Number One Burger from 25 Degrees

25 Degrees Number One Burger, originally uploaded by ~db~.

There was only one reason I stopped for lunch at 25 Degrees at the Roosevelt Hotel on Hollywood Blvd today. Their air conditioning. It was a blistering Sunday afternoon and as often happens on such days, the quality of the AC is as important as the quality of the food when choosing where to eat.

So I went in, sat at the bar and asked for a glass of ice water while perusing the menu. I didn't have to peruse long since the Number One Burger sounded pretty good. A big (1/2 lb I think) ground sirloin patty, with caramelized onions, prelibato Gorgonzola, crescenza, bacon, arugula, thousand island, all inside a big soft bun.

A very good burger, though it was a lot to eat. Too much for me in the end, as I was unable to finish, though I did try real hard. I hate leaving uneaten food and a smaller patty, less cheese, and no bacon would have been perfectly fine and would have (hopefully) saved me a few bucks at the same time.

That quibble out of the way, let me repeat that it was a very good burger. I asked for it medium-rare and that's what I got. Not medium, which is the norm, but actual medium-rare. The irony here is that, unlike steaks, I actually prefer my burgers cooked medium, but order them medium-rare so I don't get them medium-well. So next time I'm at 25 Degrees, and there will be a next time, I'll order it medium. Okay. That's just a long way of saying the burger was cooked exactly the way I asked for it.

I mentioned earlier I could have done without the bacon, but the arugula was good and the caramelized onions were fantastic. There was too much cheese, but having two different kinds of cheese worked well. The bun was soft and sucked up the juices, but sturdy enough to hold up. Really delicious. About $12 for the burger. About $6 for the unseen but equally delicious sweet potato fries. And about $7 for a nice IPA to wash it all down. Air conditioning, priceless.