London Gastro Pub

mj's review


A bleu cheese burger with bacon and grilled onions is only sometimes like a beautiful woman.  The bleu cheese is a lovely dress.  The bacon is the complement of experience.  (It's like good ground beef knows its good by itself but also recognizes the achievement of combining with bacon.)  The grilled onions are like a fine piece of jewelry that occupies that space elegantly alone and the burger is all of this while clearly and utterly unpretentious.

It is why we eat burgers.  They're basic yet evolved.  They are not good for us but they are good to us. 

London Gastropub's Bleu Cheese Bacon Burger was good to me.  It was just the right mix of elegance with its refined taste and fancy bun, and girl-next-door allure of the working class, (to which a burger inherently belongs.)  The fries were less than unremarkable.  They are, as one might expect at a gastropub, filler and a base for so much beer.  It's hard to blame London for that, however.  Still, some sautéed snap peas or something like that would be a welcome diversion from the well worn French fry path. 

Ultimately I did not fall in love with London's Bleu Cheese burger.  I did bask in the warmth of burger endorphin release however, for the hour we spent at London's eating, drinking, and talking about burgers, the women in our lives and the ones not in our lives, and all the things of our day.  Burgers are really conducive to that. 

London's Burger gets a 79 from me. 

David's Review

Ok, I have to admit something. I experienced extreme writers block while trying to complete this review. Don’t know why, but I knew I had to do something to knock myself out of it. Drastic conditions call for drastic actions. How do you kick start a Burger-blog you ask? With a burger, of course. I needed a burger so bad that it would refocus my mind on the burger I had experienced at London Gastro pub. The name of the burger I had will remain mc-nameless, but it worked.


Atmosphere-London Gastro pub is one of what is considered the big 4 players on Myrtle. There is Sena on Myrtle, London Gastropub, T-Phillips Alehouse and 38 Degrees Alehouse. While 38 Degrees isn’t technically ON Myrtle it has to make this list. Being on that list comes with certain expectations and responsibilities. London is known as the young kid’s hangout. It tends to be louder, wilder and packed with those experiencing the wonders of beer for the first time. I remember those days fondly. I don’t say that as a bad thing. It's just you have to know what you’re getting into-that’s all. 


We hit London on a Wednesday, and kind of early so it wasn’t too bad. I have tried to measure each establishment equally so I try to order the same burger at every place we hit. Secretly, I fricken love bacon and this could easily turn into “Dave’s food with BACON added” blog. I ordered “The Burger” and added bacon.


Presentation-Let me start off by saying I love the tacos here and it was hard not to order 3 of them. But, this is not the Monrovia Taco-blog, although that presents the opportunity for an interesting subplot! Anyway, back to the burger Blog. This is a good sized burger. It came on a platter and was presented nicely. It comes with “herb” fries. They call them Herb fries, but really I think they just sprinkle some parsley flakes on them and call them herb fries. They were good but nothing special. 


Taste-I love it when life hands you little surprises. Like when you find that 5 dollar bill in the street? Score. When you ask that girl who you think you have no chance with out on a date and in a moment of sheer insanity she says yes? Score! When the test results come back negative? Score!!! Ok. This burger isn’t as good as any of those examples, but it was pretty tasty. I was expecting a run of the mill hamburger. You know. A frozen patty with that fresh out of the freezer taste. What I got was a fresh tasting, delicious bacon burger. Fresh lettuce tomato and pickles, bacon and a brioche bun round out this tasty burger. It is one of the better burgers I’ve had so far. I have to rate it 3rd best under 38 Degrees burger and about equal to Jakes roadhouse burger (without the Texas sausage, Jakes would have been an easy #2.) In the highly competitive Monrovia burger business, getting the Bronze medal is pretty respectable.


Overall rate: 66

Chili's - Classic Bacon Burger

We said we'd review every joint that offered a burger on its menu in Monrovia and that includes the ubiquitous corporate establishments. Chili's is the New Americana. Instead of actual chili cook-offs we get homey restaurants with black and white pictures of chili cook-offs from yesteryear and corporate mandated localized themes.  (Yes, Applebee's, your burger will also be judged.) It's imperfect and yet capitalism has worked hard to make Johnny Hometown feel well, at home. 

My experience at Chili's was instantly interesting as the lumberjack who served us provided our table the opportunity to play a round of: Amish, Muslim or Hipster. This is where we guess, or imagine anyways, which the bearded man is: (Amish, Muslim or Hipster.) 

I immediately went to Amish. Our server's beard looked to be older than my cat. (Scramble is three if you're following that closely.) It was a good foot in length, black with wiry ridges combed downward like new cotton. 

I imagined our server fresh off the wagon, mocking his homies and his Mennonite cousins as he took the gig serving up Terlingua chili pots, tacos and burgers to the good people of Monrovia and Arcadia, set loose from a life of privation and godliness. He seemed in a good mood, not particularly rushed or eager to please, but attentive in his way. 

David was with me. Amish, for sure. Amber took a different path and concluded with utter certainty he was a hipster. I suppose skin as dewy white as our server's is not likely to draw Muslim often. 

The classic bacon burger was well named. If a bacon burger is classic, then this was one so it too must have been classic. I was hungry-plus when I ate it and I may have enjoyed the bread most of all. As a girlfriend I once had said of me, I am a bread-eater. (Her name was Gaye and she was more insightful than you might think for a girl named Gaye.) 

The fries and the strawberry lemonade were unremarkable. That I could pay for my classic bacon burger without having to wait on my Amish waiter to show up was stupendous. I'm all for keeping humans working but this machine made me squeal a little when I realized what it would do for me. I pulled up my own bill, separated out my own food so David could pay the balance, which belonged to him, and swiped my card right there at the table.  I was done with it. Whoa. Chili's is nothing if not a modern restaurant and I am a 21st Century Digital Boy. (Gen-Y has nothing on me.)

Funny thing too, towards the end of our meal I noticed the bartender was also sporting a lengthy beard. Where was I? Was this Chili's or had I magically transported into the hinterlands of Canada where Lumberjacks take odd jobs serving up classic burgers and cocktails when not out deforesting the joint. I scrutinized the mixologist briefly. His clean shaven head had sheen galore and yet that beard. It rivaled our servers and I guessed they were dense beard deep in a death match whiskerino. If so our Amish server would surely prevail but what if the bartender's shiny head won style points? Our server sported the barbershop special Doo of the day. You know the one all of Gen-Y is presently wearing, shaved on the sides, bushy, moist and Big Boy coifed on top? 

Come to think of it, Amber wins. He was a hipster, wasn't he? Oh well, I still hope he wins the whiskerino. 

Chili's Classic Bacon Burger - Rating: Setting - 8, Presentation - 6, Burger - 50.  OVERALL - 64

David's Rating - 60


Chili’s-Ok. I know what you’re thinking. Chili’s? Really? Chili’s. Yep. This week’s burger comes to you courtesy of Chili’s, the casual dining restaurant chain better known for fajitas and soup then a great burger. I ordered the classic Bacon Burger. Setting (1 to 10) 5. Walk into Chilli’s and you walk into your run of the mill large chain restaurants. You know the kind…20 pieces of Flair. We sat in the bar area. A super-hot bartender started her shift. Wait. That might be the beginning of a different blog. Monrovia’s cutest ladies behind the Bar? Anyway. Our server was on so we got drinks and our food order super quick. 2 extra setting points for that. Presentation ( 1 to 10) 6 The burger comes with a generous helping of fries fried in their own little fry basket. It’s a decent size burger. Nothing out of the ordinary. It is so ordinary, that is about the only adjective I can come up with to describe it. Maybe a beer will get the creative juices flowing. Burger ( 1 to 80) 45 + 2 for the garlic pickles. I ordered the Classic bacon burger in an attempt to judge each burger place on equal terms and the fact that I love me some bacon. Again, ordinary is what comes to mind. It wasn’t terrible. No Ecoli. The bacon was good, but nothing special…with the exception of the garlic pickles. Now everyone who knows me knows that after bacon, garlic is my next, most favorite food. They have these garlic pickles at Chili’s that are really good. For some ungodly reason, they feel it necessary to only give you two of these delicious pickles, (in chip form,) for you to enjoy on your burger. Maybe the cost of pickles is more than I can fathom. I don’t know, but they should give you more of those bad boys. So I have them plus 2 for the pickles. To close out this review, if you’re hungry and Chili’s is around. It’s ok. If you are craving a great burger to knock your socks off…go somewhere else.

Jake's Roadhouse

Chuck's Bacon Burger at Jake's Roadhouse & Grill - mj's review: Setting – 5 of 10                Presentation – 7 of 10                    Burger – 58 of 80             
Total Score – 70


Jake's Roadhouse is a Monrovia fixture known as much for their sponsorship of the best, Friday night, Street Fair in the Southland as it is for their restaurant near the corner of Myrtle and Olive. If you're fit and healthy, (or young and elastic as I once was when I used to eat at Jake's often,) Jake's is a great way to change all that. It's hearty food for a hearty sort of person. I recommend their breakfast fare with a spicy Bloody Mary on a weekend morning out on the Myrtle Avenue sidewalk. So very Monrovia.
As for Chuck's Bacon Burger, it was merely good. I have real disdain for a burger that doesn't have any space for some lettuce, which is how Chuck's was served. I mean, really?  The rule with a burger should be: since burgers are inherently unhealthy and fatty, they should ALWAYS include a friggin piece of lettuce, if only to suggest this thin leaf of watery fiber, (mostly water,) will somehow shepherd the ground beef, soft bread, saucy condiments and hints of veggies or fruit, (personally, no tomatoes for me thanks, that's like eating a membrane,) through one's alimentary canal without incident or sticking. I like imagining that tiny bit of iceberg is somehow a small salad which magically protects my colon from all this soft food, which is so prone to resist the pulsing movements of my intestines. So strike one on Chuck's Bacon Burger for not including lettuce. (If I wanted Carl's Jr. I would've jus went there, after scheduling some counseling of course.  I am not 14.)
As for the chuck in Chuck's Bacon Burger, it was good. Probably about 80% lean if I had to guess but fitting of Jake's overall feel, what with the Americana memorabilia galore in the form of dining room walls packed full of nostalgic 50s diner style humorous signage. Jokes on all walls, like an episode of Flo, but I'm not hating. Jake's flare is busy but unobtrusive.

 The fries were good too. The pink lemonade? Not so much. Jake's offers their guests free peanuts to be shelled on the floor. I'm done. I always eat some. Who cares if everybody and their grandma's hands have been in these buckets of nuts? I know, I know. There's fecal matter on those shells just like on all the benji's in your pocket. Whatevs. If I wanted my white blood cells to go on vacation I'd buy a plastic bubble. Instead I'll let them pump some iron when I go to Jake's. Go ahead WBC's, flex your little disease fighting muscles. The bad part of the peanuts is they can fill you up prior to your meal's arrival. Now that's a real problem.
I enjoyed my burger in Monrovia as I am wan to do. I went in famished and I came away ready for a stroll down to Wang's to sit at the bar with Crystal and Megan, (and David,) and have a delicious Sapporo to wash it all down.
David ordered one of those Pink's style burgers by the way that had the flesh of like 5 different beasts on it. The sausage looked particularly inviting and so it was I concluded David had chosen the better burger this time. Throughout our meal I kept spying that thing over there as he took it down with envy. For one it had sausage and pastrami and probably venison and beef jerky and maybe some lamb or something, and for two I clearly saw fresh lettuce poking out of the sides. Wtf, Jake's? That unhealthy monstrosity gets lettuce but you can't put some on the basic bacon burger? Reevaluate already-geez.

(I snuck a picture of David's sausage.  Go ahead.  Have a look-see.  So much more exotic than my bacon.)
 In the final analysis, Jake's was good. It always is. And yes, the bacon on my burger was the same, thick-cut, peppered bacon they serve at breakfast. Mmmmmmmm, Jake's breakfast...must, return, soon. (Seriously, the home fries, the BM, [thats Bloody Mary-geez, what's wrong with you?] and the eggs with that peppered bacon? Scrumptious.) it was not great but it was exactly what I expected when I chose Jake's Roadhouse in Monrovia.

 It could use some lettuce. Big burger. Regular bun. Cheese, onions, big peppered bacon.
The bacon is tasty, like beef jerky. It's thick and chewy.

Jakes Roadhouse - David's Overall Score-73

This week’s burger Blog is Jakes Roadhouse on Myrtle Ave. I will be reviewing the Real man’s burger.

Be hungry young man.  Be very hungry.

Setting 1-10    (6)

Jakes roadhouse a small place and is best known for its BBQ.  It has the small BBQ place feel.  You will find a bucket of peanuts on the table, peanut shells on the floor and a red checkered table cloth.  Just like Mom’s place…except Mom would beat your ass if you throw your peanut shells on her dining room floor!  This is a fine place to eat a burger, but it looks more like a place to eat BBQ ribs or a rib eye steak…in Texas.   

Presentation  1-10 (7)

“You better cut the pizza in four pieces because I'm not hungry enough to eat six.”

                                                                                                                                    Yogi Berra

The Real Man’s burger is a huge burger.  I needed to cut it into 4 pieces! It has a ½ pound of ground chuck, grilled bell pepper & onion, butterflied Spicy Texas sausage, lettuce, tomato, Swiss cheese, mayo & mustard.  It comes with a generous portion of French Fries. It comes neatly arranged on a steel reinforced plate, because a plastic or paper plate would just fold under the pressure of all that meat. Good presentation.  Nothing special. This is really what you want with this type of place.  If you have a simple décor and bring the burger out on fine China…there something wrong…right?

Taste 1-80 (60)

Over all, this burger is good.  The beef patty has that taste you get when you make a burger at home.  You know the taste.  It’s the same taste you get when you just season it with a little salt and pepper…where the patty is a little too thick and vaguely shaped like a hamburger patty.  I love this and is, for me, the true test of a good burger.  The condiments were fresh and the fries were good.  The only issue I had with this burger was the spicy Texas sausage.  Good in its own right, it kind of took a little bit away from the overall experience.  This is the Law of Diminished hamburger returns. The Law of Diminished Hamburger returns states that adding more of one ingredient, while holding all other ingredients in a constant state, will at some point yield lower returns.  The Texas spicy sausage was that ingredient. Just “Over the Top” if you ask me.  Without it, this is an awesome burger.  With the sausage, it got to be a little too much.  By the end of the meal, I wasn’t even sure if I wanted to try and finish it.  The rule I always cook by is: just because you can, doesn’t always mean you should.  A lot of people love chocolate and burgers.  Doesn’t mean you should add chocolate to a burger!  This lost it some points. Maybe a smaller sausage portion? On the side maybe?  You have the taste but it’s not overpowering the experience. I’ll be back for sure, but next time I’m getting something a little less over the top. That Bacon Burger looks Bomb!

38 Degree Ale House & Grill

David's review - Overall score 85

This week, we review 38 Degrees Alehouse & Grill, Monrovia’s newest Craft beer and gastropub style establishment.

Setting (1-10)  6

38 Degrees is a pretty new establishment so overall the setting was aesthetically good. Bare brick wall. Classic long tables make the eating space warm and inviting.  Just the type of environment that is conducive to stuffing a delicious burger in your face. However,(a BIG however here) the setting section of our review includes more than just eating environment.  This is the whole experience, which is where 38 Degrees lost a few points. We show up a bit early on a Saturday night.  We were politely greeted by the hostess and she asked how many were in our party.  There are plenty of open spots on the long table they have in the dining area.  Sweet! We’ll be chowing down on a tasty burger in no time.  15 minutes later, they squeeze us into a spot at the bar.  The 38 degree staff was fine, letting us know it will only be a few more minutes, but I HATE waiting in a place where there are open seats everywhere.  It’s a pet peeve.  I know how the restaurant business works (reservations and all that crap) but there is just something about waiting in front of open tables that rubs me the wrong way.  OK.  Rant complete.  On to the burger

Presentation (1- 10)  9

38 Degrees has a nice selection of food and an eclectic selection of burgers.  They have a Duck (Daffy), Venison (Bambi) and Rabbit (Bugsy) burgers, an Argentinian inspired number that more resembles a steak sandwich, but I’ll let that pass and your classic cheeseburgers. I chose the Backyard cheeseburger. When they brought this monster out, I was impressed by the height. This thing looked like the leaning tower of…cheese, beef and bacon.  It comes with hand cut fries (handmade on site with some garlic aioli for dipping.  It took me a second to strategize how I was going to attack this thing.  Do I cut it in half? Smash it down and eat it whole?  Or, the more unorthodox method of closing your eyes opening your mouth and bite what you can.  You could get all bun, or maybe some beef if you’re lucky.  I choose smashing.  It worked well.

Taste (1 – 80)  70

All I can say about this burger that it was damn good.  Not to mention the great craft beers I had to wash it down.  I agreed with MJ when he said “We’ll be hard pressed to find a better burger then this…in Monrovia at least.” Prophetic words sir. This burger was delicious.  I got mine cooked medium.  It was juicy with a nice pink color in the center.  The condiments were fresh.  The grilled onions and smoked bacon were perfectly proportioned to the burger.  I don’t know about you, but when I order a burger with grilled onions and bacon, I want every bite to have those added tastes complimenting the burger.  The fries were crisp and not soggy.  The garlic aioli was not bad either.  I gave it a 70 because it was good, but it’s not the perfect burger.  When I eat the 80 point burger, I will know.  I will shoot off the chair in slow taste convulsions, while my eyes roll back into my head.  I imagine I may lose consciousness for a bit.  I remembered the entire night…so 70 it is.

The El Camucho Burger at 38 Degrees Ale House & Grill - mj's review

Setting – 7 of 10                Presentation – 8 of 10                    Burger – 70 of 80             
Total Score – 85

 I searched for a good quote on hamburgers to imbue this review with a sense of gray matter, (I thought that might make it matter, nyuk-nyuk,) but alas cow meat wisdom is as elusive as the pursuit of hamburger perfection.  For me a hamburger is home.  French sauces and sushi, shawerma , tandoori and paella are exotic locales worth visiting and long on wonderment, but a hamburger is free of all the apprehensive complexity and careful consideration of the strange, new and foreign.  Hamburgers are relaxing.  Hamburgers are home.  That said the El Chamuco hamburger at 38 Degrees Ale House in Monrovia flips the comfort of home on its bovine ear by adding some gourmet and some bite. 

My choice on this burger excursion was the aforementioned El Chamuco.  It is made with Angus Chuck and adorned with poblano pepper rajas, pepper jack cheese, jalapeno pork chorizo, habanero-orange reduction, avodaco, cilantro and chipotle aioli.  If the burger is home, the El Chamuco is arriving home to find Ty Pennington out front with a camera crew.  Yes, the hamburger was there but it was fixed up in a way I had never imagined.  It was spicy and hot in a way that made my mouth happy.  It was extremely flavorful without being garish. 


38 Degrees Ale House’s thing is finely stylized.  They do typical gastropub fare with flavorful, off the beaten path adornments that allow the sports pub to seem, no, to be, fancy and interesting.  It's not the type of bar one goes into to get drunk.  The prices ensure that.  Their portions are restrained to include their beer pours.  (Still, the mostly stronger beers are as exotic and as tasty as a set of beers get in Monrovia.) 


I had the Faction Defcon II Belgian Tribel, (brewed with Belgian 2-row and German Munich malt and saaz hops, don't you know.)  San Francisco's Faction Brewing knows the way to Monrovia.  (See what I did there?  Sorry.)  Shit was good. 


We had a hard time getting a seat at 39 Degrees Ale House, which is hard not to mention.  The hosts were friendly but we ended up spending 10 minutes standing smack dab in the middle of their entrance, (on purpose.)  I was annoyed they let us wait inside as three customers vacated the bar in favor of a table but then a short time later sat people at the table we were standing next to, (that was out of the way,) when more of the dining room was empty than full.  The bartender later told me they were packed full with reservations about to begin.  For the record when we left they were nearly full but not full by what I am sure were about 20 empty seats.  The people leaving the bar to go to a table decided to taste a couple of more beers before making their move, which started the chain of events.

Once we sat at the bar everything was pretty good.  The El Chamuco is as complex as a burger can get without going over the edge into frou-frou.  I worked hard to keep the avocados inside with the creamy poblanos but my diligence paid off. The overall affect of the burger is to create a new unique flavor from all the parts inside.  I ordered medium because I don't trust even the best restaurants to serve me raw beef but they served it basically seared.  I pressed ahead boldly on a hunch and my intuition rewarded me. The new flavor, El Chamuco, was rich and fresh with a warm taste of pepper perfection.


 I don't want a burger like the El Chamuco every day or even every week, but every so often is another story entirely. So good.  I'll recommend this one.  If you want to test me, go try this burger.  Then you'll trust me.  Here's a picture with the requisite fries.

T Phillips Ale House - The T-Burger

T Phillips Ale House's T-Burger

MJ gave it a 72.

David gave it a 67.

MJ's Review

It is called the T-Burger, which makes sense since it is the basic hamburger on the menu at T Phillips Ale House, but it should be called the Utilitarian Burger, because its primary function is to facilitate drinking.  This is to say if you want a great burger, stay tuned to this blog.  (It is out there and we will find it.)  If you want to drink beers in a singularly great room, and you want a burger, with a half-pound charbroiled patty on a potato bun, loaded w/ grilled onions, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles & T Phillips’ own dressing, to sop up some of that alcohol and allow you to sit and watch sports and imbibe beverages with your peops while you get a little loose, then yes, the T-Burger at T Phillips Ale House is for you. 

 

From a taste perspective the T-Burger was merely serviceable.  As David and I started in on our burgers, (and we were both famished on arrival,) I noticed about a quarter of mine was disconnecting from the rest of the patty and sliding out one side.  When it finally did fall out I noticed the piece of meat bore a striking resemblance to Peru, which made me wonder if Peruvians eat food as a means to sustain their beer guzzling.  Probably.  I slid Peru back inside the soft folds of its potato bun and chomped on that burger till it was gone.  It was satisfying and yet, more than pedestrian.

 

Overall, I gave the T-Burger a 72 out of 100.  It was basic pub fare all  the way.  The room is truly great.  Large, spacious with high ceilings and enough televisions of the large screen variety to glimpse every NFL game in turns.  The wait staff works collectively, which was good on this day as no fewer than four servers checked in on David and I at various times.  The side of fries I had with my burger was also standard issue all the way.  If you ever have the T-Burger the best thing about it will be the beer you pair it with.  This Ale House has a great selection but I recommend a heavy beer as it will be the centerpiece of your meal at T Phillips Ale House.

David's Review

This is my first review for the Monrovia Burger Blog.  I hope there will be many great burgers in our future. I have a little fear of the not so great burgers lurking out there in a sea of grease and nastiness, but we will tackle those with bravado and supplement that bravado with Pepto-Bismol as needed.

First on the list is T-Phillips Ale house.

Although T-Phillips offers a few variations of the cheeseburger, I thought I'd start with the T-Burger.

Setting(1-10)  I gave T-Phillips a score of 6 on setting.  The place is nice and clean.  Service is good and prompt for the most part.  It's a good place for a burger and a beer.  Nothing too special.

Presentation- (1-10)  6  The T-burger is your basic burger.  Nothing fancy.  They offer a good selection of sides that are included with the burger.  For that is important.  If I wanted to add fries or onion rings to my burger, I'd be at Wendy's or In and Out paying less for the actual burger.  T Phillips gives a good selection (Fries, curry fries, garlic fries, rings.)  I recommend the garlic fries.  The presentation is nice and it comes with a fork and steak knife.  The fork will be handy if you are one of those weirdos that happens to eat their burgers and fries with a fork.  The knife is useful to cut the burger in half, making it easier to eat.

Taste-(1 -80)  I must first add that I think the 1 to 80 range may be a bit wide for burgers.  I am assuming 80 equals something resembling an orgasmic reaction to a burger(in which case I'm sure I will order at least 2!) to 1 which I assume means E coli and an agonizing death...while propped on the toilet bowl.  Not a good way to go.  Anyway, back to the T-burger:

Score:55 I found the T-burger a decent burger.  They throw some grilled onions on that that adds some flavor to the burger.  The patty is well seasoned and the condiments are fresh.  My one complaint on this particular burger is the greasiness.  The burger I got was very greasy.  You know you're in trouble when they plop it down in front of you and the bottom bun is soaked in grease.  It's a small thing I know, but I recently had a burger known for its greasiness and this was not an issue.  More grease, half the price and no soaked buns.  Hmmm.

Overall this was a mid-field burger.

No E coli.  No orgasm either.

The search for the 80 score burger continues.

Try the Reuben Sliders.

Monrovia Burgers Blog Introduction

For this, our inaugural post on a blog that represents a quest to eat more cow in the handsome little burg that is Monrovia, California, then write about the many gastro-experiences and rate the various patty-based meals, my good friend David Galvan and I have chosen to start with an especially familiar establishment at the corner of Colorado Boulevard and Myrtle Avenue, (Monrovia’s Times Square, Haight and Ashbury or Hollywood and Vine, perhaps,)  T Phillips Ale House. 

 

The idea behind this blog is one born of a certain hunger.  David and I have been spending a great deal of time, (and money,) eating in Monrovia for years.  We enjoy the restaurants as well as the relative proximity of those centered around Myrtle Avenue, in part for the sheer charm and quality anyone can see and experience first-hand and also in part because it is close to my home and so, walking distance.  Our plan is to eat and score a burger from every eatery that sells one within the city limits at an ideal rate of one per week roughly until we have consumed them all.  In turn we hope to pass on a fair and valuable accounting of what our readers might expect if they happened into any of these same places in search of the great, American Hamburger.

 

We score burgers in three areas: Taste,Presentation, and Setting, though Taste is heavily weighted compared to the other two considerations.  Every burger we taste will receive a numerical score from 1-100.