Can you hear me singing?
“It’s the most – wonderful time – of the year…”
Have I started with the Christmas cheer as early as Costco and Target? Not quite. No, for me, the best and wonderfulest and most splendiferous time of each season are the few days leading up to a big race; days when I can eat and eat and eat some more, all in the name of carb loading.
While I haven’t been as steadfast, as determined with training for my trek tomorrow (the Long Beach Half Marathon) as I have with others, I’m still in need for a boatload of calories to power me through 13.1 miles of fiery, tortured death (tomorrow’s expected high falls somewhere in the mid-90s). Especially because back in the summer, optimistic and pumped, I signed up for the Long Beach 5K as a final training run the day before the big race. As much and as well as I ate last night, the whole of me – after finishing that 5K this morning – has pretty much gone limp. In other words, I’m not predicting any kind of personal record for tomorrow. But at least all this running gave me a reason for burgers. And fries.
Hopdaddy hails from Texas, a place this Cali girl believes can hustle up a good burger. And fries. I arrived famished – my posse in tow – and found quick happiness after learning it was a line up, order, and sit kind of a place. And without any stress of peeping out a booth while you wait in line, as they take care of the seating arrangements for you. (These sorts of things please me.)
While my focus this post is on their burgers (and fries), I must first speak on how much their adult beverage selections pleased me. We’re talking cute (not a key selling point for some of you, I realize), contemporary cocktails, but nothing bank-breaking. I sipped my pre-burger drank and still had enough coin for a “my burger’s almost done” second round. With a driver for the evening, I could have downed a post-meal, “let’s chill here another 30 minutes” drank but I had this morning’s 5K to worry about. So I settled on just two Sangritas, which balanced tangy, sweet, and refreshing the way a cocktail should.
So now, the burger – and I hate this part because my review is not raving, but I know it’s kind of my fault. You see, I ordered the turkey burger. And just like the one at Bobby’s Burger Palace, Hopdaddy’s turkey suffered from Healthy Burger Syndrome, a big problem seen in restaurants across the country where there’s an assumption that those of us who prefer turkey burgers want them lean and not so mean (I like ’em dirty and greasy, the way I prefer my men). With a dense, dry patty (thanks to the lower fat ground turkey breast – *healthy*) and a whole wheat bun, my poor sandwich left me sad and discontent, so much so that I said yes when asked by a posse member (my work daughter, Kristina) if I wanted to try her juicy, thick beef burger on Hopdaddy’s classic egg bread. The result? An instant and fierce burger envy.
Though it’s my tendency to go for a turkey burger over beef when one’s available, I can’t really say a hard and fast rule is in play since I make exceptions to my no-beef, no-pork diet for Burger Quest posts. So while my Good Night/Good Cause Burger ($1 from each burger is donated to the Dream Street Foundation) with a turkey patty isn’t one of my top Burger Quest choices, I’m eager to get back with an understanding of their full potential with just one bite of Kristina’s El Diablo burger.
To end on a happy note, I truly delighted in my fries, and I tried two kinds: their Kennebec and their truffle fries. Dunked in various forms of ketchup and sauces, the fries proved very right. We even asked for an extra order as the meal neared its close, a good substitute for my third drank. So while not completely fulfilled after my first Hopdaddy visit, I’m definitely as carbed up as can be for my big run. And surely, I’ll return soon to give them another try. With fries. And three cocktails. (Anyone feel like giving a sista a ride?)
Official Dianderthal Burger Quest Burger List:
1. The Spicy Bird at Umami Burger
2. Hawkins House of Burgers turkey burger with everything (mayo, mustard, pickles, tomato, red onion, lettuce), cheese added
3. The Chianina Burger at Working Class Kitchen with cheese
4. PCB (Plan Check Burger) at Plan Check with americanized dashi cheese, ketchup leather, schmaltz onions, mixed pickles, crunch bun
5. 25 Degrees Number One Burger (turkey subbed for beef) with caramelized onions, crescenza, prelibato gorgonzola, bacon, arugula, thousand island
6. Whistle Stop Cheeseburger with lettuce, tomato, grilled onions, and Whistle Stop sauce
7. Shake Shack’s ShackBurger, with cheese, lettuce, tomato, and ShackSauce
8. Burger Lounge’s Free Range Turkey Burger, served Lounge Style with organic white cheddar, grilled onion, lettuce, tomato, and house-made 1000 Island
9. Father’s Office Burger with arugula, caramelized onions, Gruyere, applewood bacon, and maytag blue cheese
10. Island’s California Flyer turkey burger (BBQ sauce, “Island Reds” – fried onion straws, pepper jack cheese, lettuce, tomato & mayo)
11.Golden State turkey burger with provolone, lettuce, tomato, red onion, aioli, and ketchup, (added grilled onions)
12. Oh My Burger BYOMB (Build Your Oh My Burger) turkey with OMB sauce, ketchup, pepper jack, and onion rings
13. Holstein’s California Turkey Burger with sprouts, tomato, avocado, cucumber claw, pepperjack cheese, and Russian dressing
14. Yeah! Burger (Make It Your Own – turkey patty, whole wheat bun, pepper jack cheese, sriracha mayo, ketchup, grilled onions, honey mustard)
15. The Habit (Veggie burger made like a Charburger, with mayo, pickle, tomato, lettuce, caramelized onions, cucumber, and sprouts)
16. Hopdaddy Goodnight/Good Cause Burger, turkey subbed for beef with Tillamook cheddar, BBQ sauce, caramelized onions, sliced jalapeños, hickory BBQ, and sassy sauce (whatever that is)
17. The Counter (Build Your Own – turkey patty, grilled onions, cheddar cheese, chipotle aioli, ketchup)
18. Burger City Grill (The BCG, turkey patty, pickles, grilled onions)
19. The Dallas at Bobby’s Burger Palace – spice crusted ground turkey patty with coleslaw, jack cheese, BBQ sauce, and pickles
Fry Factor
1. Island’s fries with ranch dressing
1. Sweet potato fries at Umami Burger*
3. Golden State fried sweet potato wedges with garlic aioli (and a few with curry ketchup)
4. Working Class Kitchen’s frites
5. Burger Lounge’s fries with house-made Ranch
5. Whistle Stop’s fries
7. Holstein’s sweet potato fries
8. The regular fries and the cheese fries at Shake Shack
9. 25 Degrees Half & Half (sweet potato and regular fries)
10. Hopdaddy’s Kennebec & truffle fries
11. Father’s Office sweet potato fries with blue cheese aioli
12. The Counter 50-50 fries (half regular, half sweet Ps)
13. Oh My Burger sweet potato fries
14. The Habit french fries
15. Plan Check sweet potato waffle fries and regular fries
16. Bobby’s Burger Palace sweet potato fries
17. Burger City Grill fries
18. Yeah! Burger sweet potato fries
19. Hawkins House of Burgers fries
Hopdaddy Burger Bar
The Point, 830 S. Sepulveda in El Segundo
and other locations