Once upon a time, the Geto Boys famously coined a phrase "my mind is playing tricks on me". Sometimes I wonder if they really meant to say that about a good old fashioned Los Angeles heat wave. Delirium, hallucinations, or even taking a lunch at an unassuming strip mall joint cluttered with promises of wifi, boba and burger combos. But sometimes it is good to get out of the heat and in front of something like this:
120 degrees might be too hot for humans but it is downright cold for ground beef. Being a dedicated medium rare muchacho, I need a good reminder every now and then that black and blue bovine carries a rush of flavor, steak tartar can be delivered in ground beef form and the best burgers are always the juiciest.
But before we sink our teeth into this ridiculously rare 1/2 lb burger served for just under $6, it would be wise to revisit the doubts and head scratches that came to be my first impressions at Burger Hut. We are downright spoiled when it comes to going burger hunting in LA thanks to a restaurant map that is slowly becoming peppered equally with Umami Burgers as it is with Fat Burgers. Smashburger and the soon to be open Steak N Shake are turning up the heat on In N Out's stack burger domination. And lest we forget the countless restaurants, gastropubs and pricey food trucks all vying for the next "man you need to try this burger, like now" yelp review. So when one comes across a burger joint that is neither legendary dive nor concept burger with roots running deeper in a marketing agency than a kitchen, it is easy pass something like this off: