la.foodblogging

8oz Burger Bar is yet another contender in the burger+beer category that has been hyped by places like Father’s Office. Unlike Father’s Office, the burgers here are highly customizable. The beer selection may not be as good, but it’s a small price to pay for not having to deal with the burger nazi.

First came the stout-battered onion rings which are vegan if you aren’t strict enough to care about the veganosity of the beer. I didn’t taste any stout in the fried batter, which might be a good thing, but it gave the batter an airy and smooth feel. These were more like onion ring tempura. Being a fan of all things tempura, and probably all things fried, I approve.


As if the onion rings didn’t satisfy our deep-fried food craving, we also ordered a side of french fries. There was nothing special about these fries. They remind me of In-N-Out fries, which aren’t bad, but also aren’t anything to rave about. The next time I come here, I’m likely to skip the fries and order onion rings instead.

We also ordered the heirloom tomato ketchup for dipping. It tasted too watery and not seasoned enough. My unrefined palate may be showing here, but I prefer the regular bottled ketchup.


I would never come to a place called a Burger Bar and not order a burger, so I ordered the regular 8oz burger cooked medium-rare and a slice of Humboldt Fog. The bun was thicker and denser than I expected, but it makes sense after knowing its purpose: to hold the delicious burger together. Any normal bun would have disintegrated from the juices coming out of the beef patty and the 8oz sauce, but not this bun; it held together very nicely.

The Humboldt Fog, which is quickly becoming one of my favorite cheeses, was a great addition to the burger, but I couldn’t help feeling it was a waste of good cheese. The burger would probably be just as delicious without the cheese, but the cheese was overshadowed by the burger. Turning the burger upside-down so that the cheese hit my tongue before the meat did helped alleviate some of the guilt. I wish burger joints would realize that the optimum location for a slice of cheese is right on top of the bottom bun so that it’s the second thing to hit your tastebuds when you bite in.

What 8oz did perfect was the doneness of my burger. It was a fantastic medium rare. Pink and juicy on the inside, cooked on the outside. It was so good that I had the BF specifically take a picture of the patty. That was some damn fine meat.

One other notable feature of the burger were the onions. They were cut in thin shavings instead of the usual slices. I usually wouldn’t have noticed a thing like that, but the fact that it was cut this way pleased me. It gives the burger that delicious onion taste without any pungent raw onion aftertaste.

One of the reasons the BF even agreed to come here was that their veggie burger was vegan. Kind of. The patty is definitely vegan and you can choose to have cheese or not with the burger. But the buns were not vegan. Now that seems silly — why have a vegan patty if the buns aren’t vegan? Luckily, the BF was able to order it sans bun and at the end of our meal, our waitress helpfully informed us that they were indeed going to get vegan buns in during the next few weeks. Call ahead and check if they’re available if you’re bringing a vegan friend.

Texture-wise, the veggie patty was great. It held together well and had a satisfying chew. Taste-wise, we both thought it was heavy on spices. I only had a bite and that bite contained a lot of black pepper. I didn’t notice it being too salty, but I only had a bite. The BF, who loves salt, said the patty had too much salt even for him.

Is 8oz burger a worthy contender in the gastro-pub scene? Definitely. The prices ($10 for the 8oz) are in line with other eateries of this kind, but be careful with your add-ons — they’ll up your bill faster than you’d think. 8oz is not a place that I’d eat at every day, or even every week, but when I’m around the area with some friends and want a drink and some decent food, it’ll be on my list.

View Larger Map

8oz Burger Bar
7661 Melrose Ave
Los Angeles, CA?
(323) 852-0008?

Louise absolutely LOVES filthy, cheap places! (See more of her posts). You can also find more of Louise's writing at her own website NakedSushi.