As rain comes down and tucked underneath a blue canopy at the back of Tabula Rasa, a wine bar on Hollywood Boulevard, Sophie Logan is covered in smoke as she grills burgers and prepares esquites. Right behind her, Francisco Tapia toasts buns and stacks up the duo’s eponymous La Burg burgers for customers on a Thursday night.
There is a strong chemistry and warm, inviting presence between the two business partners in matching blue jackets with “La Burg” embroidered on the side like a mechanic’s shirt. Every customer that walks up is treated like an old friend at a backyard party.
“People are liking it … they come get a burger and then they're like ‘oh man this is such a vibe,’ which [what] I think we like about the pop-up setting is that there's no wall and either you’re chitchatting with Sophie or you’re chitchatting with me,” Tapia tells L.A. TACO.
La Burg first popped up in L.A. a little over three years ago, serving what they call their backyard-style of burger that’s a bit juicier and beefier than a smashburger. Today they pop-up at least ten times a month outside at different bars, community spaces, and house parties. They recently did an event for Playboy.
Their signature La Burg burger comes with all beef patties from McCall's butchers in Atwater Village, Oaxacan cheese tucked under American cheese that folds over the meat and becomes crisp, caramelized onions, shredded lettuce pickles, and a habanero aioli that leaves just the right amount of tingle inside your mouth.
Instead of offering french fries or tater tots, they offer esquites that include habanero aioli, queso fresco, Kewpie mayo, chives, and, of course, tajin. Le Burg also offers a vegetarian option with grilled cheese that includes all the same ingredients as their burger, minus the beef.
Eighth-generation Floridian Logan, along with Tapia, originally from Fontana, met in San Francisco where they both loved cracking jokes with customers while they worked front of house at the high-end PABU Izakaya and crushed burgers and beer afterwards at Louie’s Bar.
During the pandemic with the dine-in restaurant industry at a halt in California, Logan and Tapia had been discussing their next moves.
“We were just like, ‘Dude, we should just start this and move down to L.A. and start a pop-up and sell burgers,’ and that's literally how it happened and I think by the time from making that decision to moving down here was probably like two or three months maybe” says Logan.
The idea for the burger came after they tried a good, simple burger at a San Francisco restaurant (which they did not wish to disclose) and paired it with a habanero aioli that was inspired by one that a chef at their former restaurant used to make for family meal.
The La Burg burger had at least six different versions before arriving at one they would eventually sell and even today the burger has been shaped by other inspirations and even mistakes.
First, the queso Oaxaca on the burger was inspired by a breakfast burrito Logan had one day in L.A. and the idea for having an American cheese that crisps all around the edges came from a mistake in buying the wrong-sized cheese for their burger.
One of their first days as a pop-up was at Club Tee Gee in Atwater Village, where Logan says they sold around ten burgers. She was thrilled at the fact that people ate their burger, but today a good day involves selling a little over 150 burgers.
Of the many challenges they faced, one that stood out was their communication, which made work a bit difficult at first. But after the two learned how to better understand and listen to one another, things have been flowing.
“I think that we both have grown a lot in our friendship because working with your friend is a whole different level than just like a normal friendship,” says Logan.
In the future, the two hope to open their own brick and mortar store similar to the size of Yuca’s in Los Feliz where they hope to capture the same friendly feeling as is found at their pop-up, to continue sharing their burgers with the community.
You can find them at www.laburglosangeles.com or on Instagram @laburglosangeles.
