Hungry? Well I Was, So I Ate An Entire Sign!
I have lived in LA for a long time now, and I have passed this sign hundreds of times…one of those places you always say “I’ve got to try that!” Well, it was time to do just that!
Astro Burger is located in West Hollywood, on Santa Monica Boulevard – yes, the iconic “Route 66”!
The great website “Wehoville.com” has this to say:
“Route 66 invented the fast food industry, embodied along Santa Monica Boulevard by other places including the Formosa Café, founded in 1934; Irv’s Burgers, opened in 1948, Astro Burger, opened in 1974; Hamburger Haven, Fatburger, L.A. Buns & Co. and the much more recent Shake Shack.”
Located Nearby Is The Legendary Irv’s Burgers!
Irv’s Burgers began as a classic Route 66 gas/service station and fast food restaurant when it first opened at 8289 Santa Monica Blvd. Always a favorite of the rock crowd, it was the cover photo setting for Linda Ronstadt’s 1978 album, “Living in the USA.” As “Wehoville.com” adds: she’s seen in the album photo above grabbing a burger and reaching for a bag of chips.
I plan to do a review of Irv’s soon, but for now, I had to find out what Astro could do with “char-boiled burgers”, pastrami and onion rings!
As you can see, it’s your 50’s classic soda joint vibe, and the menu is MASSIVE:
There are burgers of every shape and size – and a garden burger of course, plus a myriad of sandwiches, salads, fries, tacos, burritos, and even a huge breakfast menu in the morning…but we all know what I was here for – as the sign said clearly:
Char-Broiled Burgers! Pastrami! Onion Rings!
Yep, I needed to try that entire sign! I was intrigued by the “pastrami burger” – so I ordered it loaded – I expected a pastrami sandwich on a bun, but it was a burger that was also stuffed with pastrami!
Boom!
Folks, this $9 burger came with a hamburger patty, cheese, lettuce, tomato – I honestly don’t remember if it was loaded with sauce, because the burger was so juicy it didn’t need it!
You need more proof?
This burger is incredible!
You can taste all of the unique ingredients, and surprisingly, the pastrami was a perfect, slightly salty pop to the cheeseburger, complimenting the flavor rather than taking away from it…but I will also tell you that I took a bit of it off and ate it separately, because there was so much!
They wrap it tight, and that’s a good thing, because, while the bun is hearty and toasted well, this is a juicy sandwich, and the wrapper holds it all together for you…as I said, I ate the sign, so I had to have some onion rings as well:
This was a good size order, with thick slices of onion breaded nicely. They were crispy and very flavorful…
Over all, this food was excellent – it is made to order, so expect to wait 10-15 minutes for your food, and it’s cash only, so come with some money…other than that, this place delivered on their promise:
Yes, I know I didn’t have a “taco”, so I didn’t officially eat the entire sign, but it was a good headline, so I ran with it.
I don’t know that I need pastrami on my burger every time, but it was fun as a “one off” – you see, pastrami can take care of itself, as I’ve shown you in the past:
This is the legendary Pastrami sandwich from Katz’s Deli in New York – also home to that orgasmic movie moment in “When Harry Met Sally”:
They make an unbelievable Pastrami sandwich, which I tried – you can see my review here:
Let me know if you’ve had an Astro Burger, and what you thought!