Rush Street

So July was a bit of a hiatus for EatingOutLA, but August is back with a vengeance! Let's start with Rush Street, one of Culver City's newest pubs. I had heard good buzz from opening weekend, but didn't really know what to expect when I went with a group of friends. I was counting on more beers on tap, but instead the bar serves a pretty wide variety of 750 mL bottles. Being lovers of Hefeweisen, we were drinking the Pinkus Organic Hefeweisen, which was by far the best hef I've ever had. One 500 mL bottle fills about 2 glasses for $13. As for food, the boys both got burgers, I got the parmesan calamari and the baked mac & cheese, and my friend got the white pizza. I tried a bit of everything, but thought the only thing I'd get again would be the burger. Topped with bacon, cheddar, confire sauce and, natch, fried onions, the burger was just crispy and sweet enough. The shoestring fries that came with it were pretty delectable as well. The calamari batter was too delicate and kept falling off so we were just eating rubbery fish. The lemon aioli and marinara were both pretty bland and leant little support to the appetizer. The waitress claimed to swear by the baked mac & cheese, but I was unimpressed. The cheeses weren't entirely complementary of each other and it could have been much creamier. Lastly, the white pizza & truffle oil came with spinach on top, something that wasn't called out in the menu. The spinach wasn't good and overall the pizza was really tasteless, which was surprising for something with truffle oil. That's pretty hard to mess up. I'd prefer Johnnie's white pizza. When the time came, no one really cared for dessert, so I can't speak to that. Before we left, we spent a little time looking around the rest of the space since our table was right up front. Probably the best seats in the house are those on the front patio, but the majority of tables are next to the downstairs bar. The back area is reserved for big parties, and with bottle service you can reserve the upstairs bar area. The sofas make the upstairs bar space really inviting, but while we were there the outdoor patio only had one light for the whole area. Additionally, there's usually free parking lots in downtown Culver City, but they were all full when we were there and we had to valet. All-in-all, Rush Street is pretty overpriced for what it is: a bar with an underwhelmingly exaggerated bar menu. For $15 drinks and $15-20 entrees, it's just not worth it.

http://www.rushstreetculvercity.com/

Father's Office

Ever since I moved here people have been talking about restaurant and pub Father's Office. With a second location now open in Culver City (original location in Santa Monica), we finally gave it a try with a couple of our friends. While there were a lot of great things about Father's Office (i.e. ample free parking, tons of beers, I'll get to the rest later), the biggest inconvenience is the way you get in/get a table. Only a certain number of people are let in at a time, even though the place never seemed that crowded to me, and when they are at capacity, you have to wait in line outside to get in. Once inside, there is still no hostess, but rather community seating and you have to hover over people until they leave. Even if your friends have already gone inside and save a seat at a table for you, you still can't hop to the front of the line, but rather have to wait your turn with everyone else. And when you do get a table, be sure not to leave it unguarded because there are no waiters either, everything is ordered at the bar. The beer menu far outweighs the food menu here, but the food is pretty great for gourmet bar food. We all had the Office burger with the carmalized onion, applewood bacon compote, gruyere, blue cheese, and arugula, and of course, a side of sweet potato fries. Normally I feel like blue cheese overpowers whatever it's paired with, but apparently at FO it's mixed into the meat before they cook it, so it's pretty mild. Overall, the burger was fabulous and definitely worth the $12 or so that it costs (eat your heart out Carls Jr.). The bar has about 20 beers on tap and that's only the beginning. There is an entire selection of rare beers that come at rare prices (up to $75 for 750mL!). The strange thing is that a good portion of these pricey beers are described as "grassy." Yeah, not sure about that, and certainly not willing to spend $75 to find out. My advice for this place is to come early and don't come in a big group unless you intend to rent out the private space, otherwise, you'll never all be able to sit together.

http://fathersoffice.com/
http://losangeles.citysearch.com/profile/11416036#
(menu is only available on Citysearch)

Astro Burger

I know it's a little out of the ordinary for me to review a fast food restaurant, but I thought there are probably several people that have never been to Astro Burger. Let's start with the bad and work our way up to the good. Astro Burger is cash only, though they do have an ATM so as not to inconvenience you too much, but you're still going to be charged an ATM fee and depending on where you bank, your bank may charge you for using their ATM too. Second bad thing: while the miniature jukeboxes at each table are cute, they don't work so please don't waste your precious quarters in them, but save them for parking or laundry. Depending on what time you come, it can be difficult to find parking or a seat once you are inside. If you don't feel like getting out of your car, there is unfortunately no drive-thru. On the bright side, the food is delicious and fairly priced. I most recently tried the turkey burger trying to go for the healthy alternative, but it really looked and tasted more like a chicken sandwich. On the same trip Chase got the bacon avocado burger which was probably about 100 times better than mine. We shared an order of fries and I have to say that their fries could use some improvement through one of the following: add salt, add seasoned salt, make smaller, crispier fries, combination of the above. If you don't eat meat or just aren't in the mood for it Astro Burger serves Garden Burgers and really good grilled cheese sandwiches. I don't live close enough to do this, but I have heard that Astro Burger really hits the spot after a night of drinking and they stay open late on the weekends to accommodate this crowd. Astro Burger also serves breakfast, but again, I've never tried it. There is a second location on Melrose at Gower, which I think has additional items within Mexican and Greek cuisines.

http://www.astroburger.com/

Indulge Cafe

After reading several Yelp reviews that raved about the tiny corner burger shop down the street, Griffin and I gave it a shot this weekend. Indulge Cafe, though the name may lead you to think French bakery, is a down home burger joint with an interesting and innovative way to present it's menu. Options include beef burgers, turkey burgers, and veggie burgers, all of which come in 3 oz (petite) or 5 oz (normal) varieties and can be made in a combo with a drink and their oh-so-delicious hand cut, skin-on fries. Turkey and veggie burgers are placed on a whole wheat bun, while the beef burgers are on a traditional white bun. Toppings include onions (can be grilled or raw), pickles, tomato, lettuce, mayo, & mustard. I chose the turkey burger on a wheat bun with Cheddar-jack cheese and grilled onions. While it was one of the best turkey burgers I have ever had, I couldn't help thinking that if I had the sauce from In-N-Out that this burger would damn well be near perfect. I tried a bite of Griffin's beef burger and I have to admit that it was better than the turkey. The meat was so juicy and tender. I thought that the 3 oz. serving would be a little small, similar to a kids meal, but it was plenty for me and the 5 oz. burger looked pretty colossal. Being still pretty new, the place wasn't exactly hopping, but everyone there was really nice and accommodating. Griffin and I were the only customers sitting and eating there, but a few people came in and out in the 30-45 minutes we spent there. It's a really small space, so hopefully they won't get too busy to seat all of their customers soon!

http://www.yelp.com/biz/indulge-cafe-los-angeles