Monday, July 4, 2011

Time to Head to the BEACH!!




OH MY WOW!

Words CANNOT describe the GASTRONOMIC ECSTASY I experienced this weekend at 26 BEACH!
After eating here I surmised that I just got bum-rushed by a "foodie-pimp" and would gladly pay $20 to this burger for its culinary services!

CALIFORNIA SUSHI ROLL BURGER anyone?!

The interior is cute, in a *split personality* sort of way. You have your quaint, feminine garden patio area and then your cool, quasi mediterranean indoor dining area. I like both. They offer a nice big piece of paper and a cup of crayons for a mean game of hang-man and the like, which is always a fun time-killer when waiting for your food.

The burger menu was AHH-Mazing!! Extensive, varied, crazy (PB&J burger, anyone?), and really robust!! I've never read a gourmet burger menu as Artistic and Inventive as 26 Beach's... I haaaaad to give this place a try!

Along with two other foodies, we all ordered/split the...
Prosciutto Burger with prosciutto, brie, and sweet figs
(You can never go wrong with the mix of sweet and satly! Actually, you can never go wrong with anything that has prosciutto or brie either. Mmm.)

I ordered the PB&J burger. Yes, that is peanut butter and jelly on a hamburger. BLASPHEMY!!, I know. I almost wanted to kick my own butt for doing it. But the menu says it's the chef's favorite, and it was too intriguing to pass up.
The key to this burger's success, I believe, is in the large and perfectly cooked patty. Because it is crispy on the outside but tender and juicy on the inside, the drippy, gooey goodness that is spread on top does not seep into places it shouldn't, so each flavor and texture hits you exactly where it should. The peanut butter sticks to the roof of your mouth, you taste the savory patty on your tongue, and the strawberry jam brings a second wave of taste that enhances both.
Peanut butter and jelly on a burger. It works!!

California Roll Burger with snow crab salad, slices of avocado, sushi ginger, mixed greens, seaweed, and wasabi aioli.
Probably the most artistic burger on their menu, hence the most popular. The snow crab salad on the sliced avocados and sushi ginger topped with seaweed is BRILLIANT!, creating a really great tasting burger, but the wasabi aioli was toooo much. Everybite I had of this burger would be like WOW!--sushibugrer--AHHHH wasabi, which really killed it for me.

26 Beach really excelled and took the burger to "A wHOLe NuTHeR LeVeL!"

I was weak - and could only finish about 5/6 of it's deliciousness, it was the perfect size; not a little foofy quarter pound patty dressed up with dainty accoutrements that tastes nice. No, this was a Brontosaurus Burger, optimally sized for juiciness that left me uncomfortably full. The br-ioche bun was engineered to soak up all the juice, but wasn’t too bready. It reminded me of a steakhouse burger of yesteryear, where toppings were a compliment to a gorgeous patty, not the main event. But I could go on all day, so here’s the quick and dirty:

Good food, split personality decor, good service. What's not to love!?

I will return to tell you about the FRENCH TOAST!

26 Beach
3100 Washington Blvd
Venice CA
310-823-7526
M-F 11-10p Sat 9-10 Sun 9-9p

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