Pie and Burger ~ 913 E. California Blvd. ~ Pasadena, CA 91106 ~ 626.795.1123 ~ TACO Map
When I was a child, my grandmother used to give me just a couple pieces of advice. One of them was "never go to Pasadena unless you have to". I've never known why she hated on the 'Dena, but I bet I could change her mind by taking her to Pie and Burger.
Pie and Burger often gets brought up in "best burger in LA" discussions and just as often is smacked down for being overrated. It's not over rated, it's just a simple greasy spoon burger done the right way, and it's served up by old-school kindly waitresses at a long lunch counter perfect for reading the paper and hiding out for awhile. If I lived near P 'n' B it would be my lunch-hour escape pod.
The burger itself has lots of lettuce, onions (you can get 'em grilled if you ask) American cheese, pickles, and thousand island sauce. Nothing fancy, nothing unique, but the most important cheeseburger requirement is met: the meat and cheese have the perfect meld. The beef is a medium to thin sized patty, crumbly and cooked well with blackened edges and a nice meaty flavor. The bun is fluffy and better then an In-n-Out bun, which overall this burger resembles the most. Is it better then In-n-Out? I couldn't really say, it's definitely in the same league. The fries are OK, the old-fashioned Coke is tasty, but the pie is amazing-- at first I thought I'd be unable to eat it a slice but the waitress convinced me so I jumped right in and demolished my plate in about 30 seconds; it's pie nirvana. Remember, it's Pie and Burger not Burger and Pie.
All pictures by Jess via Flickr.
