B&R's Old Fashion Burgers - Hawthorne

One of the finds that resulted from my Food Map was B&R's Old Fashion Burgers in Hawthorne. When I read about their signature burger, the Monster Royal burger, I knew that I had to visit this place. The Monster Royal burger has 2 8-ounce beef patties, a fried egg, chili, cheese, bacon or pastrami, lettuce, tomato, etc. etc. This monstrosity costs a total of $7.65. I said $7.65!!! That is obscenely low for Los Angeles. So when the Biggest Loser was all finished and I had the cash in my pocket, I invited all the participants to lunch at B&R's since it's only about 15min from our office.

As we ventured deep into Hawthorne, jokes about gang violence and getting shot started. Let's just say that this is not the most luxurious city in LA. The place was fine though.. with a several friendly looking people hanging out along the street on a Thursday afternoon.


One interesting thing I noticed about the place right away was that there were plenty of tables, but only about half the chairs that you'd need for all those tables. The place seemed to be designed more for lounging and waiting for your food than actually sitting down and eating there. Maybe most of their business is takeout. Also, almost no AC. I guess when your prices are this low, you have to try and keep the energy bill down as much as possible.

There were maybe a dozen other diners in the place when we got there. It was a mix of folks who were probably local regulars and people like us who had obviously come from an office building somewhere. I'm sure there aren't too many office buildings nearby, so they probably drove a bit to get there like us. The nine of us got in line and ordered and I paid. The bill was about $63 for 9 people. Again, for LA this is unbelievably cheap.

The FOOD

After waiting about 30 min, my coworkers started getting restless and I got a little nervous about bringing all my coworkers out so far to wait over 30min for a burger. The food had better be good! It took almost 45 minutes for our food to finally come out, but the complaints stopped as soon as the food hit the table.

I mean, just look at this thing! The beef patty is like an inch and a half tall. This is the Chili Cheese King Burger. Cost: $5.50 plus a couple more bucks for the fries and a very good lemonade. Not homemade lemonade, but still very refreshing.. like the kind you get at Sonic. Also, they use that kind of crushed ice that I just love. It almost makes your drink like a chewy slushie if you take the top off and drink it without a lid or straw. I like chewing ice with my drinks. Sue me.

B&R serves a no-frills, delicious burger; probably the best burger for the money that I've ever had anywhere. No fancy toppings or sauces. No bleu cheese or caramelized onions. No arugula. Just lettuce, tomato, cheese, great buns toasted just right and a huge, juicy well-cooked beef patty. No fancy seasonings to distract you from the pure beef taste that explodes into your mouth on the way to your stomach, and eventually your arteries.

After 12 weeks of dieting, this single meal probably had about the same number of calories that I was eating daily. It was worth it though. My stomach was comfortably satisfied for the rest of the day. Even by dinner time, I still wasn't really very hungry. I had a bowl of Fiber One cereal and called it a night.

Someday when I'm feeling extra brave, I'll take on the Monster Royal Burger.

B&R's Old Fashion Burgers

3512 WEST ROSECRANS AVE. HAWTHORNE, CALIFORNIA 90250

PHONE: 310.679.4774 FAX: 310.679.2464