthy of complaints. We ordered and paid, chose and were served. If you’re willing to overlook the fact that Burgers Bar serves only moderately tasty burgers, then I highly recommend it. Take your time with the choices – there are plenty, and they do make a difference.
Of course, if you’d rather not shell out the six dollars for some chopped meat, I suggest making your own burgers at home. For about the same price, you could feed two people instead of just one, and choose whatever you like.
