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The Alcove Cafe is one of the places I most miss since moving from LA to the east coast. I found it to be a charming, casual, open air spot that worked equally as a place for a date, dinner with family/friends visiting from out of town, brunch on a weekend, a family-friendly nosh where you can bring a toddler or baby, or even a business meeting/meal.

As for the beef burger, I don't believe it was my favorite thing to order there, but I will say that I was a huge fan of their lamb burger. I found the lamb patty to be nicely pre-seasoned with a requisite Mediterranean spice mix (cumin, rosemary, coriander, cinnamon, et. al.) and topped with feta, making for a most satisfying alternative to the traditional beef burger. I also found several of their other offerings and their pastry and dessert selection (not made on site, I believe) to be well above average.

Not quibbling with Damon's review of the beef burger at all, I just thought I'd offer some perspective with regard to the overall offerings and my experience of the place.

Is The Alcove Cafe on the "trendy" side? Guitly as charged. Often crowded? Absolutely. Nonetheless, I found to to be one of the more versatile and reliable places in the greater Los Feliz/Silver Lake/Sunset Junction area, and I certainly recommend giving it a try (even if you don't order the beef burger).

Worth braving the occasional hipster-infested crowd.

damn, those burgers look good. can't wait for my next business trip to LA. yum.

CLARIFICATION: in my suggestion for better results, i said take 2 minutes off the cooking time "per pound". of course that was a misstatement. since most recipes suggest a 2.5 or 3 min. per pound cooking time. what i meant to suggest is after you make the calculation for "total cooking time", take 2 or 3 minutes off of that number. sorry for any confusion.

i went to dillon's for the first time last night to watch football with friends. it being an "irish pub" i eschewed the "burger" offerings for a more traditional choice: shepherd's pie. it was a disgrace. just awful.

judging from damon's review i should have gone for one of the burgers.

live and learn.

at least the redskins won and the hard cider was refreshing...

well... the family and i got a chance to head up to SB and had the pleasure of checking this place out. it is a great location, as damon mentions, particularly if you are a dog owner or are dog friendly as this place is adjacent to what can essentially called a beach "dog run". all the dogs and their owners couldn't have been more well behaved and even with our 2 year-old in tow we felt very safe.

now... on to the food. this isn't a "great" place, but a good one. perfect location for a "happy hour" to meet friend for drinks, a good view, and better than average food. the burger, as damon described, is well above average and the hybrid domestic/wagyu blend really is a cut above the average domestic chuck grind you normally get in the US, and this place doesn't charge very much of a premium for the higher quality beef blend. the prices here are super reasonable.

a very, very good burger. perfect bun, nice, fresh toppings... my only quibble is that they overcooked my patty. i specifically asked for medium rare, but got medium well... the only reason i didn't send it back was that it was so good that i really didn't mind eating it as it was and was too hungry to wait another 20 mins for them to prepare another.

so... to sum up. this is a good place to give a try for some casual eats at moderate prices in the SB area. add the view and it's a real winner.

thanks for the heads-up AHT...

Went there today for lunch... and as usual, Damon didn't do me wrong. this is a great little gem in the middle of the san gabriel valley and well worth a detour occasionally to get a well made, way better than average burger. not to mention the staff and the owner (manning the grill on this day) were super-friendly and attentive. really great people.

I only have 2 quibbles: 1) i didn't love the bun. it was fresh, but in my book a bun should be light and and fresh and hold the components together, no more. it shouldn't overwhelm the patty's flavor. this bun came dangerously close to that. i'd have them experiment with a bun recipe that produces a lighter and airier product. and 2) it was 103 in the valley today and they didn't have air conditioning. next time if it's that hot i'll sit in the car with the engine and the AC running (but then i'd miss the great blues music they play over their sound system).

all in all... HIGHLY recommended. i'll be back again for sure. just wish they were closer by.

strange methodology to their lists, i think...

for example... how does 5 Guys beat In-n-out for "best burger", but then in-n-out wins for "top food" and 5 guys is down at #4 on that list??? all in-n-out serves is burgers and fries (and their fries, correctly, don't beat 5 guys or McD's)... strange and confusing to say the least.

i think this series of lists from zagat's was a badly thought out from a methodology standpoint, but a very effective "marketing device" (i've seen it reprinted on several blogs and news sites)... good for zagats, but i don't put much stock in this at all...

I had thought about giving this place a try when going on trips to and from Northern California, but never did. Now i might take detour to check out this burger. One question about what you described as some sloppiness in the presentation/handling of the burger... I must say that i like a well melted slice of cheese on my burger and i'm not too shy to tell the waiter to take the thing back and have them throw it under the salamander for a few moments to get it right...

Thanks for another good post Damon.

gross.

@daniel_saffron - for what it's worth (and i don't think this necessarily reflects on the relative quality of your product or not), i'm not a fan of the apple pan either. i think it's the most over-rated burger in town. i concede that the place is an LA institution and everyone should go there at least once just to experience it as a historical pop culture landmark, but as far as the food goes... not my cup of tea (and pricey for diner food to boot). all that to say, i don't think the the fact that Damon isn't a fan of the Apple Pan (if that's in fact true) has any bearing on his standing as a reviewer of southern california hamburger fare. are you saying that you have to like the Apple Pan in order to have your opinions on hamburgers taken seriously? i don't agree.

hmmmm... i will simply say this: i find it most conspicuous that Damon has not in any substantial way indicated whether he thinks the new product sourcing at Burger Kitchen had appreciably improved the overall eating experience. pardon me for being a bit cynical, but i don't really "buy" Damon's reason for not updating his review in a more comprehensive way simply because he was "comped". his genteel "cop-out" that the purpose of his post was to "simply report on the arrival of La Frieda meat to LA." rings a bit hallow to me. readers of AHT already new about the arrival from Robyn's earlier post so why the redundancy? the real service that Damon could have (should have) provided was a comprehensive update of his original review. simply writing: "The addition of a La Frieda patty greatly improves the standard offerings of Burger Kitchen..." hardly served that purpose.

If he needed to pay his own way in order to maintain his" journalistic integrity" he should have. better that than the post we got here.

The burger looks just lovely, and well worth the $10+ price point. However, “award winning” or not, I have never been a “fan” of this new “communal table” movement in restaurant design. if I come to a restaurant on a “date” or with a “party” I would like to sit with them in an environment that is as intimate as is possible. even in a bar or pub I prefer round tables with stools or booths to the “communal table” concept. Only if I were at a bar to see a sporting event where you really do want to have that “communal” experience would I really like that kind of set up.

that said, this place looks well worth a visit despite my aversion to the layout. I suppose if the burger is good enough it might be okay this once subjecting myself to annoying bleed-over conversations that interrupt me and my companions as we try to enjoy our food, drink, each other’s company.