Review: Smashburger - L.A. Smashburger

Smashburger's local L.A. Smashburger features a crispy wonton wrapper, fried egg, cilantro, cucumber, ginger dressing, lettuce & tomato on a black & white sesame seed bun.

I bought the "Regular Burger" version for $6.39 (they also have a "Big Burger" version with a larger patty).

The burger chain offers a locally-inspired burger for each region and this is the one we get in Los Angeles.

Between the thin-crispy, fried wonton wrapper and the fresh, juicy, thick slices of cucumber, there was a really nice crunch factor to the burger. There was some sort of seasoning on the wonton that didn't really leave an impression.

Beside the cucumber, the lone leaf of lettuce and the tomato slices were of good quality as well. There's a lot of cilantro here and you can definitely taste it, so that might be a deal breaker for a number of you; it's actually one of the most prominent flavors of the burger.

The bun veered toward a heartier texture than your standard burger bun. The black sesame seeds didn't really add anything extra for me other than a different look.

The fried egg was really nice and just cooked. The yolk was runny and the white was very soft. With the burger tilting toward milder flavors, I could really taste the excellently cooked egg.

The burger patty was great as well. I had a relatively coarse grind, a nice charred crust, and a juicy interior.

What the burger lacked was a strong accent to give it character. The ginger dressing was slightly sweet and tasty but, like most of the burger, it lacked punch and I could barely make it out in most bites. This might be a first for me, but I think the burger needed more dressing.

Overall, Smashburger's L.A. Smashburger was a quality and expertly-executed burger that suffered a bit in the concept. It ended up feeling like eating a salad with very little dressing and a hamburger patty (they also offer a chicken filet so maybe that would work better). I might have been happier just separating the produce into a salad and just enjoying the egg, patty, and bun alone.

Nutritional Info - L.A. Smashburger
Calories - 860 (from Fat - 500)
Fat - 56g (Saturated Fat - 23g)
Sodium - 1210mg
Carbs - 54g (Sugar - 12g)
Protein - 34g