Will write for burger

Los Angeles, a burger kind of town?

I guess so, according to Serious Eats. The NYC-based food blog is looking for an L.A-based correspondent dedicated solely to consuming and documenting burgers. Yep, just burgers. OK, maybe fries and the occasional milkshake.

I’m likely in the minority here—in fact, my dear colleague (hi, Oliver) already told me I’m flat-out wrong—but I hadn’t really thought of us as a burger-loving little hamlet. Tacos, yes. Burritos (and variations of tortilla-wrapped packets), sure. Even fro-yo and sugary pocket-sized cakes. But a lump of animal oozing rivulets of pink-tinged juices? There’s a reason a California-style burger involves lettuce, onions, tomato and other forms of trendy green stuff like avocado and alfalfa sprouts. Hey, we like our veggies!

But then I began to mentally list all the burger joints—classics like Apple Pan, In-N-Out, Bob’s Big Boy; cult favorites like Marty’s and Astroburger; then the ubiquity of the $15-plus burger in so many high-profile restaurants, let alone the latest outcropping of chichi burger counters (namely 8 oz. Burger Bar and O! Burger, which you can read more about in next week’s Metromix). Well, perhaps L.A.’s carnivorous whole is far more than the sum of its parts—a nice analog for a burger itself.

To commemorate this modest epiphany, I had me-self a burger at the Redwood Bar, considered by some to be the best one in Downtown. Plus, the kitchen just added sliders (with crispy fried onions!) on the menu. I’ll weigh in fully at a later time—perhaps Serious Eats might come a-calling…but only if a blood pressure/heart monitor comes with the deal.

—Jiyeon Yoo

Interested in pushing your LDL, HDL and triglycerides? Check out the job listing here »