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@burgerboy Man that would be cool if you could buy direct from those guys! I have to drive to ATL to get anything close to that quality & for me thats a 200 mile round trip to Whole Foods, I've done it more then once but I'm sure La Frieda is far superior!

interrobang‽ what‽ greatest. punctuation. mark. ever.

Hey, passion4pizza, when youre in LA feel free to contact me for any pizza info...MMMM..i think im goin to Antica right about now!

Antica is better than Mozza. It's easer to get into, the atmosphere is far more relaxed and, more importantly, the pizza is better.

I got lost on the way there, so I ended up driving past Umami Burger 2X.

The burger came out Med Rare, so kudos for cooking the meat correctly. It was unseasoned, and they barely got any char on it from the grill...this means that the cooks had the flame set too low. The cheese (cheddar) was unmelted, because..............the cooks are incompetent at cooking burgers. Besides, it wouldn't have really mattered. The big, honking, dry, sesame seeded bun overwhelmed the bland patty. I even got all R-rated on this thing and ate it topless. It was still unremarkable in every way. It was just uninteresting and unmemorable.

I bet that they make great BBQ, though.

Overview: Don't expect to get a good burger in a BBQ joint.

So, for the record, I have never met or corresponded with Damon Gambuto (but, I would love to!). Also, for the record, I had Baby Blues delivered a few weeks ago, and had an extra-ordinary experience - story to follow.

To all the folks who are upset that Damon did not review the BBQ at Baby Blues, from what I can tell Damon Gambuto is a Los Angeles based burger correspondent, and he is great at what he does. Sometimes BBQ joints can offer up a good burger. In fact, Damon recently reviewed three burgers at Zeke's Smokehouse, which is directly across the street from Baby Blues. It is a great write up, and you can search for it on this site.

I went to Zeke's Smokehouse last night based on Damon's review and I loved it, and commented earlier today on that piece - thanking him, because the burger was so tasty. Damon gave baby Blues the same shot, and didn't love the burger. Oh, well. Get over it. At least he was brave enough to give that combination of flavors a fair shake.

BTW - I once had a a grilled veal chop topped with melted brie and lingonberries that was exquisite. Perhaps the burger would shine if the blue cheese and bacon stood out more and the sauce had whole berries rather than being more of a pureed sauce. It would probably require arugula to balance the sweet, salty and pungent with some peppery goodness. But, as a purist, I would still prefer a good, quality burger without all the hoopla and dressy fanfare. That's just how I roll.

I am assuming Lincolnberry is an Ebonics-esque play on lingonberry. If you are truly curious, give Baby Blues a call.

My experience at Baby Blues? My husband and I wanted beef ribs, and when I asked the gal on the phone how many came with the order she replied, "one - it's like a big steak." We decided to give it a shot, and each ordered one, which came with a choice of two sides. I opted for collards and mashed potatoes, hubby had corn and cole slaw. The sides were delish, but one of the ribs was burnt and less than half the size of the other rib.

I let my honey have the good rib and insisted he eat it while I called, because I am sweet like that (and we had just moved into our new place and he had been doing hard physical labor and desperately needed the fortification). The hostess got the manager who apologized profusely and asked if I wanted another rib. I did. Forty minutes later, the manager showed up at the door and told my hubz he cooked it himself. Maybe it was my sultry phone-sex voice, but I'd like to think it was solid dedication. Anyways, it was nice. A chuck blade, essentially. It didn't rock my socks off, but it was a good chuck rib weighing in at 16 ounces or more, and it was properly (lovingly?) cooked. The sauce was not my favorite, as it was a bit sweet and overly tart with vinegar for a tomato based sauce, and the XXX sauce was a bit salsa-like for my taste. The service, on the other hand, made a strong, favorable impression.

Thanks for the well-written review, Damon. As I left Zeke's last night, I glanced across the street and wondered if Baby Blues had a decent burger. Now I know what to expect.

Maack out.

I've often overlooked the burger choices at high quality BBQ joints simply because the traditional pork BBQ or brisket there is so good. But it stands to reason that such an outfit has considerable meat knowledge that will be put to good use when grilling a burger.

Save your money, folks. The burger at 25 Degrees is a sad affair. Today, the service was both inattentive and poorly timed. But on to the food. Great rings and tasty fries. The burger meat itself is great--one is keenly aware that it is sirloin, and that is a good thing. Sadly, both burgers were overcooked, and the bun is a disaster. The top of bun was tough and dry enough to make a "thock" sound when tapped with a fingernail. It basically overwhelmed the burger with dry joylessness. The bottom of the bun, also a shamefully overbaked puck of parched, crumbling sadness.The cheese was not melted over the burger, but simply served as an unmelted pile of gunk in the center of the burger, which had so be scraped from the bun and then spread.

The high point is that the waitress must have stuffed two angels down the back of her pants to present such a compelling view. So, the highlights---Good sides, good sights, good sirloin.

Overview: 25 Degrees is a weak suck and can be avoided.

Sadly, this burger is nowhere near being worthy of the attention or the price tag. This evening's rendition was absolutely insipid. The beef added nothing but bulk to the dish--no satisfying crust, no rich, no seasonings in or on, no aged beef funkiness, and the grind was fine enough to make it resemble baby food in both taste and texture. The bun would really work with a flavorful version of this burger. The dough was worked just a touch longer than a proper scone, which meant that the gluten strands were sufficiently short as to not create a chewy product. This yielded a perfect, but bland mouth feel. One should definitely pass on the rings. The rings were greasy to the touch and greasier in the mouth--"crunchy, oil sponges" comes to mind.

It is no wonder that not a single staff member asked our table how our food was (during and after the meal)--the answer would have been "disappointing." So it goes...I'm sure that other menu items at Tavern, are wonderful (the heirloom tomatoes were very nice), but I would not recommend this burger to any of my friends.

great review! finally got to try the burger out last week and i thought it was definitely one of the top five burgers i've eaten.

if you haven't yet, you must try the sweet potato fries! i'm usually not even a fan of sweet potato fries, but the golden state's are thick cut and really delicious. love this place.

"paroxysms of perfect, primitive pleasure" - try saying that 10 times fast

Yeah, that looks like one m________________er of a burger! So, is it the most perfect burger in LA?

that's effing beautiful!

it might be the perfect burger to bun ratio i've ever seen.