Saturday, 10:45 AM. Some people apparently think a cheeseburger for breakfast is what their diet is missing, and are already queuing in front of Burgers Never Say Die. Fifteen minutes before opening, the line is manageable, quite unlike the hour-long wait you could expect back when Shawn Nee’s burger joint was just a crazy-popular backyard pop-up. The excitation is still very real for first-timers waiting at the front door of their brick-and-mortar location, wondering if they should really “order two”, as suggested on the counter… When they finally take their first bite, their faces change. Some open their eyes wide and pause. Some roll their eyes and keep chewing — but slower, to appreciate every second. Two things are simultaneously melting, the burger in their mouth and the brains in their head. This might very well be The Cheeseburger. There’s actually just one on the minimalist menu, the regular, which is a double. It has the most simple recipe: no secret house sauce, no salad bullshit, no add-ons. Just an uncompromising focus on what is essential to a cheeseburger: beef, cheese, pickles, onions, ketchup, mustard, bun. At Burgers Never Say Die, pickles/onions/ketchup/mustard combo is pretty close to the one you’d find at McDonald’s, but the end result is incomparable. The two patties are so violently smashed together on the grill that they come out really thin, with a crisp browned crust. They’re probably cooked in an obscene amount of fat together with the bun, allowing all the ingredients to blend together and become one unique experience. If you do order two though, consider skipping lunch.
Style: Street food
Address: 2388 Glendale Blvd Unit A, Los Angeles, CA 90039 (Silverlake)
Hours: Tuesday-Thursday 12PM-7:30PM, Friday-Saturday 11AM-12AM
Price: Burgers $7.25, Fries $3.50
Reservations: No reservations
This review was written by In The Loup contributor Laura Piron