[Photographs: Damon Gambuto]

There is a bit of a tradition here in Los Angeles that demands that people set aside a special type of cooing over a stylish restaurant that happens to be located in a strip mall. That a good restaurant happens to be located in a one of these (bastard) children of commercial architecture isn't really what initiates the fascination. Many of the very best spots to eat here in Los Angeles are strip mall restaurants: Sushi Ike for Japanese, Din Tai Fung for soup dumplings, and on and on. It's the simple fact of our city planning (or lack thereof) that businesses are forced onto these islands of commerce floating in our rivers of cars. But when the restaurant makes contemporary food in a stylish setting, it leads to all manner of urban, foodie self-congratulation about having "found" a "hidden gem."

Such was the case when Nook first opened about five years ago. You'll barely find an article that doesn't mention its location when discussing the food. Alas, here I am doing it too. It is indeed tucked in the corner (or nook) of a non-descript West LA strip mall and is certainly very stylish. During my dinner the early evening setting sun lit up the entrance and played shadow across the otherwise dark interior. It was rather attractive, but that doesn't have much to say about its much talked about burger that was the reason for my visit. Then again, that's my job.

The Nook Burger caused a bit of a stir when the restaurant first opened, but that was also a time before it was considered de rigueur for an upscale casual-restaurant to put burgers and mac 'n cheese (which Nook also serves) on the menu. These days the Nook creation doesn't register as much more than another chef-ed up version to add the list, but that doesn't mean it has to be less than special; it just happens that's the case.

The roughly eight ounce patty is advertised as Sterling Silver beef, which is the premium purveyor owned by Cargill. It's served on what they describe as grilled rustic bread, but could fairly be called a focaccia roll. It's topped with Gruyère cheese, a red wine-onion jam, and baby arugula.

My burger looked attractive and was cooked to a nice medium rare, but that's where the appeal ended. The patty wasn't without juice, but certainly couldn't be described as juicy, and was woefully under-seasoned especially considering its thickness. This may be intentional because the onion jam (which arrived in a sludgy mass atop the patty) was a pungent and powerful flavor. I've enjoyed this technique on my burgers before, but in this case it was biting and almost sour. Gruyère is a fine choice for cheese (I like the nuttiness), but there just wasn't enough added to make an impression. The bun, like the other components, wasn't much bad as it was simply not particularly good. The overall impression the Nook Burger leaves is that it's just not that special. A burger that's just good, especially in a restaurant that slouches toward gourmet, should not be good enough.

I jumped into a plate of mac 'n cheese and my side of fries for a little solace, but found those lacking any distinction as well. The mac 'n cheese wasn't creamy and the dusting of Parmigiano made for a gritty mouthfeel. The french fries tasted fresh cut and only once fried. In this way, they reminded me of In-N-Out's fries, for which there are a number of boosters, but I'm not one of them. (I used to stop at McDonald's for fries if I was bringing home In-N-Out burgers.)

The comfort food of this little bistro is not where it shines, which is too bad because it isn't without its charms. The salad I had (a mustardy Caesar) was tasty, and the roast chicken that everyone around me seemed to be ordering looked lovely (and is, apparently, cooked to order). I imagine that the simple act of putting some higher end ingredients in their burger was, in the Los Angeles food landscape, enough to cause a commotion and some recommendations. The way it's put together now makes it seem like another ho-hum upscaling. I was hoping for more, even from a restaurant in a strip mall.