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A Classic Los Angeles Burger with a Perfect Bun at Cassell's
Cassell's......Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.....but it has been years since I was there. They had not even moved from 6th to 6th the last time I was there.
Never had a bad burger there. Homemade lemonade! Great! That potato salad! Great! And they had other sandwiches, too. The egg salad was colossal and good!
I worked around the corner and down the street at a record distributor who would treat us to lunch now and then. One day they ordered maybe 50 burgers, then there was an in-house dispute and 'we' called them back and canceled the order! They never delivered to us again.
The condiments were delicious.
I recall a tall black guy behind the 'counter' who was fairly insistent that you read the sign and order in the manner they wanted you to.
I was seeing a little 5"1/2' cutie at the time, slim and trim, but could this girl eat! She ordered the egg salad sand and almost passed out with joy.
Now that gasoline is back down again, I need to go over there. Sorry to hear about changes, but I'll gamble a gallon and motor over soon.
I'll let you know how it goes. Maybe tomorrow!
A Classic Los Angeles Burger with a Perfect Bun at Cassell's
I first wrote about Cassell's in the L.A. Times Sunday Magazine, West, callling it "best in city." I wrote two more pieces, one in Oui, still posted on the wall, and in Rolling Stone (of all places). I spent a lot of time with Al Cassell, and know a thing or two about the history of the place. He started it after WW2 on Wilshire, across from the wonderful building then known as Bullock's Wilshire (now home to Southwestern Law School). When the landlord made it impossible for him to stay, he moved to the SE corner of 6th and Berendo. It was as bare-bones an operation as it is today in terms of decor: Al said that after his experience with that landlord, he would never invest in furnishings: all he prized was his double broiler (and his food). It was then known as Cassell's Patio, because Al made a deal with the apartment building next door to set up tables on a little patio on the apartment building's south side.
About 20 years ago, a family of butchers made Al (who was pretty tired of arriving at 5:30 to trim and grind the meat, make the mayo, etc.) what sounded like a great offer: they'd maintain standards, and expand, and he would share in profits from the new locations. Well, they started serving fries. (When I asked Al why he didn't, he said, "It isn't my picture." He saw himself as a painter.) Worse, they didn't cut him in on any revenue from the other locations (I remember one on Wilshire, in the mini-mall at Crescent Heights). Al got the place back...and sold to Koreans. They kept the standards pretty well at first...but expanded the menu to turkey burgers and veggie burgers.
There was a slide, I think, but at my most recent (albeit infrequent) visit, younger Koreans were at the register, and the quality was clearly back.
About what Al did and didn't make. Yes, mayo (!), yes lemonade (from Grade A lemons, he pointed out), yes potato salad (putting in a liberal dose of Colman's English mustard powder), yes a ketchup relish (but not ketchup itself -- that was Heinz), and yes, Roquefort salad dressing (using real Roquefort cheese).
If the "best days" seem behind Cassell's, in part that's a demographic issue: way back when, the mid-Wilshire area was filled at lunchtime with middle-class shoppers and office workers.
Is Cassell's burger the "best in the world"? Now that upscale luxe restaurants are serving up Kobe beef burgers, I guess not, although I believe that for a "commercial" burger, Cassell's is still in the money in any best burger race.
A Classic Los Angeles Burger with a Perfect Bun at Cassell's
I used to go there in the '80s, and Mr. Cassell was still there, it was THE best burger in LA, and at that time besides the mayonaise being made from scratch, so was the ketchup and mustard. The potato salad was killer and they also had a fantastic grilled ham and cheese sandwich on the thinnest rye bread. Haven't been there since the change in ownership, after reading your article and the comments, will try it again.
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Cassell's......Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.....but it has been years since I was there. They had not even moved from 6th to 6th the last time I was there.
Never had a bad burger there. Homemade lemonade! Great! That potato salad! Great! And they had other sandwiches, too. The egg salad was colossal and good!
I worked around the corner and down the street at a record distributor who would treat us to lunch now and then. One day they ordered maybe 50 burgers, then there was an in-house dispute and 'we' called them back and canceled the order! They never delivered to us again.
The condiments were delicious.
I recall a tall black guy behind the 'counter' who was fairly insistent that you read the sign and order in the manner they wanted you to.
I was seeing a little 5"1/2' cutie at the time, slim and trim, but could this girl eat! She ordered the egg salad sand and almost passed out with joy.
Now that gasoline is back down again, I need to go over there. Sorry to hear about changes, but I'll gamble a gallon and motor over soon.
I'll let you know how it goes. Maybe tomorrow!