BLT – Come for Kobe, the burger, not the baller.
Aka – how a poorman does Sunset in WeHo.

Earliest this month, I took a hatchet to Umami. To finish off the month of May (National Burger Month) on a pleasant note, I had to taste the gaudy BLT Burger, hitherto only available to East Coasters. As a personal guarantee, realize this: nowhere else in California, nay, The West Coast, will you find the privilege of witnessing this beautiful specimen. We’ve all graduated from Yelp, but damnit, I still like to be first sometime.

A lot of people dig burgers. A lot of people are trend whores. Some people are trendy burgers whores. I am not. You may read snot like: “I’m not a burger fan, but I love Umami” elsewhere on the blogsphere, but never here. Here, you discovered Mom’s. Hopefully, “here” also led you to gems such as the Ammo burger and the ghetto E. LA housemade chilli cheese burger (since 1953). If you think you’ve had every gourmet burger in town, I’d ask why bother. If you actually had every ghetto burger in town, you’re a retard. There’s a fine line between stupidity and healthy curiosity. More isn’t merrier. Eating 50 crappy burgers doesn’t necessarily enhance the taste bank.

Knowing this, it is my great pleasure to present the BLT Steak “Kobe” burger. A good burger doesn’t have to be wagyu. Beacon, Ammo, Bar Marmont, Hungry Cat have all proven this. But damnit, Wagyu can make a great burger. It’s a Van diagram thing. This is a beaut: caramalized onions, gorgonzola, a 3/4” thick 1/2 lb bloody and drippy patty finished off with a nice char. On the top you have a thin slice of tomato, sunken into the cheese, over that a simple slice of ice berg lettuce. Side note: BLT Kobe burger completes the 6 gourmet burger tour started by the earlier Hollywood Hot Mess entry; I don’t like to flake.

Earliest PR reports mentions from Metromix & LA Times spoke of the $17 Kobe burger, which is a special currently running to laud the LA Lakers in NBA playoffs, but they forgot the fries. The parmesan herbed fries are fantastic and befitting of sharing the burger’s plate.

Did I mention the house-made root beer float? It’s $9, but Cyndi, the barkeep, will pour it for ya, and the vanilla ice cream is just tentalizing. If you are aware of ANY other restaurant making their own root beer as well of ice cream for the float, let me know; I am aware of none. Not even Craft/Craftbar.

Finally, on that particular nite, I had the privilege of breathing the same air as Mr. T. Mr. T., I found out, had a penchant for dessert menu destruction. At first, I was shy and only coyly stared at the cornucopia of desserts Mr. Tourondel and his lovely dining companion barely grazed. But as their ice cream melted, I started clicking. It helped the lovely dining companion was keenly aware of the DSLR and asked if I wanted pictures. SCORE! On the top right, you will see Mr. T’s hand?!? Couple the chef-star sighting with the uber friendly barkeeps, FOH staff, as well as the valet guy, BLT instantly achieved favorite WeHo resto status after 3 visits.

PS: Rumor has it the burger will continue to be a bar special even after the Lakers lose to the Magic NBA Finals. Please check with your friendly hostess.

BLT Steak

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