In this town, notable burgers are being slung in shacks, dives and stands but few are as eye catching as the Great White Hut in Glendale. You cannot roll east down California Ave towards Brand and not gaze at this hole in a parking lot and wonder how it has stood the test of time. Especially recent times with the closures of Irv's in WeHo or Molly's on Vine thanks to the real estate powers that be. But lucky for you, my burger minded brood, The Great White Hut has stayed the course for the last 67 years and their work warrants your hard earned Burger Buck.
Cheeseburger with a side of taco may seem foreign to even the born and bred Angeleño, but to a transplant with gluttony bonded to my DNA, the combination makes perfect sense. Food served fast in Southern California has long been home to hamburgers and the natural osmosis of Mexican fare seemed not just inevitable but a case for restaurant evolution. A seasoned griddle is kind to both Angus and Asada; I've always maintained that a great taqueria griddle could pump out a great cheesesteak, so surely knocking out a cheeseburger along side a couple tacos is within the realm of reason. Part of my search for Bang for your Burger Buck is to flesh out more beef at the expense of costly and therefore unnecessary sides like french fries, but the adornment of a steak taco with a single cheeseburger is a well measured value. On their own they are not enough, but together they spell satisfaction for around $5. And when you pull this mix off at the GWH, you get the added treat of attending a duet contrasting sauces, a draw that supersedes the original billing itself.
Billed as a "secret sauce", this 1000 island style dressing is a common yet essential element to a Southern California burger. Normally this adornment would not raise an eyebrow, until you starting chasing bites of cheeseburger with a steak taco covered in this:
This saucy tango of tang and smoky chile heat is the culinary clincher. Truth be told the red stuff steals the show, easily that special ingredient that generates lines at taco trucks, even the ones commanded by the most inattentive junior level taquero. And the Asada ain't nothing to sneeze at either.
Big meat morsels come from generous hands with big hearts, and that right there is why I am so damn down for the Great White Hut. These aren't dollar tacos but the generous, chewy hunks of asada coupled with salsa that could make your hippie cousin's Birkenstock edible is a culinary statement and well worth $1.80.
Respect the Griddle.
But before I complete my sale to you on this crown jewel-diamond in the rough, tucked away in a parking lot in Glendale, we need to be honest about the level of food we are eating here. As you may have already guessed, this is not a burger to brag about to your "organic only, weekend composting, picket a Wal Mart in Azusa for selling GMO Cheetos" friends about. The Great White Hut is a temple to be celebrated for its straight forward delivery of burger composition, the gift of sitting less than 10 feet from a griddle from any stool at the restaurant and perhaps most important of all: scoring killer salsa at a friggin' burger joint. All praise goes to the great griddle when lurking for Bang for your Burger Buck, and when that griddle happens to be operated by the owner himself, that my friends is a damn fine reason to throw the gear into P the next time you roll down California ave.
