Mess Hall

Los Angeles, CA
messhallkitchen.com



The Order: Mess Hall Burger, medium rare.  Slow onions, Vermont cheddar, b&b pickles, and smokey aioli on a brioche bun.
Side Order: Does not come with fries (add for $5 at lunch, $8 at dinner)
Lunch $10 - Dinner - $15
Drink Order: Stone IPA
Burger Menu Rating: 10.5/15




Located at Los Feliz Blvd and Hillhurst Ave. in Los Feliz, Mess Hall opened about a year and a half ago to widespread positive acclaim from local reviewers, but has remained relatively under the radar as a contender in the established Los Angeles burger scene.  Head chef Keith Silverton has created a menu that falls into the ubiquitous category American (new), with a wide variety of options designed to appeal to the young Los Feliz and Silverlake crowds.


The Fanny Bay Oysters were an excellent starter for the meal with mild brininess and a cucumber finish.

Here in Los Angeles, like in other major metropolitan cities, there has been a resurgence in oysters as relatively cheap artisanal fare.  The small selection of oysters here are moderately priced at around $3 each, and come with accurate descriptions.  Like everywhere else, the Oysters help get you in the door to then spend your money on other higher priced items, except that the rest of the menu isn't so outrageously expensive that you mind.  The entire menu is filled with upscale Southern food with items whose flavor pack a big punch to your mouth.  A fried chicken sando with honey mustard on brioche.  Buffalo wing confit.  You'll come here wanting to satisfy cravings for big flavors and balance them all with beer and cocktails.  The same applies to their burger which treads carefully at the edge of a flavor profile that could be a little too much.


This burger's onions are just pouring out all over the place.

When the Mess Hall Burger arrives, it's just ready to fall apart.  I mean, it's amazing that they've managed to pile all of the toppings onto the burger and maintain a clean plate.  As soon as you touch it it begins to ooze and drip cheese, onions and sauce.  "It sure is a... messy burger," my friend Will exclaims while eating.  Get it?  Messy?  But he's also correct.  This thing will end up everywhere.  Don't wear white when you come here, or you'll end up wearing this thing out.

First off, there are a ton of onions on this thing.  They're all sweet and delicious, but are a bit much.  Now, when you get a bite that has all of the ingredients they come together in your mouth to create an amazing and strong but balanced flavor that is at times sweet, tangy, salty and smokey.  It's just a delight to savor the cheddar with the onions, and when the little bit of sourness comes through from the pickles, it's like your mouth has died and gone to heaven.  There's plenty of cheese and pickles on this burger, but for some reason they're not evenly disbursed so many bites have a disproportionate amount of onions and when eaten alone they become overwhelmingly sweet.  My recommendation?  Remove the bun from the burger before attacking it, and use your knife and fork to more evenly disperse the toppings.  You'll be more guaranteed to have delicious bites every single time.

The meat is a custom blend of brisket, chuck and flank steak with a 70% lean to 30% fat ratio that is delivered from Niman Ranch up near San Francisco and ground daily in-house.  The large fat content in this burger is awesome, allowing a slightly larger margin of error when cooking and allows for good overall cohesion in the patty.  The one big detriment to the burger, however, was that it was a bit overcooked!  They were able to get a fantastic sear on the outside of the burger, so there was a little crunch to every bite, and the meat was nice and flaky, but if the burger is overcooked, you're going to lose points.  It's not as if the place was all that busy so that the chef was churning out order after order and couldn't keep an eye on the patties we ordered.  Regardless, at $10 for a lunch burger (no fries), this a really good deal for the amount of food, and the quality of the ingredients.  Next time I'd stress it being cooked correctly, but overall an awesome burger.  Also, don't miss out on their Monday Night Burger + Beer/Bourbon Deal for $15, or Tuesday night $1 Oysters!




Cooked Correctly: 4/5
Design/Ingredients: 3/4
Plating: 1/3
Value: 2.5/3