Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

Thanks to everyone for commenting. Of course, "best of's" or "favorite" lists are bound to spark some controversy, but we've all fallen victim to those search terms when seeking out a a meal.

@jimmyjojo - you are welcome. I too don't find Father's Office a revelation as many others have, but more than that I find my colleague Nick summed it up best in his review of the place. It doesn't really qualify as a burger for this kind of a list.

@ChefJeffSD - Certainly Apple Pan is a classic eatery, but it's just not the kind of quality to warrant a mention here in the top five.

@Paula Maack - So glad that you enjoyed the list. Comme Ça is certainly a treat. Make sure your visit is a lunchtime one. Last I checked there's no burger available at dinner.

@simonmarkley - I understand your sentiment, but see above for my take on it.

@WikiAdam - You did recant, but you shouldn't have. I'd certainly hold these five up to FO and Applepan any day. No need to apologize for being passionate about burgers. I certainly am.

@Nebagakid - You are not alone in your love of Umami. I'm not on the bandwagon with it being the definitive new Los Angeles burger, but it's certainly part of the conversation about the best.

@sinosoul - Well, first off. So sorry to have lost you. A few quick things about your comment:

Comme Ça uses iceberg on its burger and while I don't find that it enhances it (I prefer mine sans lettuce) certainly that isn't a limp weed. Also - I think you put some stock in Jonathan Gold, his opinion, and a mention he made of you... I think he might agree with me on this one.

Umami is certainly full of schtick, but the grind is superior and I simply disagree about the meat to bun ratio.

As for my taste for Pie N Burger and what it has to say of my travels and where I get "grilled" burgers... Two things about that: First off, Pie N Burger is griddled so it would never be classified as a "real grilled burger."

Secondly, I have indeed made it south of 105... I reviewed a burger in Redondo Beach just a couple of weeks ago. It was really good, and like Mom's in Compton, is south of the 105. Another thing a burger in Redondo has in common with burger Compton? Neither is actually in Los Angeles so they wouldn't qualify for this list.

As for the other three you mentioned. All are good, but, would occupy the bottom half of my top ten. Again, sorry to have lost you.

@iheartcheese - Thanks for having my back. I appreciate it to be sure. That said, I know I am tapped to have an opinion and that means folks are gonna get riled up when they disagree. I guess I would say: I see my role here as not simply some arbiter, but rather, someone with a practiced and thought through method for forming his opinion and (hopefully) the skills to communicate it in a way that entertains and helps folks determine if they'd like to try a particular burger.

@mangabanga - Thanks so much for the support. I know not everyone will agree with me, but I did labor over my determinations.

Great review, Nick, - as always!

@Lvn4life - I am with you. So few of the fancy buns outshine a simple, commercial bun.

Nick, your slider coverage is nonpareil. Though I feel as a duo of disappointment such as this warrants a little compensation. Mayhap an authentic burrito from the Yucatan and some tennis?

Greek sauce, all the way, ruthless revelations... what a tag cloud this could be! Great review, Nick!

Lovely review, Nick. You really painted the picture beautifully.

Hey there, everyone! Thanks for the Bday wishes!

@carriebwc - Her name is "L.A."

@maxcriden - thank you for compliment and good on ya' for knowing the origin of that turn of phrase! I love an educated readership!

@Scoreboard44 - I have to say the bun worked with this patty. Mind you, the caveat is that it's got that meatloafy quality which (truth be told) I didn't expect to like at all.

@twoshoes - I don't know about that sirloin assessment. I've had some great (and complex) patties from steakhouses that use trimmings. Chuck will always reign supreme, but I think there is room for a alernate cuts/blends...Shake Shack's brisket and Umami's flap meat come to mind.

@SAKC - I fear you are all too correct about the price point change. I had a lovely dinner in Houston just the other night (a lovely dinner at Mockingbird Cafe) and found myself passing on a pricey patty ($32!). The premium burger movement seems comfortable dipping all five fingers into our pocketbooks!

Adam + Robyn = best editors ever!

Hmm,I thought this would be a bit of a controversial review.

Ok - first off, thanks to everyone for the input. I am always interested to hear what the Serious Eaters have to say even if it doesn't come down in my favor (of course, I love the love the most).

@jkdrummer - good call. More heat would have definitely helped these burgers.

@ratbuddy - the doble definitely has a Big Mac look, but I'd say Rick's has less of the sweet notes of the McD's version.

@KingBoo - Indeed! We're I sort through the mediocrity here in LA and sometimes I can still be surprised how many places just don't get it.

@film_score - First off, thanks for being complimentary and constructive with your criticism. If I'm gonna get criticized, that's the best kind. As for your concerns... Well, some of the comments have addressed your suggestions in a manner that I would echo. Rick's wasn't random. Truth be told... almost none of my reviews are. That said, I do let serendipity step in between me and review from time to time. With respect to the burgers I choose to review - this is a bit up for debate. Nick Solares and I have talked about this a lot as we both will often get comments saying that our choice of review is unjustified. At some level, we both feel that if a burger is served, it merits a review. We do - of course - like to curate our meal choices so some thought will always go into it. In any case, I encourage you to look through the reviews over the past (gulp) almost a year and I bet you find a lot of delicious burgers to choose from.

@iheartcheese - yes, I agree. I think the point was addressed in the piece. Thanks for the support.

@Burger365 - Nice heads up. I probably should have mentioned this is in the review, but yes MR is a choice at many "fast food" locations. In fact, I bet a lot of us would enjoy more of our burgers if we defied the expectation of many of the places and made a temperature order.

@daemon - Nicely put... And great screen name!

@stewmeat - Thanks for having my back. I have received numerous calls for a Rick's review and - Darn tootin' - any place that makes me a hamburger is open to my criticism.

@jenniferann - I get your loyalty and lowered expectations about 'fast food' - but I don't get the "seems pretty silly to me" about asking for a temperature order at a fast food place (unless you are making the e. coli argument). You questioned my judgment about how I was reviewing this place based on the assumption that you couldn't make a temperature request at in-n-out and then, when you found out you could, you said it was irrelevant. Hmm?

Anyway - I am always open criticism and I appreciate the your dissenting voice and all the voices here at AHT.

@radman123 - I am always willing to listen to constructive criticism, but I am going to have to side with @iheartcheese (and myself) on this one. As noted above, The Stand is explicit in its billing. It calls itself a "classic American" restaurant and lists burgers, chicken, and sausages along with dogs when describing the food they want to be known for. The don't simply have a burger on their menu, they have a whole section of their menu devoted to them. I would say that The Stand is best known for dogs, but I think that has as much to do with the fact that they do dogs better than the other menu items (and cheaper than most places!). As for why I'd choose to go to a particular resto for a burger - @iheartcheese gets it right, we are here to investigate burgers wherever they are served.

@FamishedFem - Thanks! And yes - it is a strange animal the brioche bun phenomenon.

@SAKSc - Thank you for the kind words!

@sticky wicket - I'm interested to try the kebabs. Any insight?

@nycnowla - welcome (I am a transplanted new yorker too)! LD's is a grand preparation, but I am still on the fence about. Have to go back. As for Fix Burger... I love Paul Joo - and think his burgers are really good - though not (yet) great. Here is the review: http://aht.seriouseats.com/archives/2009/01/the-fix-burger-in-silverlake-caifornia-burger-review.html
I am going to do a follow up review....

@alossix - Ok - this is a controversy here in LA. @herbyn contacted me about this and made the same point. In fact, he pointed me to an interesting LATimes article about the controversy:
http://articles.latimes.com/2009/may/31/local/me-east31
- Thanks @herbyn!

While there is real controversy, Los Feliz is popularly referred to as "the Eastside" by a lot of LA's residents so that's why I make reference to it in that manner.

Sign me up when I'm back home, Nick. Let's put it on our burger tour list.