Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

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.

i enjoy my burger halved--but by me, not them! nice pic, nice read.

@jbuffalo - thanks so much for the huzzah and bonus points for dropping in the "gallimaufry."

@oneiron - certainly price matters, and this burger is no cheap eat, but I think I'd say it's worth it for a special treat burger. is the "oneiron" a golf reference, if so kudos! Watch out for some golf themed posts in the future.

@mattatouille - thanks! This is indeed a "luxe burger."

@Schimming - I'll have to try Burger Lounge -- La Jolla isn't too far away.

@chrisatdomainerestaurants - glad you enjoyed it. kudos to you all on the good burger. happy to contact you. happy to talk to all our AHT readers!

@awkwardcabbage - Thanks so much. I really appreciate the support. Glad you liked the review! Two snaps up and a twist right back 'atcha!

@dzhughes - you are mucho generous. Thanks, mate!

@shred - Ok. This is a tough one. First off, I love The Golden State and think Jason and James are superstars. They've built a great cafe and I encourage everyone to support it. 25 Degrees is also a seriously good burger. Personally, I find the bacon at TGS distracting, but then again I usually feel bacon is misplaced atop burger. For me, it distracts from the clean beef taste I crave. The TGS burger sans bacon gives me just that. The 25D burger is a more extravagant burger taste. My choice of one over the other might be mostly based on my burger mood.

25 Degrees is still my favorite upscale burger joint, though I frequent Umami more often because it's in my neighborhood.

Damon, which would you rate higher, the burger at 25 Degrees or The Golden State? I appreciate the variety at 25D but can't find a combo I like better than the bacon cheeseburger at TGS.

i have to say, this particular article was especially well crafted (though i always love your reviews). two snaps a twist!

That sounds delicious...I am going to have to try it when I am up in LA. Meanwhile i get my burger fix at Burger Lounge in La Jolla!

I'm glad that everyone seems to like this "fancy" upscale burger place. My experience at these types have been weak on the burgers but way overboard on the pretense (see: FLIP in Atlanta). The Counter has been the ideal ratio for good burgers and pretense in my experience. But I recommend better food at lesser atmosphere places.

@Adam Kuban - Thanks, Adam! Yeah, I've been beaten up at my burger lunches of late. Umami is great and probably expanding to a second location soon...I'll have more on that story soon.

@stewmeat - Indeed x 2. The rings are the best have had in LONG time and I thought my patty was doomed when I saw that bun, but they've really come up with a good recipe for their brioche (not usually my preference) bun.

@carriebwc - just looking at it as I write this I want another!

Those onion rings are what o-rings should look like! In regards to the burger, I would have guessed from the pic that there was too much bun in the b2b ratio, glad that wasn't the case.

Loved the post, Damon- and certainly a beautiful burger.. indeed, a lot to be said for simple pleasures!

i live almost directly across the street from this restaurant -- i came in with the bf on a saturday at like 8 -- the hostess looked at us with a completely straight face and told us it was an hour and a half wait. WHAT?! ha. naturally we did not stay.

Lincolnberry (??) mustard--I can't get the photo out of my mind. Yikes.

Meatloaf on bun = unhappy Lvn4life