Father's Office: Culver City http://www.fathersoffice.com/

Even before I had moved to the City of Angels, I had heard about this mysterious place called Father’s Office. Everyone told me “you have to try this burger. It is going to blow your mind.”  I was told many times that Father’s Office has the best burger in Los Angeles, if not the world.  I decided I had to try it out for myself. I will warn you though; the same people who told me about this amazing burger also scared me a little.  They all warned me that you are not allowed to ask for condiments (especially ketchup!), the wait staff isn’t very friendly and there are no substitutions. It is even on their website!!! So for me that meant gasp I, Abigail Bays, would have to eat a cheeseburger!!!!!!!

I was, needless to say, just as excited for this burger as I was nervous for it.   On a crisp Saturday night, armed with my burger partners in crime (Carter and Denise Bays), we ventured to Father’s Office in Culver City.  Right when we walked in I was a tad thrown off. It is very much a bar that serves food. (Which I love).  You have to order at the bar, they give you a number and then someone will deliver you your food.  We all saddled up to the bar and I took a deep breath bracing myself for a sassy bartender.  He was actually extremely nice. We ordered our burgers (I didn’t dare ask for no cheese). I ordered mine medium well, Denise ordered hers well done and Carter went for medium rare.  Of course we order regular and sweet potato fries. Then we went on a search for a table.

Father’s Office is a first come first sit, so we had to creep and hover around people to try and find a table.  Luck was on our side that night and we found a table outside.  Our fries came out first and they were wonderful. I usually don’t care for sweet potato fries but with the aioli, it was amazing.

            The burgers arrived and I felt like there should be fanfare.  My mouth was watering (and still is when I think about it) and I couldn’t wait for him to put it on the table.  It is placed in front of me and I was taken aback.  It is not a usual burger because it is not on a traditional hamburger bun.  I would only describe it as an amazing French baguette, crusty on the outside but also soft. You didn’t feel like you were going to chip your tooth biting in. The Office Burger has caramelized onions, applewood bacon compote, gruyere, matag blue cheese and arugula.   My only complainant off the bat was there was a heck of a lot of arugula so I took it off  before I even tried a bite.  But my friends, that is my only complaint about that burger.  It was heaven, heaven heaven!!!! The amazing combination of the onions, bacon and dare I say the cheeses made me want to do the Happy Abby Dance right there.  The onions are sweet and with the gruyere almost had a French onion flavor.  Carter and Denise felt the same way. Our table was extremely silent. I, Abby Bays, was speechless!!! AMAZING!!!  The only time I spoke during the eating process was when I saw Evan Handler who played Harry Goldenblatt aka Charlotte’s Harry in Sex and the City.  That just put me over the edge!

            Of course I only ate half and brought it home for the other taste tester, my roomie and bestie, Shannon.  She loved it! It is way way way way  too early to say that this the best burger in Los Angeles, but Father’s Office is hands down in the semi finals.  I look forward to returning there to see if it can stand up to the others.  Ok everyone…I finally understand about Father’s Office.

Score: 8.99 

GO Burger: Sunset and Vine http://www.goburger.com/

So I am not going to lie, when my good friend and food guru, Patrick Kang, told me that GO Burger was coming to Los Angeles I could not wait to go.  Owned by BLT Restaurants I was already a fan of BLT Market in New York City. Plus, their menu had me salivating. 

I went on a Thursday night with my amazing brother and sister-in-law (have to give the fam a shout-out) and I was actually shocked because there was no wait for a table and we got there around 6:30sh.  The drive from Century City to Hollywood was longer than the wait for a table, thank goodness.  It’s right on the corner of Sunset and Vine.  An extremely cool place, the décor has an upscale dinner feel but without the cheesiness.

When the menu came it wasn’t hard for me to choose what I wanted - the BLT Burger. Denise went for the classic with cheddar and avocado and Carter also went for the BLT.  We had to go for the Kobe Beef Pigs in a Blanket and the Duck Fat Fries as well. All the burgers come medium unless requested and of course Carter was the only one who went medium.  I went for medium well and Denise went for well.  As excited as I was about the burgers, the Kobe Beef Hot Dogs were something I was really looking forward to. 

If you have never tried a Kobe Beef Hot Dog, you have to try one. I was fortunate to have been married to a chef for a year (the only good thing that came out of the marriage was a coffee maker and my love of Kobe Beef Hot Dogs) and at one of their food shows they had Kobe Beef Hot Dogs.  They have to be one of the most incredible things in the world. They are so filling you only need to eat one. Anyone who knows me or has been to a party of mine in Cleveland knows that Kobe Beef Hot Dogs are always on the menu.  Since moving out to Los Angeles, I haven’t really been able to find them so I jumped on the chance to have them at GO Burger.  The Kobe Beef Pigs in a Blanket did not disappoint with the flaky pastry and the wonderful flavor of the hot dog.  It also had a touch of grain mustard on top. It was heaven in my mouth. Let’s just say the three of us had a little discussion on who was going to have the last one.  Denise won.

But I digress, this is not the search for the best Kobe Beef Hot Dog in Los Angeles you are reading this to find out about the burger…Well..The burgers came at a reasonable time which was nice.  By the time we were done eating our apps, the waiter brought out our burgers.  What was nice was that they had the toothpicks that said how the burger was done so for me it made me feel better that they weren’t going to mess it up.  We were all extremely excited oohing and ahhing over the burgers that were in front of us.  We took pictures of them but my damn crackberry didn’t save them so you will either have to go there or use your imagination.  The buns were a beautiful golden brown. It was a sesame seed bun and it almost seemed like it had an egg wash on it to make it shiny.  I don’t know if they make them in-house. I don’t believe so.  But I could be wrong.  There was a great portion between meat and bun ratio.  I am not a huge fan of lettuce and tomato on a burger because I feel like it takes away from the burger taste, so I removed it.  Denise and I cut our burgers in half; Carter dug right in.  After our first bites we were all going crazy.  The meat was extremely juicy and flavorful.  The bun was good - not great, but good.  I really enjoyed the Go Burger sauce that came on my burger.  I would say it would be like a higher-end In N’ Out Spread.  Who doesn’t love a spread!!?? The bacon on the burger was awesome.  I was a happy camper.  Carter liked his BLT burger.  He said it was a good burger, a little too bready and a little too greasy but it was taste explosion! He felt like it was the sort of burger that you could share with a friend. In this economy who doesn’t love to share? Sharing is caring.  Carter only ate half.  Denise’s opinion on her Classic was that usually when you order a burger well done it can be dry but with this burger it was not the case.  It was juicy and wonderful.  I only ate half as well and brought the other half home to my roomie and best friend, Shannon, and she loved it as well. So consensus is that Go Burger on Sunset and Vine has made it to the semi-finals of the Bays’ Best Burger in Los Angeles contest. Congrats Go Burger and I will see you (and eat you) in the Semi Finals!!! Go Burger's rating 7.5

PS I know some of you balked at the Duck Fat Fries but us Clevelanders know (thanks to Bar Cento and Greenhouse Tavern) that Duck Fat Fries have to be the most amazing treat in the world.  Go Burgers were great but I still love Chef Jonathon Sawyers Duck Fat Fries the best!!