A Gourmet Burger in Need of Simplification at Stout in Hollywood

Posted by Damon Gambuto, March 17, 2010 at 1:30 PM

[Photographs: Damon Gambuto]

Stout

1544 N. Cahuenga Blvd., Los Angeles CA 90028 (map); 323-469-3801; stoutburgersandbeers.com
Cooking Method: Griddled
Short Order: A Hollywood burger envisioned by a pair of lawyers. What could go wrong?
Want Fries with That? Nope. Strangely ill-conceived and uninteresting.
Prices: Stout Burger, $12
Notes: This place is as much a bar as it as a burger joint and thus stays open very late (especially for LA).

The folks behind Stout, one of the newest entrants to the Los Angeles burger scene, are a pair of lawyers who were looking for a restaurant concept that was, first and foremost, a business opportunity. Their firm boasts that "Stout... is bringing together two of the fastest growing commodities in the restaurant industry: gourmet burgers and craft beer." Sounds delicious.

I'm all for folks having a proper business plan before opening a restaurant. With the economy turning and competition tightening, I have a personal relationship to the perils of the restaurant industry—my pop's restaurant, Caffe Cielo, has taken a hit like many others. Of course, when I see a new burger resto pop up, I want it to be a labor of (burger) love that motivates them to drop their hats (and patties) in the ring.

On my first visit to Stout, I happened to find myself seated next to one of the two lawyer/proprietors. He got to talking while I got to eating and I learned that they took this whole burger venture very seriously, from both an eating and an earning perspective. Charles Lew told me that he and his partner, Alex Kagianris (who doubles as executive chef), sampled burgers all over the Southland to figure out what would make a Stout burger. They wanted to come up with a gourmet burger that wasn't the usual offering. One of their first decisions was settling on a griddled version. That's certainly a good start, but I was determined to find out how it finished.

The first burger I sampled was the signature Stout Burger. The beef patty (you can also choose chicken, or veggie if you must) is an economical six ounces that is a proprietary grind. From what I tasted, I suspect you'd find a little flank along with the expected chuck. It's nicely (and freshly) ground to a medium coarseness. They add some blue cheese, "emi" (sic) Gruyère, rosemary bacon, caramelized onion, and horseradish cream. The bun is the "gourmet" staple brioche-style, but this one is actually a bit smaller than I normally come across and matches the smaller patty nicely.

The counterintuitive suite of ingredients was a challenge. I couldn't quite enjoy the competing nuttiness of the Gruyère (which I think is properly referred to as "Emmi") and the funk of the blue. Further, the horseradish cream didn't really step forward with a layer of heat to balance out the fat. It was a complicated affair that never turned the corner into complex. All those competing flavors wound up canceling each other out like out of phase waves. I think scientists call this destructive interference. On a burger it's just a disappointment.

I tried the Stout burger on three separate occasions and each time it came out overcooked. This was particularly odd as the servers told me that the burgers came out medium rare as standard. Perhaps they have a different notion of burger temperature than I, but I couldn't help but feel a little put off by it.

That being said, Stout isn't without merits. The beef and bun are both very good. In fact, I couldn't help but imagine the pleasures of a straight-forward (and less cooked) version of their burger. Unfortunately, every offering is a mass of contemporary gourmet burger cookery (and naming) that longs for slice of simplicity. Cheeseburger, anyone? Yeah, me too.

It would be easy to dismiss the folks behind Stout as burger interlopers looking to capitalize on the recent wave of fascination with this classic sandwich, but I don't think that's the whole story. They seem earnest in their search for a pleasing burger. They use quality ingredients and make a heartfelt attempt to make them their own. Alas, that might be the problem. Burgers aren't meant to be complex and unique creations. At their best, they are warm and familiar recreations that remind us that sometimes we go to restaurants to order the usual.

8 Comments Favorite this! (1)

Tags: AHT reviews, Hollywood, Los Angeles, reviews, Southern California

8 Comments:

Do they offer an A-la-Carte burger, i.e. a plain burger that you can add toppings to for $x.xx each? If so, then that would be the way to go.

Look, I like funky like the next guy (I'm the guy that eats an egg and cheese sandwich on a blueberry bagel with chipotle mustard for breakfast). However, I know that everyone is not like me. If I had a restaurant, I'd sell my concoctions, of course, but I'd also have an option for people to build their own burger. For example, the plain burger could be sold for $9.00 and then each ingredient added for $1-1.50. So, a bacon cheeseburger wold cost between $11-13 (a bit expensive, but maybe the burger's flavor is that good).

Fernando at 1:41PM on 03/17/10

That is a strange combination of flavors on that burger. I think I could do without the blue cheese and the horseradish cream...
I'm curious about the fries tho,they didn't get any mention in the main body of the article. What's so ill-conceived about them?

toad3000 at 2:21PM on 03/17/10

A lot of the individual parts sound good, but most of the time I want a single bold flavor to just come at me. Wouldn't mind trying it though!

JacobEstes at 2:43PM on 03/17/10

I am turned off by any restaurant that doesn't offer the option of a plain burger--no cheese, no nothing. I suppose one could order one of their gussied up burgers, er, commodities, and then say "hold the cheese, onions, bacon, and horseradish cream because I am allergic." But then you're paying for things you shouldn't have to.

Lorenzo at 2:58PM on 03/17/10

Nice read, Damon. I still haven't been.

A lot of their topping combos seem oddly matched. Did you try the "Imperialist" burger? That one sounds better than the rest - to me.

Lovin' the shots, as usual. Especially the post-slice version.

Paula Maack at 3:21PM on 03/17/10

That burger looks like it would be perfect with American cheese, bacon, raw or fried onions, and mayo. They seem to have the execution down, but the cook might have watched too many episodes of Top Chef lately. As-is, it sounds like a horrible mess.

ratbuddy at 3:45PM on 03/17/10

I'm more a fan on medium well burgers, but I think my level of doneness is the same as the authors. The burger in the pick looks medium to me, not medium rare. I'm also more of a fan of burgers being simple, and can't stand the "gourmet" trend with burgers. Overloading burgers with fancy fixings and jacking the price up doesn't make them "gourmet". It just makes them overpriced bad tasting burgers. I don't understand why fancy-pants people can't just leave well enough alone, and keep things simple.

Raiders757 at 6:40PM on 03/17/10

this place, like the overrated Father's Office are of the same snobby vein.

You take the burger how we make it, no substitutions. I told them where to put the burger and left. what a crock.

dexmike at 5:06PM on 03/19/10

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