One of the first posts I read in the other fucked up site was scraping off the meringue on the coconut pie and having the waitress load it with fresh whipped cream.
It looks beyond aesthetically challenging.
But it sure tastes dope as fuck.
The pie n burger lunchroom cheeseburger is like an in n out cheeseburger if that cheeseburger actually tasted good.
I grew up in Pasadena, and I live here now. Of course I’ve tried Pie and Burger, both in the restaurant and from the truck. And agree that it is a classic. Maybe the classic. I also like In n Out. But Pie and Burger, while classic, can feel a little thin sometimes. Sometimes you want a burger with a bit more heft - not just mass-wise, but flavor-wise. (I think it’s the ratio of iceberg lettuce and usually mediocre tomato to meat and cheese (and Pie and Burger isn’t alone in mediocrity of tomato - it’s pretty widespread. The oven roasting bit does help get around that.)
I’ve only been to Apple Pan once and I was not a fan. But it’s possible that I ordered the hickory burger and it was just all wrong. Too much sweetness, again.
I really liked Casa Bianca in the 80s/90s…but haven’t been in a very long time (since I moved from Mt. Washington). It was a good place for a sausage pie (cut in strange shapes) and some cheap red wine in a carafe. Sorry to hear the next generation family isn’t keeping the quality up.
there are lots more interesting places close to there now (especially with the hipstercation of the area)—I wish I still lived over that way to easily check out all of the new places (and overall I really liked living in that part of LA). when I lived there, you could get good tacos but that was pretty much it.
-----and no need to check out Casa Bianca unless you really want to.
What is this Eden you speak of? Yes, I clicked through and checked out the website but I’d like your take, oh wise one.
Their online menu is odd. No prices listed save for add ons, as in “add avocado, $1.50” but no mention of how much the actual dish you’d be adding to costs. A failure in terms of information design.
Eden claims its fame to its supposed super-secret burger blend.
While the burgers are ok, they tend to be overcooked (even when requested not to) and all of the stock burger combos on the menu are overdressed and oversauced, so you end up eating and tasting condiments instead of, well, beefy burgerness.
So if you choose to get a buger, ask for a basic house-blend burger, with a judicious selection of dressings/toppings (me? I just opt for onions, some frisee lettuce and mustard).
But, the raison d’être for being at Eden are the fries. They taste like they’ve crafted each single fry individually, they’re that good. And if you use them to make duck fat poutine, well, by golly, you better come equipped with elastic waste-band pants.