Yes, I know it's Saturday, but this food was EATEN on Friday! ;)
First there was Five Guys challenging In N Out, and now comes Smashburger. Smashburger gets its name because they "smash" the meat before, or perhaps while, they cook it, which is supposed to "sear in the juices." Sounds like a good idea, but there were no Smashburgers in LA until last week.
The only Smashburger in LA so far is way out in Thousand Oaks, which means it will be 8000 degrees warmer than the Westside and as dry as the Sahara. Which isn't necessarily bad for a change of pace, though it does mean when you park, you really make a point of looking for shade.
Smashburger is very popular, so even though it was only 10:45am, there was already a lengthy line.
Aside from smashing the burgers, one speciality here are the unusual toppings. I guess each town gets their own burger, which is a neat idea. The L.A. Burger is Crispy wonton, fried egg, cilantro, cucumber, lettuce, tomato and Japanese steakhouse ginger dressing on a black bean and white sesame bun.
(I got that from their website of course.)
I decided that sounded a little out there, so I opted for the Fresh Mex Burger, which was Fresh avocado, fresh cilantro and onions, pepper jack cheese, lettuce, tomato, sour cream and spicy chipotle mayo on a telera roll served with a wedge of lime.
A fan of thick fries, I spotted their fries and they looked skinny, so I decided to skip them and try the chili. This ended up being a very good decision.
Above is actually the "Classic" burger, which is the closest thing to an In N Out. It comes with an In N Out like sauce, but ALSO ketchup, which is surprising. As you can probably tell from the picture, the ingredients are very fresh.
Let's start with the chili on the left. This chili gets an A+. Very thick and a perfect degree of spice. They put some jalapeños on top which are an outstanding and in my experience fairly original idea. The chili is superb and really they should offer a larger size. (The one above is $2.99, only size it comes in.)
Now onto the burger. This is the Classic when you put it together.
I had a bite or two of this and it was tasty, fresh....reminded me of what you'd eat in your backyard off the grill. There was nothing necessarily WRONG about it, but it lacked any kind of magic. It was a little on the bland side I guess. I suppose expectations were very high.
Now onto the Fresh Mex one that was mine, and the one I spoke of earlier.
I would say that on the menu, this sounded like a crazy Mexican-inspired masterpiece, but in reality, it was, like the "Classic," merely good. Somehow the Mexican flavors were not strong enough to give it bite or distinction. In other words, good and fresh, but bland.
One should probably mention the service: very friendly and customer-oriented, to the point where they ask you if "everything's OK" a little too frequently. But they are new so they will probably get the hang of it.
Overall this is a solid spot, and if they were nearby, I'd say worth visiting. The chili is a new necessity in my life so I will probably stop by any time I'm driving that way and get two of them, skipping the burger. The burgers are excellent in terms of freshness, looks, and I'd say neatness (not too sloppy.) But a little too bland to warrant a long drive or long line.
