Westbound in the Name of Beef – Part 2

8oz Burger Bar, West Hollywood – 7661 Melrose Ave, Los Angeles CA 90046 (Find it!)

Where IN-N-OUT excels with simplicity, our next burger destination does so with creativity and style. 8oz Burger Bar came highly recommended by my brother-in-law Jamie, a sandwich lover in his own right and the only other person I know that has a “burger repertoire.” The 8oz concept is perfect: a bar serving reasonably priced beer, wine, and mixed drinks paired with a restaurant that allows the diner to create his or her ideal burger from an almost dizzying array of combinations (seriously – like, over 8000). While somewhat confusing to the uninitiated, the 8oz menu is set up almost like a burger buffet. First you select your base, which includes either a beef (two kinds!), veggie, fish, or turkey patty and a handful of pre-selected toppings. From there, you can choose from eight standard condiments (the usual LTO, pickles, ketchup), seven cheeses (from American to cave-aged Gruyere), thirteen special sauces (green peppercorn aioli, anyone?), and eleven additional toppings (from plain old bacon to red onion marmalade).

Westbound in the Name of Beef – Part 1

In-N-Out Burger, LA – 7009 W Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles CA 90053 (Find it!)

Everyone needs a vacation, and burger bloggers are no exception. Of course if this was my day job, I probably wouldn’t really need a vacation, but it would be fun nonetheless. Lucky for me, my sister and brother-in-law live out in Los Angeles so I decided to take advantage of the free room and board for a week. Foodies themselves, I was expecting a slew of new culinary adventures during my stay and I was not disappointed. But with all the gastronomical possibilities available and just a few days to experience them, we had to narrow our list of burger destinations to two. These establishments reside on opposite ends of the culinary spectrum. One’s a fast food place with 60 years of history and basically one menu option. There other is a new take on burgers and burger joints and will overwhelm you with variety. First stop, In-N-Out.