25 Degrees

You might remember from my first post of 2011 that I briefly mentioned a burger that I might have had at 1:00am. This is the one. That's 1:00am on 1/1/11. I don't know, I thought that was kind of cool.

Steph C. had talked about this spot a lot, so I made it a point to hit up this place on my last visit to LA. With so many places on my list, I knew that the only time I'd ever get to try 25 Degrees was for a second dinner, or a fourth meal. After a great night of happy hour at WP24, dinner at Wurstküche, and cocktails at Villain's Tavern, rounding out the night with one last stop only made sense.

The interior was a little bit unpleasant, but I can't blame the place for having obnoxious drunk people stumbling in on New Year's. The walls are ridiculously patterned and bleed red, creating somewhat of a tacky atmosphere. None of this took anything away from the delicious food, though.

First up was the Guinness Milkshake. The whole table shared this one since it was getting late. The sides drool with a house-made chocolate sauce that blends really well with the creamy Guinness and vanilla bean ice cream. I love Guinness, and pairing Guinness with something creamy and sweet makes a lot of sense after considering the mass appeal of an Irish Car Bomb. If I didn't have diabetes and wasn't sharing this drink, I would've swigged this whole drink in a couple of milliseconds. The milkshake is huge though, so sharing it might be worth considering.

In true post-drinking fashion, we decided to get French Fries, Sweet Potato Fries, and Onion Rings.

The French Fries were pretty straightforward. Nice and crispy, and delicious with a huge dollop of ketchup. I love ketchup.

The Sweet Potato Fries were also straightforward and delicious. These were some of the crispiest sweet potato fries I've had. Also great with a generous flood of ketchup.

I've heard great things about the Onion Rings, but I think they were just having an off night. And who could blame them with the absurd influx of drunk, typically trendy customers? I love salt, and I rarely find things so salty that they're inedible. Unfortunately, these were inedible. It was like eating an ocean with each bite. Nothing could save these. Not even an entire bottle of ketchup. I'm going to make it a point to try them again when I get a chance.

In the midst of all the fried goodness, one of us was smart enough to order the Roasted Beet Salad. The citrus vinaigrette was a great way to complement the slight bitterness of the arugula and the deep sweetness of the beets. The menu promised burrata, which we got. I just wish there was more of it.

Let's get to the burgers.

Meet Number One. Number One seems simple enough in its description as a burger filled with gorgonzola, arugula, bacon, caramelized onions, and thousand island, but with the first bite you realize that this burger is more than your average burger.

The patty is undeniably juicy, and the generous load of bacon and caramelized onions adds enough savory flavor to get you through an entire month. The gorgonzola could have easily overpowered the entire burger, but there was just enough to successfully marry the other ingredients without overpowering the senses. The bun is almost like a pastry: flaky on the outside and fluffy on the inside, with enough butter to leave you reaching for five more napkins. Number One undoubtedly deserves its number one spot.

Number Three should get some credit too. The burger is packed with the same overflow of burger juices (notice the juice creeping onto my thumb...), and features the same, beautiful bun. The flavors in the Number Three were more pepper-centric. With jack cheese, chipotle, green chili, and avocado, this burger tastes like what one might call a Cali-Mex burger. The presence of peppers and chilies was intense, in a good way. The smokiness of the chipotle was more subtle than I would've liked, but I really enjoyed the way the avocado toned down the more intense combination of peppers and chilies. It's no Number One, but it's worth a very honorable mention.

If you can get past the inevitable drunken 1:00am crowd, 25 degrees is a great place to have a late night meal. If you can't, then make it a point to hit up this place at normal lunch and dinner hours. Though I can't say just yet if this is my favorite burger in LA, I can definitely say that the Number One is well into my top 10 burgers of all time.

25 Degrees

Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel
7000 Hollywood Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90028

(323) 785-7244

http://www.25degreesrestaurant.com/

GET: Guinness Milkshake; Number One Medium Rare.

Rick Bayless' Bacon-and-Tomato Guacamole

A few months ago, I picked up a copy of Rick Bayless' Fiesta at Rick's. The book itself is beautiful. It's filled with scrumptious, full-paged pictures of clean, inspiring food. While the overarching theme is obviously Mexican, there are many dishes that you wouldn't expect to successfully make the leap into the realm of Mexican food. The book is exciting and makes you want to cook everything in it.

As I was flipping through, I kept an eye out for quicker snacks to make. With my externship looming around the corner, I was hoping to find some finger food I could snack on while at work. I should have expected this, but Fiesta at Rick's is loaded with quick snack foods. Though there are plenty of desserts, cocktails, and mains, the premise of the book is to show the reader how to successfully throw a party with a series of snack-oriented dishes.

My eyes stopped at the Bacon-and-Tomato Guacamole. I love guacamole, and I love bacon. Reading its description made me drool with excitement. Within 10 minutes, I was out the door with a short shopping list: bacon, avocados, white onion, chipotle chiles, tomato, cilantro, salt, and lime juice.

The recipe actually makes a decent amount. Though it says 8 to 10 nibble-sized servings, I think this could easily amount to six good fistful-sized servings.

The chipotle adds an addictive smokey and somewhat sweet flavor to the otherwise bright and fresh salsa. The tomato and onion add a clean flavor to balance out the fatty bacon and creamy avocado. The cilantro adds that extra Mexican kick to the guacamole. I usually like to have garlic in my guacamole, but I didn't find myself missing it.

If this recipe is any indication of the flavors and uniqueness of the other recipes in this book, then 2011 is in for a strong relationship with Rick Bayless.

The Hungry Cat

Suzanne Goin [and David Lentz have] some great food going on at The Hungry Cat. Though you won't see Garfield's lasagna on the menu, you'll definitely see a ton of fresh seafood.

The restaurant sits in the back corner of a random done up alley with large windows, but little natural light. This makes the restaurant feel a little stale on the inside, but the warm service makes up for the cold interior.

Afternoon happy hour also helps to warm up your spirits. The cocktail list is great, but tends to lean towards sweeter drinks.

The Luke's Lemonade was a nice mix of lemonade, mint, and vodka. I could see this drink being a bestseller on hotter summer days. The Greyhound featured a strong dose of grapefruit. I love the sour sweetness of grapefruit, and this cocktail does those flavors justice. Overall, however, I felt like the grapefruit was trying to hide the alcohol, rather than balance it.

The Sleepy Jean was like nectar, complete with chamomile, honey, and tequila. This was probably one of the more subtle drinks I had that day, and I would definitely get this drink again. My favorite was a special they were making that day, which was essentially a Manhattan mixed with some muddled tangerines. While the tangerines covered any trace of bitters, the drink was still deliciously refreshing.

Enough with the booze.

First up was the Clam Chowder with Manila Clams, Bacon, and Rustic Croutons. The chowder was sweet, hearty, and comforting. There were just enough clams to balance out the heavier bacon, and the croutons added a nice crunch to the dish. Overall, the dish kept my attention, but was more or less straightforward.

The Oyster and Pork Belly Beignets with Celery Root Remoulade was heavy. The greens didn't do much to contribute to the plate, but the addictive celery root remoulade helped to lighten things up.

The actual beignets were basically a fried, juicier version of the clam chowder. The flavors were similar, with the batter, oyster, and pork belly mirroring the chowder, clams, and bacon.

Each entrée I had came with a generous portion of fries. While unassuming, the fries were actually really good in that class, perfectly fried way.

The Pug Burger with Bacon, Avocado, and Blue Cheese was our first main. Suzanne Goin takes the classic pub burger to a new level with perfectly fatty and crispy bacon, traditional beef, light avocado, and intense blue cheese.

The bread is the star: cloud-like on the inside and crispy on the outside. Notice how the bottom bun's interior gets compressed by the burger's weight and juices. While there was plenty of runoff from the beef, the actually patty itself tasted a bit brittle and dry. The avocado and blue cheese are a great combination and do nothing to make you feel like you're eating something healthy. Though this isn't the best burger I've ever had, it's a great piece of grub to have with a beer.

One of the specials that day was a Crab Cake Sandwich Bacon. This was basically identical in value with the pug burger. The sandwich, or burger really, had equally great bread and bacon. The sauce was tartar-like and heavy, much like the crab cake it sat on top of. The cake was crispy on the outside and gooey on the inside, with a generous amount of crab meat. While the beignets and crab cake feature different proteins, they tasted similarly flavorful, but overbearing.

The best dish of the day was by far the Maine Lobster Roll on a Butter Toasted Bun with French Fries. The humungous pieces of lobster were perfect. While the mayo grew dangerously close to overpowering the natural deliciousness of the lobster meat, the roll was a perfect combination of textures and flavors: crispy bread, scrumptiously soft lobster, soothing mayo, and a light twist of lemon. The impressively buttery bun is something I wish I could eat every day with every meal. The only thing I'd want next time is probably a heavier spritz of lemon. By the end of the meal, I felt spoiled by the amount of lobster I'd eaten on the lobster roll, but still found myself craving more.

Next time I find myself hungry and feeling like an alley cat, I'll probably pounce my way over to The Hungry Cat to snatch up another lobster roll. I'll probably make it a point to get something from the raw bar, too.

The Hungry Cat

1535 N. Vine St.

Los Angeles, CA 90028

(323) 462-2155

http://www.thehungrycat.com/

GET: Maine Lobster Roll on a Butter Toasted Bun with French Fries.