I’d read Pete Wells in the NYT waxing rhapsodic about patty melts. I realized it had been a minute since I’d last had one, thinking back to the days of the Hamlet’s onion patty melt.
Went to Pie N Burger in Pasadena. For $18 they serve a for real patty melt with a side (I went for the fries, which were good but not as good as the patty melt). It may not melt in your mouth but it has a tasty grease factor that coats your mouth with goodness.
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RIP Hamlets— besides the patty melts, loved the chicken wings w/ apricot sauce.
As far as patty melts go… besides the old-school diner/deli classics that one can get, I like Cassell’s
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I think the gold standard for patty melts in L.A. might be the 1/2 pound version at Pann’s.
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Chris Kronner made the best I’ve had. Last I heard he was available for private events in LA.
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Cassells serves a pretty mean patty melt
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Goldburger (LF branch) makes a pretty solid melt. Depends on who’s working the grill but the Bub & Grandma’s bread really works.
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Interesting that they use a spelt polenta bread, does it approximate rye?
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In a way texturally? It’s sort of it’s own thing - but having actually well-made/fermented “real” bread changes the game.
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I think ERB makes a great patty melt - I like it more than their burger, which is already pretty good.
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I miss the HH lobster bisque. I can make a close facsimile, but it is a lot of work.
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So by chance I was on the Westside today. It wasn’t Monday so I dropped in at the Apple Pan. My intent was to get a tuna sandwich. Suddenly a whim overcame me. Despite not finding one on the very brief menu, I asked the server if they made a patty melt. With the aplomb of one who has worked there for 28 years, he said without hesitation “Sure.” So my diet coke arrived. My ketchup arrived. My crispy fries arrived (good). And then the patty melt. It was between two pieces of rye toast. Swiss cheese. A medium patty. Grilled onions. A dollop of mayo. Worth asking for. Worth waiting for.
A guy sat next to me and ordered a tuna sandwich. It looked ok. I thought, you poor blighter.
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Personalized requests are handled surprisingly well at Apple Pan. Bravo!
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Wow genius food move I will have to ask for that next time.
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Just dumb luck on my part.
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Same! And a proper one as well, surprisingly hard to find one that doesn’t come with cheddar/American cheese
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They actually have a very smalls “secret” menu at Apple Pan–you randomly hit one of the very few items on it. IIRC: patty melt, tuna melt, cheese fries, and… some desert I can’t remember.
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Patty melt with some hickory sauce might be the move for me
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Sounds good. The credit card receipt for mine referenced steakburger.
Banana cream pie slice melt… #TheArtificialIntelligenceMove37
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