Southern Cal Burger Culture - Fact or Fiction?

quote:

Originally posted by wanderingjew

quote:

Originally posted by BBq King

Well Mr. Smartypants, once again you are wrong. ALL the (5 Grill on the Alleys and 15 Daily Grills) are part of the same company, which in fact is NASDAQ listed (symbol GRIL). A simple lookup of the Grill on Yahoo will give you all the info you need about your simple roadfood eatery.

Once again I'm wrong??

Please tell me what else I've been wrong about so far. During the course of this thread- I think I've been right 99% of the time (and I'm just going by the 8 personal e-mails I've gotten so far about this thread).

Using your logic, I guess that Teds in Buffalo, Grimaldis in Brooklyn,
Ginos, Edwards, Lou Manaltis and Giordanos in Chicago, Jakes Famous Crawfish in Portland, Skyline in Cincinnati, Jim's Steaks in Philly, Primanti's in Pittsburgh, oh and your beloved In and Out which serves that "only in LA specialty"- Burgers, are also corporate chains.

Well at least 3 are corporate chains. Jake's is the flagship of the 82 location McCormick & Schmidt chain; In&Out, which by the way is not my beloved Burger place, is a chain; Skyline is a chain.
Now for you edification I don't think that any of this is a bad thing. Chains can be good as evidanced by your love affair with The Grill's (no e) Cobb Salad or you listing a place like Jakes.
One last thing. I'd much rather eat a Bob's Big Boy with double avacodo and tomato than a In&Out any day of the week. That's real SoCal burger dining!

Actually, wanderingjew, I also think Cobb salad is SoCal Roadfood. I'm just trying to understand your Roadfood approach. I'd say pretty much everything you consider Roadfood, we do too. I agree with you 100% about price - expensive places can be Roadfood too.

But Sue and I surely go beyond your limits. Burgers in SoCal are Roadfood for us. As are burgers everywhere.

We use no rules at all when searching for Roadfood. If it feels like Roadfood, it is. That means, sometimes a chain makes it, and sometimes a place serving food out of its region makes it. Sometimes a place that serves food of no region at all makes it. We reviewed Food at Fishers Station near Rochester. It's a casual breakfast and lunch place, and they probably serve nothing that can't be found in towns across the country. Yet, for us, it was quintessential Roadfood. Why? It just feels like it to us. Some combination of being top quality, a locals-only restaurant with soul and personal quirks, and who knows what other sub-conscious factors influenced us.

We like regional food, and we like historical food, but they don't for us make up the total of what Roadfood is.

a good burger is a good burger is a good burger...whether it be found in New England, SoCal or Hawaii and deserves inclusion especially if it is served in an establishment that has character and charm in a "roadhouse" sort of way. i agree that if a gumbo shack is in the middle of a LA bayou and you're elbowing with the locals it can only enhance the experience, but that shouldn't exclude ALL gumbo being served outside LA for being unauthentic.

quote:

Originally posted by Bruce Bilmes & Sue Boyle

Actually, wanderingjew, I also think Cobb salad is SoCal Roadfood. I'm just trying to understand your Roadfood approach. I'd say pretty much everything you consider Roadfood, we do too. I agree with you 100% about price - expensive places can be Roadfood too.

But Sue and I surely go beyond your limits. Burgers in SoCal are Roadfood for us. As are burgers everywhere.

We use no rules at all when searching for Roadfood. If it feels like Roadfood, it is. That means, sometimes a chain makes it, and sometimes a place serving food out of its region makes it. Sometimes a place that serves food of no region at all makes it. We reviewed Food at Fishers Station near Rochester. It's a casual breakfast and lunch place, and they probably serve nothing that can't be found in towns across the country. Yet, for us, it was quintessential Roadfood. Why? It just feels like it to us. Some combination of being top quality, a locals-only restaurant with soul and personal quirks, and who knows what other sub-conscious factors influenced us.

We like regional food, and we like historical food, but they don't for us make up the total of what Roadfood is.

I agree, burgers are roadfood. Every once in a while I need a good burger whether its local or out of town. Perfect example was the excellent burger at Tessaro's I enjoyed in Pittsburgh last fall.
I'm just saying that burgers (or a specifically good burger) are not confined to Southern California alone. Like you said- burgers are roadfood everywhere, and I even hope to try a chilisize when I visit LA next year. Be prepared for actual restaurant reviews (not a trip report) for all fish taco and burrito stands, casual teryaki and sushi joints, smoothie shops, and any burger place that serves a chili-size that I deem worthy......


Great Debate! I'm done

Those of whom who wish can continue.

It's been fun. Maybe we can bang heads again sometime. Just remember one thing.
---Better cows, better milk, better cheese!

Hope you had fun, wanderingjew. I did. I'm looking forward to your reviews. They should prove to be very valuable additions to the site, especially for a region I feel Roadfood has under-covered.

This really has been terrific fun reading all of this. As probably one of the few people who have met both Dale & Bruce in person multiple times, I can tell you I really admire the genuine passion both of them have for Roadfood.

I can also tell you that I wouldn't dream of visiting San Diego without eating at Hodad's. Dining in their VW bus is one of my ultimate Roadfood goals!

I actually enjoyed this forum,and the passion and wisdom of everyone involved.I learned some things,and truly appreciated the banter between all posters...

Are we done here? OK, wanderingjew, the next time you are in the Twin Cities we are going to seek out lutefisk together. I've never had it. OK?

The definition is not on the right or the left of this scale, is supposed to be everything between the two.

Paradox Philosophy:

What is white is black and what is black is white, what you see is not what I see.

Or in this discussions terms

What Dale's (WJ) idea of Roadfood, Is not what Bruce's idea of Roadfood is.

So we can agree to disagree

Is, CajunKing.. Rod Serling ?.

Anyway, I searched for an image of "great fish tacos" to celebrate wandering jew's thread.
I wasn't happy with any and when I found this one, I knew it fit.
It's not from the birthplace in Baja or the coming of age in Laguna Beach/Costa Mesa/Newport Beach
or PB (Pacific Beach) a neighborhood of a city that get's all the credit on MLB and NFL broadcasts
(San Diego), it's from out your way. So celebrate America. The Roadfood Fish Taco is everyone's.

Fish Tacos

From...
The Spotted Dog
30 North Ave NW
Atlanta, GA 30308
{404) 347-7337

Rubio's was reviewed glowingly in one of the Roadfood books. And the Rubio's place near my house had a flattering review by the Sterns on the wall. A problem in Portland, Oregon was thar fish tacos were a little exotic and fish wasn't a popular dish and people went to other places that featured more familiar dishes.

This thread wandered all over the place, but in regard to L.A. being a "burger town", I saw more restaurants with burgers in their names, or burgers mentioned on the outside of the building than I am used to seeing in south Florida or southern New York.  And that's not including the usual corporate franchised chain outlets, or In-N-Out.

The other thing I noticed was the number of places that mentioned pastrami in their names or signs.

MiamiDon


This thread wandered all over the place, but in regard to L.A. being a "burger town", I saw more restaurants with burgers in their names, or burgers mentioned on the outside of the building than I am used to seeing in south Florida or southern New York.  And that's not including the usual corporate franchised chain outlets, or In-N-Out.

The other thing I noticed was the number of places that mentioned pastrami in their names or signs.

And all I kept seeing were teriyaki- sushi and sush-teriyaki in every combination and form  imaginable.
I did see alot of burger-taco- teriyaki joints (serving all three) and taco-smoothie places... and alot of vegetarian raw food places.. along with the burger chains- In n Out and Fat Burger .Again, stuff i just don't see here in Rhode Island, or back in NYC for that matter.