Six Burger Joints That Serve Turkey Burgers In LA

“You can find your way across this country using burger joints the way a navigator uses stars….We have munched Bridge burgers in the shadow of the Brooklyn Bridge and Cable burgers hard by the Golden Gate, Dixie burgers in the sunny South and Yankee Doodle burgers in the North….We had a Capitol Burger — guess where. And so help us, in the inner courtyard of the Pentagon, a Penta burger.” Charles Kuralt

There are hard-core burger bloggers. To be a serious member of the burgeratti you need to eat meat which is why the Lunch Friend came with me on the burger blog. I do eat meat when traveling or trying new restaurants with amazing chefs but I prefer not to. I would rate the turkey burgers and she would rate the beef. We have been teenagers and had kids. The two of us have consumed enough hamburgers in our lifetime all over the world to consider ourselves competent judges.

I think it is much harder to make a good turkey burger and not as many turkey burger bloggers. They can be dry or have too many spices in them tasting like turkey meatloaf.

How to judge a burger? Should it stand on its own? Should it bring out the taste of the condiments? I feel a great burger can always benefit from a little something on it. Great burgers begin with great meat. I like minimal toppings. I’m not a fan of tasting everything but the burger. The best hamburgers aren’t the most expensive ones unless you are in Australia or Japan where everything is expensive. Sometimes you are paying for a lot of fancy toppings. Burgers are something that everyone is a connoisseur of and has an opinion and a favorite burger place.

Here are our results. Remember the first rule of eating hamburgers is that hamburgers come when they are ready, not when you are ready.

Golden State Café http://www.thegoldenstatecafe.com

The turkey burger comes with ground turkey, provolone, lettuce, tomato, ketchup, aioli and onion. It is an amazingly good burger. Every bite was perfectly juicy which is not easy for a turkey burger. It was dense and chewy at the same time. The meat to bun ratio is flawless. The jalapeño coleslaw was light, creamy and delicious with a little kick if you don’t pick out the jalapeños. This is the Lunch Friend’s favorite place for burgers.

Bachi Burger http://www.bachiburger.com

The next restaurant on the LA Burger Blog tour was the long-awaited Bachi Burger. I had the The Lonely Bird. It was a ground chicken & turkey “Tsukune” Burger with herb pesto, lettuce , tomato and brown ale battered onion rings. There is careful attention to the elements that go into the burger as well as a beautiful presentation. All the ingredients tasted very fresh.

The meat to bun ratio was spot on and I really enjoyed the bun which I don’t always eat. Pesto aioli was good but I preferred the ketchup.The burger had a sweet taste to it which I like. It was a bit on the dry side but still good. I would definitely go back. This is a new LA restaurant.The room is inviting and cool and the staff is very helpful.The Lunch Friend liked the beef burger. She went back with her family. They preferred Golden State.

Short Order http://shortorderla.com

Next on my burger pilgrimage was Short Order. I had been there before and had high expectations. This time I had the Commando turkey burger which is a build your own burger. I had lettuce tomato, ketchup mustard and avocado It had a good texture but had much less flavor than I remembered. The bun was soggy and thicker than I like. It was a bit of a disaster.I don’t know if it was just an off day, but it was not the turkey burger that I had anticipated.The Lunch Friend was underwhelmed.

Umami Burger http://www.umamiburger.com

We went to the new Umami Burger at the Grove on a very hot day with the D-o-g – another burger connoisseur who basically eats anything that falls on the floor. The turkey burger was called Greenbird with avocado, green cheese, green goddess dressing and butter lettuce. Yes, it was green. The D-o-g preferred the beef. So did I. The Lunch Friend was bored.

Pono Burger http://ponoburger.com

I was expecting a delicious burger at Pono. I had been there before.The burgers are organic, grass-fed, and the other ingredients come from local farmers. It is the perfect philosophy for the green Santa Monica mentality.The brioche bun is delicious but I opted for the gluten-free one which is never good.The turkey burger was particularly dry.The Lunch Friend hated her burger. She said it tasted like boiled meat.The Lunch Friend does not like to say anything bad.The place is so cute and near my house so I was really hoping to give it a better review.

Burger Lounge http://www.burgerlounge.com

I was not planning on reviewing any chain restaurants but I happened to have a quick-lunch at Burger Lounge. Burger Lounge is a fast food restaurant that uses high quality mostly organic ingredients and free range beef. I had a bison burger and I really liked it. I went back with the Lunch Friend to try the turkey burger. She had the beef and was not disappointed. The patties though the same in weight as other places are flatter like an In And Out Burger. The burgers are half the price of the specialty burger restaurants and they have free drink refills. The onion rings are delicious and not greasy.The turkey burger was good, moist and definitely worth trying.

All the burgers were judged on appearance, presentation, flavor and texture. I’m not burger obsessed. I don’t eat them every day. I don’t have a burger tattoo to show my devotion. I like everyone else on the planet, just loves a good burger. Does anything else really taste as good as a great burger and fries?

Fly safe and thanks to the Lunch Friend for driving (I hate that) and tasting the beef burgers,

JAZ