The Hollywood Way

Hola! And Holla! Yes, it's my turn (Cory) to write the bulk of the blog this week, and that usually means that readers have to wait extra long for me to get things together & get this posted. Well, let this week be no exception. The work has piled high over the past several days, but I'm finally able to see the light, and thus, the blog shall be written.
Last week's lunch outing found us parked on a back street behind The Hollywood Way on, well...Hollywood Way. There, near the intersection of Hollywood Way & Burbank Blvd, lies the shell of for the former Mr. B's. A ramshackle roadside watering hole which was, in its day, a fine establishment favored by the locals for steak, lobster, and other dining delights. Apparently it was around for over 50 years and time took its toll on gool ol' Mr B's.



The once popular bar/restaurant slowly lost the "restaurant" part & became just another bar. Another crappy looking bar, from what I could tell. The kind of bar where it wouldn't be completely unreasonable to imagine yourself being stabbed in the parking lot. And that's *kinda* what I felt like as Alissa & I approached from the rear...
Luckily, the new owners of the old Mr. B's have been working hard to scrape away the dirt & dilapidation, creating for us a new (at least in my opinion) Mecca for Burbank meat-eating beer drinkers. The facade is completely renovated & welcoming...



the inside is spacious, neat, and clean...



the taps are sufficiently stocked with an ample selection of beers, and the menu caused me to have wet dreams for a week. Seriously. My sheets are a mess...



The Basics:
The Hollywood Way puts the "bar" in "barbeque"...or, perhaps adds the "beque" to the "bar." Either way, you're gonna find all the BBQ you're likely to desire in your lunch, along with some good beers to boot. Giant burgers, racks of ribs, & mounds of pulled pork are accompanied by classic BBQ sides such as baked beans, onion straws, and mac & cheese. There's even a decent array of salads for those lunchers who may be looking for something less meat-ish.


Alissa:
Immediately after eating this lunch I came back to my desk and wrote something. I wanted to capture the way I felt at the time. This is what I wrote then:
As I write this, I am near vomiting or passing out and maybe both. I attribute it to the meal I had at The Hollywood Way. There was a lot of swearing during this meal- as we saw the food for the first time, as we took the first bite... as we re-realized how crazy or good what we were eating was- as we tried to finish the giant meals before us... as we sat there trying to concentrate on not puking it all back up. That being said- I thought it was TOTALLY AWESOME. No, really. I was expecting a decent meal. Though I got nervous as we approached- something felt dangerous to me. But once inside, I have no idea why I thought that. I think there were probably serious alcoholics that haunted the bar that they took over & I was sensing their gin soaked spirits.



Ah yes. I remember writing that. And I think I am finally not totally full from that lunch, many days later. Anyhoo- as far as what I ate, I laid eyes upon the pulled pork sandwich, and was instantly sold. I barely know what's on the rest of the menu- because I was like- who cares. I am obviously eating this. So I ordered it with a side of mac & cheese and a Flying Dog IPA. I accidentally thought I liked that IPA after tasting it, but after several sips I found it is not one of the guys I like. Some IPAs are sneaky and have too many complex spicy flavors and I'm like EWWWWWWW. I don't want no Belgium nonsense up in this beer! But whatever. I drank it. I pray that after they are there a while, they get some cooler microbrews. It would really raise the stock. I would be glad to advise.

My pulled pork sandwich tasted as beautiful as it looked. Gosh it really, really did. They come in at 6am and hand pull stuff that has smoked all night or something. I was really trying to remember the exact details that Sonia, our friendly bartender was telling us, but I kept being distracted by the deliciousness of my food. Cory and I were not expecting much from the mac & cheese. You know how that goes- mac & cheese sides are pretty disappointing usually. But I had no problem with this stuff. It wasn't so crazy that you were thinking "EFF I should have just ordered this- it's a meal in itself" but just cheesy and creamy enough not to be a sad clump no one cares about next to their food. Which is saying a lot because THE PULLED PORK SANDWICH on brioche bun with chipotle mayo was freaking great. As far as the meat goes- chewing was totally optional. I chose to chew, but you can make your own decision. In any case, it's just what I wanted it to taste like & was better than expected.

Cory and I loudly cursed at our food throughout the meal, while a guy who was pretty much a younger version of The Dude sang selected lines from the 80s & 90s songs Jack FM was supplying. I'm guessing this would be a good place to catch sports on their multiple TVs AND there is free wi-fi, which I used during our meal. I was really sad when I saw this BBQ place down a couple blocks pop up and soon realized sold BBQs, not BBQ'd food. I witnessed Cory spotting it and had to be the one to break the bad news to him. BUT FINALLY there is a place we (I mean not just Cory & I, but you as well!) can go to get some sweet barbecued meat! Your vegetarian friend can come too- there are options, but I feel it is unnecessary to mention them at this juncture. I don't eat a lot of meat, but if I feel like devouring some- this is gonna be a top pick.

And hey, Cory: gross about your sheets. God. This is supposed to be appetizing.



Cory:

Dear The Hollywood Way,

It's not often that a person, place, or experience provokes me to write in letter form. Almost never, actually. I thought about simply sending you a text, but that wouldn't suffice. There's just so much to say. So many thoughts whizzing around in my brain. So many flavors that I'm still savoring. Oh, Hollywood Way, I must admit that my expectations were perhaps a little on the low side for this lunching. But now, having sampled your goods, I feel ashamed of my initial skepticism. Yes, the walk in was a tad shady; and yes, I did half-expect to get my ass kicked by a gang of bikers once inside; but I was wrong, Hollywood Way. I was wrong and I'm sorry. Instead, you welcomed us into your dark, woody, loving arms. You greeted us warmly & presented us with the greatest bar menu I have ever seen in all my days.



(actually, that picture - like most of them on here today - is terrible, so just look at this...)
The Hollywood Way - MENU

Everything freshly made from scratch, with love & attention to detail. The burger hand-pattied, the pork tenderly pulled, the mac creamily cheesed, and the beans barbequed-ly baked.
You undoubtedly remember this, Hollywood Way, because - let's face it, we had a connection. But, for the sake of others, I'll recount my meal. I was having a very hard time deciding on just one thing as I perused your menu. Those burgers sure looked great, but shouldn't I get the BBQ? And then I laid my eyes on a miracle. The baby jesus of bar food. The Memphis Burger. To quote your menu, "How about a juicy 1/2 pound burger piled high with Carolina pulled pork, cheddar cheese, bacon, and onion straws, topped with Hollywood’s BBQ sauce. Served on a toasted brioche bun." How about it, indeed!
It arrived standing nearly as tall as a pint glass. It was one of those times where I really wasn't quite sure where to start, so I just kinda mashed it all down & had at it. The burger itself was massive & really well-seasoned. Just enough salt & pepper to really make it work. And the pulled pork portion was mind-bendingly awesome. So awesome, in fact, that I nearly forgot about the accompanying ingredients: the hunk of bacon & the mountain of onion straws. Honestly, there wasn't a single part of that burger that I don't think could stand alone. The whole thing is JUST THAT GOOD.
Then, to top it off, you served it up with a side BBQ baked beans. Beans with chunks of pulled pork hidden within. Beans with just right amount of kick. Beans that all other beans should aspire to be(an). I would seriously go back just to get a bucket of these things.



Good bite? Or just totally bites?
A: BITE IT. BITE IT NOW. I honestly ate everything except for this last little teeny bite. And I do believe I almost fell into a coma- or crashed the car on the 2 block drive back due to food-drunkness. But I encourage you to do the same.

C: To say this was a "good" bite would be grossly understating the complete & utter awesomeness of this place. Go! Eat! Drink! And maybe stay 'til the next morning...



Info:
1333 N. Hollywood Way
Burbank, CA 91505
(818) 845-4400
Open Mon-Wed 11am-12am; Thu-Fri 11am-2am; Sat 10am-2am; Sun 9:30am-10pm



**Our reports are based on one visit/meal- so we're far from experts on these joints! If you have advice or experiences you'd like to share, please feel free to enlighten us & our readers! Our goal is to give enough info that someone might feel okay trying somewhere new (or know to avoid it!). Thanks for reading :)

Norm's (no, not that one- a different Norm's)

Today, we barely went to Norm's. Not the chain diner- but a little joint started up by another guy with the same name. Presumably. Actually I think maybe it's called Norm's Hamburger #3??? I say barely, because Cory and I had what he called "our first fight" over where to go (I just thought we were discussing- but his discussion tolerance is clearly low), because we've both been having upset stomachs and were wondering if we should eat somewhere that was in no way boasting any health properties and which Cory was calling a "shady shack", and finally, because once we were there looking at the menu aside the B rating it was not seeming as exciting today as it may have been on another day. But like... I'd already parked and walked across a whole street... so we dove in. This time we remembered to order something for which the place felt it was famous. Things in big letters on the sign. This meant Cory ordering something that he didn't even necessarily think he'd like. Then I tried to get some help deciding from the nice lady (Norm?) running the joint, but she was merrily indifferent about my selection. So I just manned up and chose something. That's right. Cause I'm a grownup.



The basics: Well for lunch, which is our bag, they have many different burgers (and yes even a garden burger), various sandwiches, bowls, tacos and burritos, salads, fried sides and soft drinks. Yes. It's that kind of place. One that boasts Gyros and Mexican Gyros (tacos) on the same sign. If you are eating there, under the shadow of that mighty sign, you can sit inside or outside- and if you are lucky enough to snag the right table outside, you can have a conversation on a pay phone from your seat while you eat. Talk about convenience!!! Like literally- you could call someone and talk about the convenience.


Also Cory said "this doesn't look like the kind of place that takes debit cards," which could have been a deal breaker- but they do!


Alissa: So after my usual unnecessarily long period of deliberation, I decided on a chicken gyro and orange whipped drink. I was nervous- but the food came quickly so the fear didn't have time to build.


When it came out I thought "hey that doesn't look half bad." And it wasn't. I ate all of it. The chicken was just shy of dry (so not to be tough) and was seasoned in a gyro fashion. There weren't any nefarious textures, the tomatoes were not mush, and the tzatziki was honestly quite good.


Just to make sure I felt uncomfortable after lunch I drank all of that orange whipped drink which could probably be a meal in it of itself. If you want to stand up and feel orange flavored gurgles at the back of your throat, I totally recommend this.


I would eat that gyro again- this time without fear. I would even try something else off the menu. I think this is a good place to go with your buddies at lunch to prove you are not a complete wuss (when you feel choosing the Olive Garden has started to make you appear soft), without totally for sure getting food poisoning. We even saw a pretty hot lady in a nice executive-type outfit which matched her slick Lexus have lunch inside while we ate. She was by herself & I am hoping it is because this spot is a secret guilty pleasure for her.


Cory: After finally getting up the courage to throw caution to the wind & pull the trigger on this place, I dove right in & opted for the most prominently displayed item on the sign: the pastrami. Okay, so maybe it wasn't the *most* prominent, but it was the FIRST black bolded item up there. Plus, last week's decision to stick to "house specialties" meant that, per the sign, I really only had 3 choices: pastrami, gyros, or tacos. Strange bedfellows, and I really didn't feel like having either of the latter two.
Now, I'm not normally much of a pastrami fan because, frankly, I don't even know what the hell pastrami is. All I know is that it usually looks super fatty and it's usually pretty red. Like really REALLY red. In a weird off-putting sorta way. Upon ordering, I learned from the nice nameless lady that they serve their pastrami on a french roll. This was welcome news to me because, from what I gather, pastrami is generally served on rye. And I happen to think that rye bread is one of this world's most vile & evil substances. Evil averted, I anxiously awaited the arrival of my sandwich while Alissa took far too long to finally decide on her gyro.


(*we call this piece Pastrami Sandwich Boobs)
When the lady heaved my pastrami upon the table, I first noticed that it was indeed really really red. But in a good way. In a way that made me wanna scarf it down immediately. Which I totally would have done if only my sense of gentlemanliness didn't dictate that I wait for Alissa to get her food as well. Well her food arrived quickly & I was finally allowed to sample the goods. And good it was! The french roll provided a nice crusty element & the meat was cut thicker than I've seen in most pastrami situations. This thicker cut allowed for a sort of burnt end thing to happen with the meat. If you're familiar with real BBQ, you'll know that "burnt ends" are the hyper-browned bits of meat at the end of cut. They're thick, chewy, and extra flavorful. Well, this pastrami sandwich had those goin' on all over it and, for that, I was happy.
Like Alissa, I would also eat here again without *too* much fear of spending the night in the bathroom. Would I venture out on a limb to try something else on the menu? I'm not so sure...that pastrami might have its hooks in me. I did notice the word "Hamburger" on the sign though. Preceded by the words "Famous Charbroiled" even. I could maybe go for one of those...


Good bite? Or just totally bites?
A: I say it's a good bite. Not like HOLYCRAP THIS IS GOOD good, but good enough. I'm sure not everything on the menu is amazing- but I bet if you at least stick to that stuff on the sign, you'll get a decent lunch.
C: A good bite. Their food's not gonna save the world or anything, but it might just earn you some cred with your lunchable friends for suggesting it. Just be sure to look past the "B" sign on the front window...
(ps. from Alissa: I know some pretty "fancy" restaurants that have B's that I see celebs at all the time. You never know if it's actually cause of a violation or if they just won't pay off the inspectors properly.)




Info:
1201 W Magnolia Blvd
Burbank, CA 91506-1829
(818) 953-5050
Open Mon-Sat 6:30am-4pm; Sun 6:30am-2pm

**Our reports are based on one visit/meal- so we're far from experts on these joints! so if you have advice or experiences you'd like to share, please feel free to enlighten us & our readers! Our goal is to give enough info that someone might feel okay trying somewhere new (or know to avoid it!). Thanks for reading :)