Father's Office

I'm not a fan of food nazis - chefs that tell you exactly how you have to eat your food (I'm of the camp that believes that "you like it the way you like it" - who's to tell me or anybody else that there's only one right way to eat something??). So even though friends in LA had been telling me for awhile that I had to try the burger at Father's Office, I put it off for a long time. Why? It went against my principles of freedom of choice that at Father's Office, you are absolutely not allowed to have your burger they way YOU want - only the way chef/owner Sang Yoon decides you should have it (which absolutely excludes ketchup - this was my main hangup, because seriously...a burger without ketchup??)

However, during a trip to LA during the holidays, my little brother dragged me (ok, it went more like: "Hey, I feel like eating a Father's Office burger for lunch." "Oh ok, I'm down for that.") to the Father's Office in LA (in a random location behind Room & Board).

Verdict? Sang Yoon is on to something. I never would have thought to put a burger on a crusty french roll (that's not even round!), or add both gruyere AND blue cheese, and gosh darnit, to me a burger MUST have ketchup on it...but goddamn the Office Burger is good. And the sweet potato fries with garlic aioli? Absolutely to die for, worth every single carb and calorie.

The Office Burger - dry aged beef patty with caramelized onion, applewood bacon, gruyere, maytag blue cheese and arugula

The rules

Food rating: ****
Bang for buck rating: 3

The essentials:
www.fathersoffice.com
Locations: 1018 Montana Avenue, Santa Monica, CA; 3229 Helms Avenue, Los Angeles, CA
Average price of meal for two (including drinks): $50