My Kind of Show Opener
You know, it’s not often I actually get out to a concert anymore. Seeing as how two of my favorite musicians of all time died this year, there aren’t many more artists I am really dying to see anymore.
Except for Regina Spektor.
I have been a huge fan of her for about ten years now, and if you haven’t listened to her music yet, you totally should.
But when you’re headed to a different part of town, and you want to kick up the night another notch, what is one sandwich fan to do?
You stop and have a burger before listening to an amazing musician.
A Tasty Opener
Across the street from the El Rey Theater is the Spare Tire Kitchen and Tavern, a dimly lit space with an excellent selection of craft beer and an unassuming front on Wilshire Boulevard.
With a few of Regina’s songs in my head, I looked for a great burger to start the night off right. The Pub Burger seemed like it would do the trick with its thick, medium-cooked beef patty, thick cut bacon, smoked cheddar, butter lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, balsamic onions, and house sauce.
We ordered fried pickles too, because whenever you see those, you gotta have ’em. But sadly, they never shows up. Hopefully that would be the only bad thing we’d encounter that night.
The burger was delicious. A smoky, savory one-two punch of burger and smoked cheddar (fully encasing that delicious patty) is fantastic and was brought out of those depths with the bright crisp bite of lettuce and pickles.
Plus, the bacon. These slices were thickly cut, plenty of smoky favor, and cooked but not too crispy, just a little around the edges. Each mouthful of this burger was filled with a healthy dose of humanity’s favorite meat.
Top that off with a Smog City little Bo Pils, and you have a fantastic meal.
Need For An Encore?
So yeah, this burger did its job as the best opening act for an incredible musician who went on to rock the intimate El Rey for two hours. If you’re interested in hearing her wonderful songs, check out her latest album Remember Us To Life is out and worth checking out, and my favorite of her albums, Begin To Hope is equally as good.
So if you’re in the area for a show at the El Rey, I highly recommend stopping in for an incredible opening act of burger and beer before you get your rock show on down the road.
Until next week, Readers…
Pub Burger
**** 1/2 Stars
Spare Tire Kitchen and Tavern
5370 Wilshire Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90036
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