.: 25 Degrees

Saturday, April 17, 2010

25 Degrees

I'm trying to fatten my intern before she returns to Turkey. I am just kidding. Actually I'm showing her that hamburgers can be really good, not just the Mickey D's and other fast food chains that she's accustomed to. I had to bring her to my favorite burger restaurant in Los Angeles, 25 Degrees. We grabbed a bite there before the Drones screening, which is an awesome indie film playing at the Newport Film Festival on April 24th.

There’s a 25 degrees difference between a medium rare and well-done burger, and that’s how Tim and Liza Goodell, the owners came up with its name. 25 Degrees is located in the Roosevelt Hotel. It's not a big restaurant so in the evening there might be a wait; they don’t take reservations.

They have three different burgers, but you can build your own burger. I prefer to order one of the three burgers to make my life simpler –there are a zillion options. My intern was about to order her own burger but then I forewarned her that one will do just fine between the both of us. We went with the No. 2, which comes with roasted tomato crispy prosciutto, burrata and pesto. My intern was like, “there’s pesto?” Her eyes opened up to the endless possibilities…. I’m making her a food snob.

On my last visit, I had the No. 1 (caramelized onions, prelibato gorgonzola, bacon, arugula and thousand island dressing). They’re both equally good. I don’t know if I’ll ever get to No. 3 since it comes with green chilli.

What really impressed her were 25 Degrees’ onion rings….

The BEST onion rings in Los Angles. They’re not greasy and very addicting. I also love their rosemary French fries. You can skip their sweet potato fries though. Go to Father’s Office for sweet potato fries, which I’ll take my intern there on her last day.

I heart 25 Degrees! I’ve never had a bad experience. Excellent service. The best ways to go about in ordering is one of the burgers and then go half and half with your sides all for $12! For your sides, go for their onion rings and French fries. If you want some greens, their beet and burrata salad is simple and good.