hamburger

¡Adios Pastrami Burrito!

Kosher Burrito blog

The Kosher Burrito once stood on 1st Street between Los Angeles City Hall and Little Tokyo. (Yep, that’s the New Otani in the background.) I snapped this shot with my old 2 1/4 Spartus in the 90’s before it was gone for good in 2002.

Picture a simple lunch counter/ burger stand with a few stools that offered up a cross between Mexican and deli food such as the famed Kosher Burrito which was filled with pastrami, mustard, chili, pickles and onions. Word has it they had pretty good burgers too.

All in the backdrop of Little Tokyo. Only in Los Angeles. Just archive it in the ever expanding file of terrific things that aren’t here anymore.

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We are still left with a few “Mexicatessens” around town– joints that serve Mexican food and hamburger style grub. While amusing and promising in name, the reality is a far cry from the Kosher Burrito.

Burgers & Huts

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The old burger stand.  I’m not talking about a Tommy’s Burger but a little stand.  The size of a roach coach.  Take off the wheels, add a few bar stools and start grilling the patties and onions.  Pass the ketchup while you’re at it.

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Back in the 1980’s, I could walk down Sawtelle in my westside neighborhood and eat a different burger at a different stand and no two burgers were the same.

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Heading East down Pico toward Fairfax, Mr. Philly was already boarded up.  By the time I reached Fairfax there was another burger joint with the deliciously misspelled but apt name Meatty Meat Burgers – what you got here was meat and a bun.  I preferred the patties back in my neighborhood but MMB was well known.  They even repainted it green after this photo was taken.

meattymeat-copy WM.jpgOne of the last to go was Jay’s Jayburgers on Virgil and Santa Monica but it’s been a memory for about 8 years now.  I hear you can still find a good burger at some classic joints like Capital Burger (also on Pico) but I stopped eating meat back when Jay’s closed. With Jay’s chili gone, it was time to pack it in.

Rehash your best burger memories in this Handmade Upcycled Burger Journal.