There’s no art to writing about food. I’m living proof of that. I started my “Distinguished Gourmand” column because someone (Marika? Was that you!?) suggested it’d be funny to read food critique written by someone with an untrained palette whose diet consisted solely of bagels, soda, and eggs. Now look at me, I’m getting invited to Elite foodie events in a city experiencing its own mini-revolution in regards to the quantity — and quality — of eateries that are opening on an almost daily basis. Funny how a few years (and one important decision to try new foods because pretty girls will think I’m weird if I just drink soda and eat bagels all the time) can make a world of a difference.
Last night I was invited to try a significant portion of the menu at True Burger, a new fast-casual burger joint that recently opened on La Brea in the Miracle Mile neighborhood. Coincidentally, the space in which this new venture exists was the original location of what many would call LA’s benchmark fast-casual burger chain, Umami Burger. As unique as True Burger’s concept and menu are, I imagine A LOT of comparisons will be made between the two. Whether that bodes well for True Burger remains to be seen.
As this was a tasting event where I was fed (SO MUCH) small iterations of each of the menu items, I’m going to try to refrain from passing judgement. I might point one or two things out that were glaringly obvious. Otherwise, it’s not fair to criticize an establishment based on a tasting event where there were 25 mouths to feed and each dish was a miniaturized version of what is normally served. I think. I’m pretty sure it’s not always sliders. Right? GUYS!?
…RIGHT!?
That said, here’s a rundown of everything I tried with some basic descriptions.
The burgers at True are freshly-ground in-house, and consist of an unknown blend of grass-fed Angus beef. Again, I was eating slider-sized portions so I can’t really judge the grind, temperature or packing/handling. What I can judge is the slider-sized buns, which were too hefty and airy for such a small serving of beef. One would hope that the full-sized patties offer more heft that can stand up to a large bun.
First up was a plate of homemade sweet pickles, or as someone nearby joked, “the pickled crudité.” Some of my fellow diners called the combination of lotus roots, cherry grape tomatoes, pearl onions, white button mushrooms, carrots, peppers and cucumber too salty, but in my opinion they weren’t pickled enough. The pickled peach was not my favorite bite of the meal.
The first salad course was True’s Banchan Salad, which is made with spicy cucumbers, lotus chips, soy-marinated mushrooms, pickled egg, a spring mix and honey ginger vinaigrette.
A few minutes later, we were served the Candied Bacon and Blue Cheese salad, which was also packed with fresh pears (not pickled, thankfully!), roasted pecans, blue cheese and a wine reduction. I preferred this to the Banchan.
The first burger of the night was the eponymous True Burger, which is topped with aged white cheddar, a slow-roasted tomato, onion straws, “spring mix”, bacon jam, True’s house-made ketchup and ginger mustard. I loved the roasted tomato beneath the patty — which, by the way, was cooked to a perfect medium rare, no small feat when you’re working with a slider — and the little pungent kick of the mustard added a nice touch at the finish.
The burger was served with a side of the house french fries, which came with various dipping sauces ranging from chipotle ketchup to “wasabiaoli”, mint-dill tzatziki, ranch, and a honey-ginger vinaigrette. Normally if you order a side of fries you’ll get to choose two options. I’d recommend with the chipotle ketchup and the wasabi aioli. Next came a plate of onion rings, which were described as chickpea flour-battered onions. I liked them best with the house ketchup or the chipotle ketchup. By the way, the folks at True were nice enough to send us all home with a jar of their housemade ketchup. I’m looking forward to to using it.
Our second “burger” (explanation for use of scare quotes coming…) was the Chicken and Waffles burger, which is pretty much what it sounds like. What would ordinarily be organic fried chicken was tonight substituted with a kind of jidordi chicken served between homemade buttermilk waffles with a little side of Vermont maple syrup. I would have liked to try the version that’s on the regular menu (which includes a bacon jam, pecan crumble and peach aioli) but it would have been really hard to squeeze all of those components into a slider-sized sandwich. That said, this was probably my least favorite burger simply because the waffles were burnt.
Next came one of the most anticipated burgers of the night, the Brunch Burger. This one was served atop a spiced crispy potato patty (a hash brown, for all intents and purposes), and beneath an over-easy egg, with white aged cheddar, bacon jam and spicy Gochujang sauce. It needed some additional Tapatío to add more heat, but I think it was a clear favorite at my table. This burger was served with a side of truffle fries that were most certainly not under-seasoned with truffle oil. If you like that intense flavor, these spuds should be considered a must-order side dish.
The final burger of the evening was the Carne Asada, which comes with homemade guacamole, a slow-roasted tomato, lemon-pickled onion, cilantro, a fried tortilla chip, homemade chipotle cheddar, and salsa verde. It kind of tasted like a torta, but all the toppings in concert with each other dwarfed the flavor of the meat. This one came with a side of sweet potato fries, which I believe were tossed in brown sugar, maybe with a light hit of cinnamon.
Desserts were Green Tea Gelato and a Choco-Flan. I only had one bite of each, as I’m not a huge dessert eater. The gelato had a decent consistency to it and was a little fluffier than I would have thought by looking at it. I don’t think I’ll hurt anyone’s feelings by saying no one liked the Choco-Flan, which was a large slice of dry chocolate cake topped with a little layer of flan. Maybe it was kept frozen too long? I’m pretty sure you can all skip the Choco-Flan.
We were given beer to imbibe along with the burgers, but I don’t think they serve beer normally. Instead there’s a selection of all-natural bottled sodas, three homemade refreshments (lemonade, iced-tea, coffee) or you can opt for bottled water.
All in all the event was a fun one. Good people, comfortable weather for outdoor patio dining, very attentive and friendly servers, and chefs/owners who clearly care about what they do. It’ll be interesting to see how True Burger fares in a city that is suddenly rife with fast/casual style burger joints. The location is good, the menu is enticing, and the people of LA certainly love their burgers. Now it’s up to the folks at True to consistently put out high-quality food while continuing to explore new, tasty variations on the burger theme. Hopefully I’ll be able to return and experience a more normalized True dining experience soon.
Cabaret Volatire – Radical Chic [MP3]
