Jinky's Cafe

LOCATION –

Jinky's is located at 2nd and Broadway in Santa Monica. When you walk through the door it looks like a breakfast café with bright yellow walls. I chose to sit on the porch and soak in the sunshine.

ON THE MENU –

I perused the menu looking for what I came for and my eyes lit up when I saw it, the Kobe Burger. I ordered it, even though it was a hefty $14.00. The burger came with your choice of cheese. I opted for cheddar, which covered the sautéed mushrooms, grilled onions and awesomely draped the top of the half-inch thick patty. The cold items were on the side, such as; a tomato, lettuce, pickles, salad peppers and sliced onion. It came on a barley-toasted bun. When I took my first bite, it reminded me of a back yard bar-b-q grill burger (in a good way). The onions were perfectly grilled and the burger was tasty, however they served my burger “well” instead of “medium”. This was a problem because I was paying for Kobe!!! Kobe beef has a higher fat content than regular Angus therefore making it more flavorful and juicy thus making it more desirable driving the price up. When you cook Kobe beef at a temperature over medium it melts the fat, therefore making it almost indistinguishable from your regular Angus burger.

ON DRAFT –

Nothing. Grrrrrrrr. I just had a glass of water.

ON THE SIDE –

You have 2 options that come with the burger, mixed green salad or crinkle cut fries. I ordered the fries and with one bite I felt duped. They tasted like they came straight from the local grocery store freezer section. Note to self – whenever a restaurant says, “crinkle cut fries” this is more than likely the scenario. I also had ordered tater tots as a starter since it was not a side option and guess what… same thing.

TIP –

The place is only open from 7:30am to 3:30pm, so if you are going to go for a burger make it lunch, otherwise I have heard the breakfast is good.

SUMMARY –

Their slogan says “reasonable prices” and “superior quality cuisine”, and those were my two issues with this burger. Even though the burger tasted good, I feel that it wasn’t worth more than 8 dollars, especially when it is served with frozen bagged grocery store fries.

RATING – 4 out of 10

Check out their website.

http://www.jinkys.com/

BRAVO CUCINA

LOCATION -

Bravo Cucina in Santa Monica on the famous 3rd street Promenade (1319 3rd Street) is a small Italian restaurant with a porch out front. The outdoor seating provides a front row view of some of the best people watching in Southern California.

ON THE MENU –

I told the waiter I would take their signature burger, it took a second, but he said that would have to be the Bravo Bacon Cheeseburger, since it is most ordered. Being an Italian restaurant, I was not expecting much and was served exactly what I was expecting. The 9 oz. cheddar covered patty came with sautéed onions and mushrooms. The bun looked like it was straight out of the bag, except for the one-inch burn mark on the edge (as if they had tried to make it look toasted). The sliced red onions, tomatoes, and lettuce were served on the side. The apple wood-smoked bacon, with its permeating delicious smoky flavor, was cooked to perfection. Overall, the burger was very reminiscent of your average hotel room service burger, and equally overpriced for $13.00.

ON DRAFT –

No beers on draft, but they have about six including Stella and Peroni in bottles (for about 6 bucks). I however was in the mood for a glass of Louis M. Martini Cabernet, which came with a price of 9 bucks a glass (which was the cheapest cab on the menu). The wine selection was typical of any decent Italian restaurant.

ON THE SIDE –

There was no choice, you only get one option, just normal everyday restaurant fries. They served in a silver martini shaker (I am still trying to figure that one out). Although there was nothing really special about the fries, I did eat all of them. French fried potatoes are hard to completely ruin.

TIP –

Bravo Cucina is fine for pizza (according to Zagat), but if you want a burger, save some money, walk directly across the Promenade, and get yourself Johnny Rocket’s Burger. It doesn’t take a genius to know an Italian restaurant in one of the most notorious tourist destinations is going to serve an average overpriced burger, but I had to save you from making the same mistake. You’re welcome.

SUMMARY –

Due to the price (around 25 dollars with tax and tip), this average hotel room service burger made me want to check out.

RATING - 3 out of 10

Check out their website.

http://www.bravosantamonica.com/cucina/

D-Town Burger Bar

LOCATION -

I picked up my lunch break burger at D-Town Burger Bar at 6th and Spring. Their other location, also in downtown Los Angeles, is at 8th and Olive. The 50’s retro diner décor looked inviting but I grabbed my grub to go.

ON THE MENU -

"One Double Cheeseburger, I’ll take it how you make it", unfortunately, not the best choice this time. My personal preference is mayo, but was served with plain ordinary mustard. For some this could be a plus.

The toppings included a small amount of raw onions, chopped lettuce, pickles and two flavorless tomato slices (you know like they were pre-sliced before they were ripe and stored in the freezer for a month). After my 3rd bite they had to go. The bun was, well, just a normal average bun, nothing special to it, but the meat was good.

The two thin patties were covered with cheddar cheese and dripping with grease. This was positively the best part of the burger (which it should be). It reminded me of the burgers I got as a kid at my neighborhood hamburger joint, nothing fancy, just a greasy burger. Now, I am not a burger snob, I don’t have to have aoli or blue cheese to like it, but disrespecting the burger by putting the toppings under the patties is plain unethical. I don't know if this is their normal construction, or their not so brilliant fad, but I took it as the cook's laziness and just one more thing that questioned the burger’s integrity.

ON DRAFT -

Nothing! No Alcohol. AKA not the place for me. However you can get sodas and orange juice. Fresh Squeezed? Beats me, I’m still thinking about the bottom toppings and not crying over my beer.

ON THE SIDE –

To my surprise, my side was a conglomerate of traditional skinny cut potatoes and sweat potato fries. Here is my opinion on sweet potato fries - if you can't make them perfect don't make them at all. On the other hand I did enjoy the “normal” fries. They tasted fresh cut and fried to perfection.

TIP -

I would only recommend eating here If you happen to be downtown after a night of bar hopping, because D-Town Burger Bar is open until 3 am Thursdays through Saturdays, and breakfast is on the menu.

SUMMARY -

In the end this is just a greasy burger and great fries for about 10 bucks, but the key is that it is open late!

RATING: 3.5 out of 10

D-Town Burger Bar links

twitter.com/dtownburgerbar

facebook.com/dtownburgerbar