BJ's Burgers (Late Ass Blog) For My Best Friends Birthday

Out of all the blogs I write this is the only one where I will let things pile up so much it just becomes overwhelming and I just sit here with photos from my food adventures and eventually sit down and write one of these and try my best to remember when I went to these places. 

Last year it was rough to convince me to go out and eat some place. Spots were opening and closing and then being super packed and I wasn't trying to get sick. But last May while hanging out with my best friend around her birthday we were out in Arcadia or somewhere and went to BJ's because that place is always good. 

I got a bacon burger with fries while Cam got a chicken salad I believe. See? This is what happens when I take too long. Like, this was in May! The food was great and the waitress was the bomb. She refilled my lemonade about four times even though the place was busy. We ate outside and I felt good about not being around all them crowds of people at other tables. The only other BJ's I've been to is the one at Fox Hills I think and that place is good too. But the service at this one was the best. 

Back At BJ's

I thought I had written about the first time Cam and I went to BJ's but it turns out I did not. This time we were in Burbank and could not quite figure out what to eat. I did not want pizza. Cam did not want Dog Haus again. She checked if there was a BJ's nearby and there was one eight minutes from where we were so we headed there. It was raining a tiny bit but inside the place was packed. I told her the plan B. and C. ideas if shit was too wild here but she asked if we could sit at the bar area. Turns out that is a great idea because we sat in a nice booth area. We got a beer each and I ordered the BJ's Burger with bacon and cheese with fries. Cam mentioned she always gets pizza at this place and I was puzzled since she got a turkey dip when I was with her. She remembered this and how good it was so she ordered that.

We were both hungry as all get out so when the food came I inhaled mine. The burger was really good and I pointed out that they used that good bacon. The kind you don't buy because it is thick cut and only comes with like six in a pack. She enjoyed her sandwich and we both mentioned how great the fries were. They were seriously perfectly seasoned and cooked fries. Did not need to ad ketchup or anything to them. Just shoveled them into my mouth. I wish this place was closer to me because it is not crazy expensive and they have a huge menu that I have not even begun to put a dent in.

Golden State And ICDC Donuts

Today JP and I did a mini Fat Tour. It only counts as a full fledged one if we go to three or more places. This time we went to two spots that were new to us. The first was Golden State on Fairfax between Melrose and Beverly. She mentioned this place a little bit ago but with my weird ass schedule it was hard to find time to hang out let alone get our food on. We were able to find parking pretty easily considering it was Fairfax Blvd. around lunchtime for folks that work regular hours. We got a seat at the booth after ordering and stared at all the weirdos standing in line in the heat to look at shoes.

For drinks she got a mint lemonade that was good because as she said, you could taste the mint and lemonade. I got an Arnold Palmer. Both were good. Our food came in less than ten minutes which shocked me. I got a bacon cheeseburger with sweet potato fries and garlic aioli sauce. These were some of the best fries I have ever had. No exaggeration. Just amazing. The burger was great and juicy. Though this place was not huge they made good use of the space available. It didn't feel like we were on top of one another. Her hot dog was good and not a plain ass hot dog like I was expecting. Her fries were good too. We will be coming back here for sure to try out some more stuff and get those sweet potato fries again.

Shake Shack In West Hollywood

JP and I finally made it to Shake Shack. This place is new so its very popular. We tried to go last week but the line was too long so we gave it another try with plans B. and C. just in case the line was still too long. The line was long but moved faster than last time. We were luckily able to get a table inside because the idea of sitting outdoors with dozens of people staring at us eat is not fine. I got a bacon burger with fries and a Sprite. JP got this beer an bacon grease made burger with cheese with a mango drink. We went halfsies on the fried chicken sandwich.

The bacon burger was awesome. Really good bacon but a bit smaller than I was expecting. The one JP got was super greasy and missing...something. It had powerful strong mustard on it but needed lettuce and tomato or something. I'm not quite sure. The crispy chicken sandwich was very good as well and is keeping me on my hunt that I have with Camille for the best chicken sandwiches. I'll be heading back here for sure but hopefully it will calm down a bit so I can just grab something in less than ten minutes.  

Continental Kitchen & Chili's

Last Friday before the Florence & The Machine concert Cam and I swung by Continental Kitchen. I love this place. They are always good. Always. Cam got a turkey burger with fries and a ginger soda while I got a classic burger with bacon, fries, and a Snapple. It was a really good night started with bellies full of awesome.

Sunday we went to Chili's in Simi Valley after seeing the new baby. We had a few choices and picked this. The nachos with guacamole were good and I really liked my burger with onions and bacon. Cam was not a fan of her turkey burger. We're gonna have to get a do-over for her. Oh, and I got the strawberry lemonade which was really good. They have this newfangled thing where you pay at the table with a credit card machine. It was weird.

Continental Kitchen Treat Yo Self!

Went to Continental Kitchen again this morning. God, I love this place. Its in West Hollywood right on Santa Monica across from Connie & Ted's. I decided to get the bleu cheese burger with bacon added because sometimes you need to treat yo self! This thing was so damned good. I like taking friends here for the first time and out of four people none have been disappointed.

I also got these Bruce Cost ginger ale drinks. One pomegranate and the other passion fruit. Both are really good but don't kick my mouth ass like ginger ale tend to. The passion fruit was really good.  

Slater 5050 In Pasadena

Both of my cousins aka the only people in my family that I see mentioned this place called Slater 5050 in Pasadena. So before heading out to see Godzilla me and Mala headed to Pasadena and made an attempt to find parking since there was a damned bike race going on and every street was compromised. We found public parking and headed in. The place wasn't packed since we went so early in the day. We got seats as soon as we arrived. This place has TV's all over the walls and hot chicks that work there. The menu is a bit overwhelming. There are a shit ton of burgers to order from. Our waiter was cool and got our orders without writing it down since we got the same meal.

I ordered a Sprite and we both got the 5050 burger since nether of us had been here before. Mala got her's with an egg on it. This burger has guacamole, cheese, and the patty is made of half beef half bacon. This is a thing! He warned us that even though the burger was well done it would appear pink because of the bacon in it. We had no problem with this. We also got one order of fries that was enough for two people. Did I mention that bacon ketchup came with it?! Oh, it was so good. The fries alone were good and well seasoned but the bacon ketchup made it even better. We ate this before noon and I didn't need to eat anything else for the rest of the night. If you get the chance to go here do it. You'll be full but it won't cripple you.

Burgers At Plan Check

A couple of nights ago me and some co-workers went to this place over on Sawtelle called Plan Check. BS had said it was great and boy he did not lie! I had been over in this area once before with Cam when we got the moving spaghetti, Blue Marlin. I got the Chef’s Favorite which had a cheese…uh…plate, bacon, sauce, and fries that were fried in beef fat. I didn’t get it with an egg on it because I’m not a fan of unscrambled eggs. This was one of the best burgers I’ve ever had. Top three for sure. The fries were amazing and everything was served on baby skillets. Don’t go here if you’re in a rush.

The service is not the fastest in the world but they are plenty nice. Parking is a whore depending on when you go because this area is heavily populated. I’ll be going here again very soon. I doubt I'll remember the name of it though because its really not catchy. The prices are slightly high but worth it for the big ass burger and amount of fries. You could split the fries between two people and be okay. The seating is all around the windows, outside, and a small island indoors for a large group. There is a large selection of things to try and crazy mixed drinks I will attempt to have at some point.

Burger Kitchen On 3rd

There is this place called Burger Kitchen on 3rd Street. Neither Cam or I had ever been and randomly decided to go. Finding parking could’ve been hard but it wasn’t. We got to the place and walked into a very dark and very quiet restaurant. It was Friday night and this place was dead. All the other places nearby had a bunch of people and it sounded so fun. Maybe we should have gone to one of those places instead. We sat down and were greeted. There was a giant wall for writing in chalk. Cam leaned against it getting chalk on her sweater.

Nickel Diner Downtown Los Angeles

Last week during the LA Art Walk in Downtown Los Angeles my tattoo artist Koko took me to this place called Nickel Diner aka the 5 Cent Diner. No, it doesn’t cost just fives cents to eat there. That would be silly. The reason that there is no picture of the delicious bacon avocado burger I ate is because I ate it before I took a picture. It was that good and I was that hungry. The burger was huge and the bacon was perfect. The fries were perfect and there was just enough of them. And guess how many times I had to ask for a refill? Not never! Our awesome tattooed waitress was on top of her shit. The place was super busy but no one sat around asking where their food was. It came fast, hot, and good. They are located at 524 S. Main St. Los Angeles, CA 90013. If you’re ever Downtown you should definitely check this place out.

Back At Umami

Yesterday Miss E. and I went to Umami Burger on La Brea. For once we went by and the place wasn’t packed so we sat out on the patio area. For those that don’t know Umami Burger is a kinda fancy place. Not dress shirt and tie fancy but the food looks fancy. I ordered the Manly Burger and Miss E. got the Umami Burger. We decided to share the sweet potato fries. Our food arrived and we were gonna split each in half and share. We were starving before we even got there and the long wait was not the business.

Everyone knows that I hate sending food back. If I can not send food back I will not. But we had to. Miss E. cut her burger (medium rare) open and that son of a bitch was raw! (screamed in Gordon Ramsay voice) I mean it was mooing. We sent it back and ate most of our fries while drinking Mexican Cokes. The sweet potato fries were good. I had never had them here before. As we finished them I noticed that there was brown sugar in them. They also came with this ketchup that was almost salsa like. Very good.

My Manly Burger finally arrived fully cooked but way smaller. It was awesome and had these little bacon slivers on it. I swear if I could just have a plate full of those little slices I would. If only the one done correctly was as big as the raw one. A man can dream, cant he? While I have a moment I’ll mention that the staff was very cool. They didn’t get butt hurt over us sending the food back and one of the waitresses even stated that the burger was not done.

Miss. E.’s Umami Burger was good. That fried little slice of cheese was really good. And yes this time it was finished. I’m not gonna let the fact that we got served living food turn me off from this place. I hadn’t been there in a while and when the food was prepared properly I barely chewed it I ate it so fast.

Hooter's In Long Beach

While seeing fireworks in Long Beach with Coco (who did my tattoo) we wanted to grab something to eat. At first we were going to head to Outback Steakhouse but the wait was 45 minutes and we would’ve missed the fireworks. So after seeing the explosions every place had stopped serving food and only had booze. Heat and hunger plus liquor is stupid so we hunted for food. Chili’s, Boston’s Pizza, and a few other places I had never heard of were done for the night.

But Hooter’s wasn’t!

So we get to Hooter’s which I’ve eaten at before in Santa Monica near the beach. That location is fast, good service, more legs than hooters. I had used the gift certificates I’d won from being on Adam Carolla’s Show when he was on 97.1 here in Los Angeles. It was great. The one in Long Beach, not so much.

They say they called us for our tables but we didn’t hear it apparently. We got our seat and I ordered a burger and fries with bacon and Sierra Mist. Coco ordered crab cakes. So a minute before my food arrived they let Coco know that the crab cakes were non existent. So she ordered what I had. They finally bring her food and…its wrong. They brought some mushroom and cheese burger. Coco ate it but it wasn’t what she wanted. The waitress asked if she wanted to switch it but it was that thing where you ask praying someone says no.

I hope this place isn’t like this all the time. Strange service (waitress took our order on a napkin), wrong food brought, blaring television followed by even louder music, and a glass case keeping a old man who stared at all the waitresses while they worked. The food was good but, wow, I’ll try not to go to Hooter’s in Long Beach if I have a choice. Which I do.

Island's Burger

Last week I went to Island’s in Malibu. I hadn’t been to this place since the 90’s and the last time I went I didn’t enjoy it all that much. So when my friend Sophia said that we were heading their to hang out with her friend I was like “Aw, man…” We got there and I ended up ordering the Malibu Burger (naturally) which had cheese and bacon. Damn, it was good! They have really upped their burger game since the last time I went. They also have unlimited fries which taste great. The wait staff was good and filled up my drink three times which is my minimum. Everyone that has ever eaten with me knows that. If you haven’t tried it I suggest you do. They’re all over the place.

Back At Toast

I went to Toast with my cousin today. It was so awesome. It felt weird not seeing Camille sitting there across from me since every single time I have been it was with her. My cousin had never had it before and I couldn’t take her to The Counter again. Gotta try new things, you know?



This is a picture of her burger. I took one of mine but it turned out to be a video. Yeah. I’m special like that sometimes. I go a regular burger with a side of ranch dressing. Cousin got a burger with cheese (“I gotta have cheese on my Whopper!”) with bacon and “smashed” potatoes. Yes, smashed. She liked her meal and that was cool. I thought about going to Umami Burger but they have been getting some bad reviews lately. And the last time I went they didn’t even have any drinks. I shit you not. No drinks. Just water. Toast is a really cool place to eat as long as you don’t go on the weekend. I read a bunch of reviews and the ones that are bad are from two years ago and sound like bitter actors.

Chili's Burgers & Duke's Fish Tacos

Everyone knows I like bacon. I also like burgers. I also like when the both of them get together and have orgies in my mouth. Yesterday me and my lady had various foods from various places. The first was the L.A Zoo where we bought a delicious cappuccino muffin with Sprite. That muffin was awesome. I let Jess eat the crunchy parts since she is a crunch fiend. They made this thing so well. The chocolate chips inside were the proverbial icing on the cake.



Later we headed to Duke’s in Malibu. Bring lots of money when going to Duke’s! We got there early and enjoyed their fish tacos. Get the beer battered ones. Trust me. They come in sets of two and run you about $8 but are filling. They have a ton of guacamole, salsa, and sour cream on the side. We were gonna eat an actual dinner there but the menu is nothing to write home about.



Their mai tais on the other hand are awesome! I like fruit juice (but not actual fruit, go figure) and this had a lot. And remember to stir. Once the booze shows up its an actual party. Its in a decent size glass so depending on how much of an alkie you are one or two should be just fine.



We headed on over to Chili’s in Westwood and got their $20 deal. Now, don’t go in there thinking you’re gonna get some lame ass tiny meal for $20. No. We first got the appetizer which was this nacho dish with jalapeno, beans, salsa, sour cream, and cheese. It in itself was filling. It wasn’t just because we had the fish tacos earlier. This was just big.



Next were out meals. Jess got this ginormous ass salad with chicken in it. I’m serious. This thing was monstrous in size. She was only able to eat about a quarter of the thing. She liked it. I didn’t try it out. I was saving myself for my burger which I expected to be just the best damn thing to party in my mouth all day.



My bacon burger shows up and its huge. The fries were seasoned perfectly. In case you wanna know, I got Sprite to go along with it as it wouldn’t interfere too much with the meal. The waiter was really fast and we had received everything including our dessert in less than 20 minutes of being seated. Everything was hot and tasted very good. We never got around to eating our dessert because we were too full. it’s a chocolate lava thingy with caramel and vanilla ice cream. Yes. Instant mouthgasm.

If you live near a Chili’s go there and get this deal. You will be happy you did. If you head to Duke's, just get there early and head straight to the bar section and get some booze for happy hour and the fish tacos. Unless you wanna pay $20 for just your meal alone.