A Meal Fit For Imperials
Greetings, Readers!
Question: who out there is playing Star Wars Battlefront?
Any of you?
ALL OF YOU?
I assumed as much.
If you’re like me and you’ve been playing that game on the regular lately, you know how easy it is to work up an appetite.
Or you know, your significant other comes home and tells you that after four hours straight of video games you might want to go out for burgers.*
Excellent suggestion.
So having had a night out sampling beer at Forman’s in Toluca Lake, I suggested that this might be the place to try out a sandwich from their amazing sounding menu.
A Lively Strip In A Small Town
Located right on the main strip of Riverside in Toluca Lake, Forman’s is a small-ish brewpub with an excellently tailored craft beer menu with American style pub food on the menu.
Except to just call it “American style pub food” would really downplay the creativity of each of the menu items.
With its dim lighting and antique, home-y decorations, Forman’s is a place where you will feel instantly welcomed. It’s kind of like if you went over to that uncle’s house you really like, and he just happens to be a great chef and has an excellent taste in beer.
A Beery Perfect Partner
Speaking of which, Velvet Merlin Oatmeal Stout from Firestone Walker on NITRO? Just leave work right now, drive on down and get a glass or two of this on your lunch break. It’s an amazing smooth, roasty, chocolate stout that is a perfect companion for these cooler nights in LA.
For this venture into Toluca Lake, and after much perusing of the menu, I settled on the Steakhouse Burger to pair with my Velvet Merlin. Braised mushrooms, Swiss cheese, and and crispy shallot sit on top of a delicious, thick, juicy beef patty (which I had cooked to medium rare) served on a potato bun.
Wow. This is one smooth, savory burger. Seriously, it gets a little bit messy when you get it cooked as rare as I do but it’s totally worth it. The mushrooms still had a bit of pop in them and didn’t just coat the burger is a slimy, soft mess.
The cheese was fully melted through bringing it’s smooth and smoky flavor to this ode to the steakhouse.
The potato bun did an amazing job holding this burger together until the end and didn’t bring too much flavor in order to overpower the mellow flavors of the sandwich.
Top it off with the side of crispy seasoned fries and you’ve got a hell of a way to relax on a Saturday night.
All in all, the Steakhouse Burger was very enjoyable, and one I would highly recommend drinking the Velvet Merlin stout while you’re at it.
Face Your Fears…of Vegetables!
And if you feel like adding an appetizer, because all of them sound delicious? Go for the Brussels sprouts. Topped with orange citronette, sriracha aioli, and shaved parmesan, it’s a great savory companion to the burger.
These are Brussels sprouts we all wish we had as kids, you know?
Well that takes care of another hot spot in the East Valley that I’ve had on my list for quite some time. What other gastropubs in the area have you all tried and loved?
Until next time…
Steakhouse Burger
**** 1/2 Stars
Forman’s Tavern
10149 Riverside Drive
Toluca Lake, CA 91602
*Note – my significant other is totally cool with my PS4 and even suggested I buy it. Double win.
Share On