Mo's

LOCATION –

Mo’s is located at 4301 Riverside Drive in Burbank, right across the street from Bob’s Big Boy. I had heard about how this place is known for it’s burgers and they even had a burger bar. This sounded like the place for me.

ON THE MENU –

They had about 25 burgers on the menu (including a peanut butter and sour plum jam burger, creamed horseradish and bacon burger and a marinara, mozzarella and parmesan burger). I was overwhelmed so I asked the waiter to bring out their most popular burger. I was served the Menage a Trois.

Apparently a Menage-a-Trois burger is an average wheat bun, a small angus patty, 4 strips

bacon, Swiss Cheese and about a quarter of an avocado.

All other condiments are self-serve located at Mo’s Famous Burger Bar. Why they figured leaving out condiments over ice is more appetizing than serving them fresh on your plate, beats me. Honestly I was excited about Burger Bar...who wouldn't be, but finding out that it was day old condiments instead of meat and beer, left me unsatisfied.

After all that work of collecting my own toppings, I was hungry, so I took a big bite and…… blandness. The overcooked patty mixed with the huge wheat bun was super dry. I needed a swig of beer to get it down. However the cheese and bacon were good (when are they not?)

ON DRAFT –

They had about 4 taps and bottles of your average beer like Bud and Coors, but Mo’s actually had it’s own draft, so I got a little excited. Luckily they let me have a sample before I ordered a pint. Let’s just say I ended up ordering a Sam Adams on draft.

ON THE SIDE –

They had 4 sides, coleslaw, potato salad, pasta salad, and something that looked like a corn salsa. Like the condiments, they were located at the burger bar, sitting out all day in bowls over ice. My advice, skip the sides at the burger bar and order the onion rings. Although served late, I have to say, they were awesome. The rings were classic style and no beer batter was involved.

TIP –

The only reason to go here is for some onion rings.

SUMMARY –

This 12 dollar burger was overcooked and bland. The sides were inedible, the drink menu was unimpressive and the service was bad. I still can’t believe the onion rings were good...maybe I was just hungry.

RATING – 1 out of 10

Check out their website here.

http://www.eatatmos.com/

The Apple Pan

LOCATION –

The Apple Pan is located in West LA at 10801 West Pico Blvd. It stands out as the old house on the block, as it should because it has been there since 1947. When you walk inside people are just leaning against the wall waiting for the next available spot at the U-shaped bar. There are no tables and no waiting list, you just grab an open seat and bump elbows with the person next to you. The founder of the Johnny Rockets chain, Ronn Teitleaum, actually used this place as the model for his 1940’s themed restaurants.

ON THE MENU –

There are 2 burgers on the menu; The Steak Burger and The Hickory Burger and both run about 7 dollars. As the man behind the counter squirted ketchup on a plate and slid it over to me he told me that the Hickory Burger was the popular one. “I’ll take one.” The burger arrived about 3 minutes later with a super thin patty, a ton of iceberg lettuce, and pickles. It was covered in Hickory sauce and everything was between an average white bread bun. I usually do not like anything resembling BBQ sauce to come close to my burgers, but this was okay. It was like sweet ketchup with a hickory flavor. There was one draw back; it is small, so small I actually ordered again, the Steak Burger this time. Three minutes later it came out. It was basically the same thing but instead of hickory sauce it had mayo and relish. I have to say I was not really a fan. (For those keeping score that’s 14 dollars in burgers!)

ON DRAFT –

No alcohol here, they don’t even have a soda fountain. My can of buck fifty Diet Coke came with a paper cone cup and a metal cone cup holder. I had never seen this before. I guess it was from before my time, but it was kind of neat.

ON THE SIDE –

Just fries, so I ordered some and they were about 2 dollars extra. They were exactly what I expected from an old joint like this, thicker dark golden brown delicious fries. They were heavy though, not like the skinny cut light colored fries I have been eating lately.

TIP –

They are open until midnight on weekdays and 1:00am on weekends and they are closed on Mondays. Bring cash because that is all they take.

SUMMARY –

I didn’t find anything special about this much talked about burger. I also found the burger to be overpriced. What really stands out is the history of the landmark. If I was in the area after a few drinks I might stop in for some fries, but if I wanted a burger I would go to Westside Tavern right across the street.

RATING – 3.5 out of 10

They do not have an official website.