Posted by Damon Gambuto, January 12, 2011 at 1:00 PM
3361 West 8th St., Los Angeles CA 90005 (map); 323-798-1355; restaurantdelphine.com
Cooking Method: Griddled
Short Order: A solid patty is matched with an atrocious bun.
Want Fries with That?Sure; these are solid fries. Just don't have them with the burger.
Prices: Delphine Burger (w/fries), $16
Notes: This pricey restaurant finds a moment of affordability between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. with some Happy Hour deals.
Over the last decade or so, Innovative Dining Group (IDG) has defined a certain type of restaurant culture here in Los Angeles. Their design-heavy Sushi Roku, BOA Steakhouse, and Katana all make the act of having dinner a collaborative performance piece. That is to say, these are places for seeing and being seen. They all rank among the first tier of the restaurant-as-nightclub scene. It would be easy to dismiss the food as secondary, but I've had very good meals at more than one of them. They often import a talented and seasoned young chef and open the checkbook. It's a winning combination, usually.
One of their newer ventures, Delphine, takes this tack. Executive Chef Sascha Lyon boasts a pair of Keith McNally ventures on his resume. McNally is the man behind the epic Minetta Tavern, home of the Black Label Burger. Ok, it's a bit of a game of six degrees, but that doesn't mean I can't hold out hope that I might find myself biting into a burger as beautiful as Delphine looks.
The restaurant is located on the ground floor of the shining star of Hollywood gentrification, The W Hotel. Conceived by Zeff Design, this restaurant's look is, as you'd guess, beautiful and luxe. As for the menu, it's doubly appealing—and by that I mean Delphine offers two burgers. Luckily I had a lunch partner who has his priorities in order: We ordered both.
The Delphine Burger is topped with fried egg, bacon, Gruyere, and grilled onions. Mine came out nicely medium. The griddled patty is a rich and salty and full of flavor. It's a good start for a burger, but sadly this is where the goodness loses its grace. Gruyere is a fine choice for a burger with its nutty, buttery qualities, but against the already salty patty and bacon it seemed a bit too much. The onions were cooked down so severely that they were almost bitter.
Then there was the bun. It's one of the worst that I've come across in quite a while. The dry mass of bread was only half-heated, so if it was fresh, it fooled me. Each bite was a head-shaking disappointment.
It was really too bad—I could taste a richness in the beef that made me crave more and more, but it was so undermined by the toppings and atrocious bun. Perhaps I was just unlucky. Maybe the second burger, a straightforward cheeseburger, would save me.
The standard cheeseburger comes with your choice of cheese. I went with cheddar. Its toppings are standard issue, which made for a noticeable improvement compared with the Delphine Burger. Sadly, that Achilles heel of a bun was the same: The salty beef and rich cheddar just couldn't overcome this dry bun of sadness.
The fries were tasty enough fast food-style spuds, but I have to admit they were an afterthought for me. Neither of these burgers could be saved from its substandard bun and that meant my lunch couldn't be saved either.
Delphine is undeniably pretty to look at, and much of the Southern French brasserie fare they serve is solid. But when it comes to their burger, this stylish restaurant falls victim to some major design flaws.
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.
No comments:
Post a Comment