[Photographs: Damon Gambuto]

Recently Los Angeles Magazine's food critic Patick Kuh released his list of LA's best new restaurants for 2010. All are intriguing (if mostly fancy pants) options, but the one I was most curious about was Waterloo & City. Chef and partner Brendan Collins has some serious fine dining bona fides on his résumé, but he decided to go with an English gastropub theme at his Culver City restaurant.

The often changing menu doesn't always have a burger, but I called ahead before making my Sunday lunch plans to make sure I could get a little American classicism with my British brunch. I was rewarded with a burger that is worth being more readily available than it currently is. Unfortunately, they aren't serving it on their regular dinner menu, but hopefully they will soon.

Named for the tube line that Collins rode during his adventures in London under Marco Pierre White, Waterloo & City has thoroughly transformed the spot on Washington Boulevard that used be home to the Crest House Family Restaurant. It's a vast and appealing space that takes its design cues from the broad selection of influences that define the menu. Nods to the English Pub are peppered about, but the communal table and accessible modern design feel thoroughly Californian.

The burger during my visit came topped with Canadian Bacon, thin-sliced Gruyère, tomato, and a fried egg. The bun was a rustic Italian that got a nice hit on the grill.

The patty itself was pure delight. It doesn't surprise me that a chef trained in butchery knows how to handle his burgers, but still this deserves a special nod. The thickness of the eight ounces of blended beef (secret recipe) was spot on. None of that mouth-challenging height of a pub-style burger, yet plenty thick to showcase the grind. The coarse and loosely-packed patty was a fantastic exercise in balance between char and juiciness. The texture of the meat let all of its inherent flavor to shine through despite the attention-seeking topping choices.

Canadian bacon is one of the few Canadian things I'm not predisposed to liking, but its mild flavor made it an acceptable addition, especially tacking into account its natural affinity for a Gruyère pairing. The fried egg, usually a welcome dose of excess on my burgers, was really unnecessary. The salty and juicy patty didn't need the extra fat and protein. That said, it wasn't a weak point.

If there was one, it is certainly the choice of bun. While mine was fresh and nicely charred to a light toast, it just isn't a good match for a burger. The airy, chewy texture is lovely for bread, but resists a good match when it comes to a burger. This need be taken as a minor failing, because—unlike the bun at Delphine—this was no Achilles heel. In fact, I'd say it was just the element that kept it just shy of greatness, rather than insuring failure.

Black pudding.

The burger is a conundrum at Waterloo & City. On one hand, there's so much on the menu that is surprising creative and delicious that you'd be forgiven for opting for other menu items, like a startlingly light and interesting Black Pudding. On the other hand, great (or nearly great burgers) are always worth ordering.

And now there's a third hand. It seems that the folks at Waterloo & City are growing their business to include a deli and coffeehouse. This means that the Sunday lunch service, where you used to find the burger, is temporarily suspended. I asked whether the burger would start appearing on the dinner menu and was given a definitive "maybe." That's too bad because Collins is a gifted chef who was on track to coming up with one of the better burgers around. Maybe we'll get lucky and his British gastropub menu will once again show a little American revolutionary spirit in the form of a burger.

About the author: Damon is one of our roving burger reporters and food writers. When he's not eating more than is warranted or healthful (and then writing about it) he can be found writing and producing for television and film.