The extra B is for Burgers. I know what you're thinking, "For $5 bucks I can get 5 burgers at McDowell's", but we all know that fast food burgers generally lack the texture, and distinct flavor of those found in the backyard variety. Also, if you throw in a 32 of your favorite malt liquor and the company of your two favorite foodies, this can work out to be a pretty good deal.
Wednesday nights at the Echo Park restaurant, 'the PARK' is "$5 Burger Night" which includes a burger and a side. One of my two dining companions had eaten at 'the Park' once before and remembered it being BYOB. I checked the website and although i found the letters BYOB on certain nights, it was unclear if that was their general policy. Being the classy, respectful, upstanding citizen that i am, and given the lack of clarity on the matter, i smuggled in my own hooch and its a good thing i did. Apparently, the news of the "$5 Burger Night" has spread to all corners of Hipsterville and characters straight out of the latest Urban Outfitters catalog swarmed the narrow entrance to be seated. We had to wait about 35 minutes for a table. There was no list to put my name down on, and the hostess seemed aggravated and bothered. I mentioned to her that we would be outside waiting and she apathetically responded, "oh". Come to think of it, she did not even come out to fetch us when the table was ready, we just happen to be hovering around the patio and saw that one of the tables had opened up.
The decor of the establishment seemed nice from what i could ascertain from my skewed vantage perspective. Service was lax: it took a long time to take our order and bring out our food. Not to mention they were out of fries. But the wait was made bearable thanks to the 32oz I was nursing. As for the sides, i was glad they were out of fries, because the other two side options: potato salad and cole slaw were far better than i expected. The slaw was sweet and crisp and the potato salad-made with red potatoes (skins on) was not laden with mayonnaise and included fresh crisp celery.
The catch is that the introductory $5 price only includes the plain burger. You can build your own by choosing from a 6oz. sirloin burger or a veggie burger. Any fixins' are gonna run you an extra $1 for: cheddar, gruyere or blue cheese, mushrooms & garlic, caramelized onion, crispy onions or home-made aioli. Add for $1.50 for: applewood bacon. And add $2 for avocado.
They also have some pre-fabricated choices, like the "Who Shot J. R?"(pictured below left)which comes with bacon, cheddar, BBQ sauce & caramelized onions for $8. OR you can get a vegetarian option for $7 called,"The Club Med" (below right) which includes olive relish, crispy onions and gruyere.
