The Apple Pan with Mr. Moshe:

David had been touting the hamburger at The Apple Pan since I arrived in Los Angeles. I went with him and Nat to check it out before he made us see the movie, Brothers(Talk about intense).

I was thinking Apple Pan was a higher quality diner in Santa Monica, similar to Veselka, that made really good burgers. A parking lot full of benzes, bimmers, and Prius’. I was wrong. It is a classic burger, shake, and fries spot.

Daved ordered me a hickory burger, fries, and a cream soda. The burger was good and the hickory taste was very present. Their was an obscene amount of iceberg lettuce but it provided a welcome crunch. The patty was cooked to medium on a griddle. I prefer my burger medium rare but it seems impossible to get that from a griddle.

The fries were good but nothing special. What was special was Dave’s creation of black pepper mayonnaise. It is the French in Dave that can conjure up these kind of condiment ideas.

Apple Pan is not the best burger I have had, nor do I believe it is the best burger in LA. It is a fun place to go. Kind of like what Johnny Rocket’s wishes it could be. I am glad Dave took me there. For the all the hype this place gets it is definitely worth checking out so you can make your own decision.

I think an important question to ask oneself is how they imagine the best burger being cooked. I think the best hamburgers are cooked on a grill, so while In ‘n Out is good, I need my medium rare patty with grill marks for it be considered the best.