Humble Potato - Los Angeles

If my husband had a spirit restaurant, it would be the Humble Potato. It's the artful combination of everyone's favorite comfort food covered in rich decadence, with an Asian zing and a Japanese mastery that makes every bite an unforgettable explosion.  

The Gold Finger wings are these sauce-drenched yet maximum-crunch concoctions that sizzle while they burn. The pungent garlic adds oomph to sweet sambal, and the yuzu is a sweet citrus that somehow lightens the burn.

Craving a burger? The Spam Musubi has the works and then some. A juicy cheeseburger patty is topped with a crispy hash brown, seared spam, bacon, and avocado, and a fried egg lends its yolk. HP sauce, which seems to be some sort of sriracha mayo oozes from beneath. 

Craving a soup-and-sandwich? Have both in the Katsu Kare Sando. The chicken breast katsu is perfection, and it's dripping with japanese curry, spiced by a yuzu-jalapeno slaw. 

It sounds like a lot, and it is, but it's never too much yet always just enough. Every item has a hardcore heap of heavy flavors and substantial savors, put together by a touch of genius, applied with just enough restraint to make it mesh. The menu may seem a bit much, but it's an establishment that excels.

Tyler's Burgers - Palm Springs, CA

Passing through Palm Springs, you'll find Tyler's right in the heart of downtown. Plenty of space for outdoor seating and perfect for a picnic to go. 

The sandwiches are simple, comfort melts like this hot Ham & Cheese. Add a side of fries to share, and it's a perfect lunch. 

The Patty Melt is my favorite burger, just ooey-gooey cheese smushed into the nooks and crannies of bread and beef. 

Uncomplicated, unproblematic. Tyler's keeps it simple, and their prime ingredients make prime plates. Come for a lovely lunch if you want to enjoy satisfying sandwiches being their best selves.

Ojai Trip Day 5 - The Summit Drive-In

What better way to end our trip than with a trip to The Summit?

A locals-only spot near the entrance to our ranch serving up breakfast burritos and burgers, etc. The Tri Tip has a crust with a sear from the grill, simply stuffed with fluffy eggs and cheese. 

A classic Summit Burger has a juicy patty with a slice of cheddar, pickles and some sauce. 

They usually don't do morning Milkshakes, but they did indulge my Chocolate craving on this day. 

It's a drive-in diner-type place, just the best in the "casual-fun" category. Great for groups, great for to-go, just great for having a meal at all. 

HiHo Cheeseburger - Marina Del Rey

It’s a BURGER, how good can it be? 

Really good. It can be Really REALLY good. It can be the burger that makes the other burgers bow. 

A double Cheeseburger is the one to get, and you ain’t seen nothin’ yet. You can taste feel every little grain of ground explode over your taste buds like a vial-ful of wagyu juice. Cooking coats every bit of the paper-thin patty with a crispy crust. 

Add pastrami for a fee if you’re looking to double the decadence, but the standalone burger is already a standout.

The twice-fried fries are addictive, a side that is essential and to be eaten by the fistful.

The Willie Mae is fabulously fried, hot chicken that has you hankering for more. The breading is bomb, and it’s a signature sandwich, even at a joint for burgers.

Hold your horses, there’s pie to purchase. Banana cream is supposed to be best, but they sell out of everything long before the night is done. I snagged a Key Lime, and that pudding filling with whipped meringue makes a strong statement with some seriously sour sass.

Obviously order the Cheeseburger, but don’t just order one to go. The minute you finish one, you realize you’d sell your soul for another. 

Shake Shack - El Segundo

Shake Shack in da house. Nostalgia, tears of joy, flashbacks to Sundays skating in Bryant Park...wait, what the hell? It was so much better in my memories.

The Shack Cago Dog. The only hot dog I'd ever pick over a burger, but maybe not anymore. The frank is thick, and the savory-sour-spicy combo hits a high note for me. Relish and mustard are my favorite toppings, but the cubes of cukes and onion are a break from the pickled and the processed. Mildly spicy sport peppers add the kick I'm looking for. But it tasted better in New York. The hot dog tastes a little over-boiled, and the toppings are a bit off in both portion and proportion. 

The Shack Stack is just good. Two of their best stacked into one can't-close-your-mouth monster, a tender burger patty and a juicy fried cap of shroom, gooey cheese, and the Shack sauce of legends. It's awesome, but a ten-dollar burger it is not.

Cheese Fries with bacon because things are better with bacon. Some of the fries are less crispy that I'd like, but I do like that the cheese makes it all the way to the bottom.

Dessert is always a Custard. This one has brownie, marshmallow, and graham crackers, a cold, creamy campfire s'more...but better. 

Maybe I'm old, but it seems the price of nostalgia has made an astronomical rise. Never have I paid ten dollars to relive a memory, and that memory is a lot smaller than I remember. My wallet can't handle more flashbacks at this rate, and though I'll always remember Shake Shack fondly, I think it's better if I leave those memories in NYC.

Sebastian's Store - San Simeon

It's not every day that my mother comes to visit...and thank goodness for that.

My relationship with my mother has always been conflicted; at times too smothering, at time just the right amount of savory and sweet like the thick, sticky slabs of the barbecue-covered Tri Tip Sandwich.

So when she visits I try to plan at least a few activities that require as little talking as possible. A library is a bit too obvious, but a tour of Hearst Castle... Perfect.

Taking that overpriced tour had us hungry, and the burgers of Hearst Ranch Beef went right with the theme. The beef tasted as gaudy as the everything-European-crammed-into-one-castle looked, but it was a good thing...for the beef. The beef was a memorable meat, so much flavor, so much game.

The burger with pepper jack cheese had an authentic edge, with a slab of the legendary New Mexican green chile deepening the bite of both the pepper and the jack.

Thick strips of bacon and gobs of guac make that other burger just as good. All-American with a touch of California-chic.

Having the wine tasting right across the counter counted as a plus, though the wines are young. Like the crude conglomeration of Hearst Castle, the wines need time to grow, to develop their real character. In vino veritas; the wine is fun to try, and Hearst Castle is fun to explore...whether in wonderment or in horror.

Richmond Bar & Grill – El Segundo

Crepes Xpress may only sound like a dive but Richmond is truly a dive. Except in this case, dive is a compliment. This wood-paneled bar off the main street of El Segundo is both cute and cozy, and you can’t help but feel at home. It seats a max of 20 people who have showered, and even if the entire place is empty, the people here have mastered the art of making you feel welcome, well-served, with your privacy well-protected, all at the same time.

The one must-try item on the menu is the Peanut Butter Bacon Cheddar Burger. Its thick, juicy patty, crispy bacon, and gooey cheddar are a steal at $10. And if the thought of peanut butter on a burger makes you gag as much as I did, just take a bite and you’ll be pleasantly surprised by just how well savory peanut blends with beef.  If you really can’t stomach the thought of it, I had a burger special one night too. I don’t really remember what it was called, but the fresh guacamole was pretty unforgettable.

Can't quite work your way up to the peanut butter but still want to try? No problem. There's plenty of liquid courage on tap, and there are stellar beer specials every night. I know it’s a pain that they’re cash only, but since when does a 20 buy you so much food and fun?

Hudson House – Redondo Beach

I love pretzels and I love burgers so when you put the two together, there’s no way the Hudson Burger could go wrong…Right? Wrong. Don’t get me wrong, Hudson House makes a good burger. The patty is juicy, the cheese is melty, the onion is grilled sweet, and the bacon is a chunky chew. The bun is slick and firm on the outside with a chewy inside that you need to tear with your teeth. Unfortunately, while you do get all the awesome elements of a soft pretzel minus the salt, that slick bun has a slightly bitter-bread aftertaste that overpowers the more subtle savor of the burger. I loved the bun, and I loved the filling, but I didn’t love them together. Two wrongs don’t make a right and it turns out two rights don’t always make a right either.

I loved all the components of the burger but I didn’t love them together. But I did love all the components of Hudson House and I definitely loved them together. The mixed drinks are fun, the ambiance is chatty but calm and content, and I would definitely find myself coming here to unwind after work more often…if I didn’t always have to work.

In-N-Out Burger

Four years of med school, one month of intern year, and ins and outs just don't mean burgers anymore. So it's only fitting that on my last day of my first block of intern year, I made this memorable milestone. I finally had an In-N-Out that wasn't on a vitals sheet.

So while I'm at it, why not double double the fun. I ate the entire burger, and you better believe I enjoyed it style...Animal Style. And it was awesome...actually, it wasn't...I really don't see what the fuss is about. Thumbs up only because I don't want to get lynched in California.

Utterly Umami Burger – Santa Monica

When I think of a burger, a manly meat-pie comes to mind. This grease n’ juice dripping smashed-together sandwich of coarsely-ground beef that some big burly chef used his bare hands to pack is very much America's culinary baseball and football, a primitive yet undoubtedly awesome tradition.

If my Truffle Royale became a tradition, it would shake the very foundations on which our great nation was built. Sure the burly, beefy patty drips both fat and juice, but not when topped with a luxurious, over-the-top toppings that blend into a seamlessly smooth savor. The cheese was also too creamy to showcase the truffle, and the soft caramelized onion and aioli only added to the cohesive goo. Even the shredded texture of short rib barely shone through. With all so many stand-out ingredients, this package possesses a frightening amount of finesse.

If you thought the burger wasn't manly enough, steer clear of the sides. The Fried Pickles were so finely battered they were thinner than tempura, and this was one appetizer you can get at any table…in any restaurant. Even the Manly Fries failed to conjure an iota of masculinity. First of all, there is just nothing manly about thin fries. And these fries were so thin, they were actually called thin fries. The toppings were tasty, but the beer cheese just didn't have that brewed bite to it. The bacon and fried onions were whatever, and the main problem with topping thin fries is that all the toppings just slide right off.

I’m torn about my feelings for Umami Burger. Despite the dynamic ingredients, all these flavors blend together into a smooth, seamless luxury, with a refinement that is both unexpected and unparalleled. Sure you still get the grease-dripping, multiple-napkin-needing faceful you were looking for, but there’s something about a fire-grilled, partly charred, coarsely-ground eat-it-with-a-beer burger from years of campfires and grills that makes you crave that kind of crude. And if that’s what you’re craving, you sure as heck won’t get it from Umami Burger.

Shakin’ it at Shake Shack UPDATE - NYC

Sometimes I'm not sure what kind of girl I am, and I’m often not sure what kind of girl I want to be. But if you asked me what kind of girl I’m most proud to be, I'd tell you I’m proudest to be the kind of girl who eats her burgers. The little roll that obscures my potential six-pack is my testament to the fact that I butter my bread, and the grab-able handles on my back are where my burgers go. I don’t just eat my burgers, I finish them. Because the only thing worse than a girl who doesn't eat burgers is a girl who doesn't finish her burgers. If you have reasons for skipping the beef, more power to you, but if you spring for the soft pink-blooded juice of a Shake Shack patty, you better eat every bite. Real girls eat their burgers.

The only real Shake Shack burger Ben and I will get is from Madison Square Park. A place called Shake Shack should be a shack in a park, not a modernized midtown burger joint with granite countertops. And what could be better a better accompaniment to a burger from a shack than soaking up the sun between the towering buildings of fancy Flatiron?

My shack Fair Shake bring all the yuppie-liberal boys to the yard (or park?), and they're like, it's better than yours. Though if yours is Vanilla or Oreo, it's probably pretty close to equal. Just less fair. But give it a shake – it’s the Beastie Boys’ embodiment of "I like my sugar with coffee and cream".

The double Shackburger is as American as grease, a no-frills grilled, BLT, which stands for burger, lettuce, tomato.  The shack sauce completes it even more than Jerry Maguire, but I’d eat the burger over the man any day. Maybe my shack shake will bring that man to the yard and I’ll eat a burger with him. Hey, I can dream…

My Burger of the Day should be a burger every day. I don't usually like bacon, but I happily oinked to the cheddar cheese covering this one. I don't know what's in that lip-smacking shack sauce, but I do want some to take back to my Boston shack.

Dollops of ketchup make the French Fries as American as the burger, but my cheese fries will always be better than yours. And they'll always be better with cheese.

It's been a whole year since I've commented on the prowess of Shake Shack, but now that I’ve finally tried the burgers, I’m hooked. So head to Shake Shack with your boys next time you crave a burger and a shake. If your shake doesn’t bring your boys to the yard, mine will.