It is a good thing that the meteoric rise of "concept" food trucks didn't hinder the continuance of "classic food trucks". Whether you call it a "roach coach", "truck" or that "guy on the corner of blank and blank", these traveling commissaries are critical to the day to day function of our city and the sight of them, such as Levon's Quality Foods Truck, is a welcomed one indeed. A line filled with hungry construction workers, a drifting lab tech on his smoke break from the MRI department at Kaiser or my personal favorite, a Doctor in scrubs who most likely advised a patient not to eat the plate of chili fries he is about to order is cosmopolitan Los Angeles to a "T". But enough of the scenery, let's talk about a double bacon cheeseburger with avocado on sourdough, with fries, for $6 bucks . . .
An "Old Style" hamburger charms you with it's simplicity. More than likely you are sitting in an old school diner or dedicated burger shack, where the food tastes homemade. Beyond the requisite loose grind, most likely done in house or to order from a meat purveyor; a decent bun, fresh toppings and some love on the griddle all ad up to "sublime burger simplicity". In Los Angeles, examples can be found at celebrated burger institutions like The Apple Pan and Pie N Burger, whose legions of fans have brought forth decades of success and with that success, escalating prices. Enter Woody's, not in LA but, in affordable Palm Springs. Not exactly old school diner thanks to some key dive bar elements(beers run you around $3), and priced like a Bang for your Burger Buck spot should be: $5.50 for all the essentials.
LA Buns just may be my favorite place I have covered at Bang for your Burger Buck. Being nestled in the South Los Angeles neighborhood of Downey, they are off most people's radar. They also toss my Bang strategy out the window, by forcing me to add on what would be costly add ons like cheddar, bacon and onion rings but are not costly because they charge .70 friggin cents for all three. And they season the hell out of their patties. Whenever I think of LA Buns, it makes me want to hop into a DeLorean, stop myself from what ever lunch plans I had and make tracks there. Oh, and they have a chicken sandwich that almost flipped the whole damn script on what we are searching for at Bang for your Burger Buck. Call it a Chik Fil A conspiracy or the fact that the folks at LA Buns offer a lotta Bang, you will come out of there a winner.
