At Juicy Burger you are the burger architect.

Students at GCC have become accustomed to food vendors located within walking distance from campus. Restaurants such as Flame Broiler and Quiznos leave much to be desired.

If you have a car, bus pass or any form of transportation, make your way to Juicy Burger for a taste bud sensation.
According to Google Maps this burger joint is only 12 miles away from GCC.

The restaurant itself is located on the corner of Hollywood Boulevard and Ivar Avenue, right in the heart of Hollywood. Getting to Juicy Burger will most likely involve a mixture of waiting in traffic and snooping around for a parking space that would challenge Sherlock Holmes himself.

After stepping off the Hollywood Walk of Fame and into the restaurant one will see that it is unsuspecting and far from flashy. Simplicity rules at Juicy Burger.

Simply pick up one of the “Create Your Own Juicy Burger” menus and begin filling it in, or look at the simple menu posted on the wall and you will have made your first step toward hamburger heaven.

Creating a burger at Juicy Burger has six steps. Be careful because some steps cost more than others.

The process of creating your own burger is similar to that of Jake’s Burgers, which is located in Pasadena. Although they are alike the burger from Juicy Burger beats Jake’s in straight sets.

Step one is to choose a burger. The burger choices are one-third and one-half pound beef, chicken breast, turkey, veggie, and fried egg.

Step two is to choose a bun. The bun choices are a standard fresh bun, ciabatta bread or a lettuce wrap.

Step three is to choose toppings. Those toppings are mustard, ketchup, mayonnaise, thousand island dressing, crisp lettuce, tomato, red onions, and dill pickles.
Step four is to add a premium sauce. The sauces are buttermilk ranch, chipotle mayo, tabasco ketchup, barbecue sauce, garlic mayo, chipotle ketchup, and teriyaki sauce.

Step five is to add cheese. The choices for cheese are yellow American, Monterey jack, cheddar, and blue cheese.

Step six is to add premium toppings. Those include: caramelized onions, fried egg, slice jalapenos, green chili, guacamole, onion strings, bacon strips, grilled pineapple, grilled spinach, and sautéed mushroom.

After going through all the steps the next item on the agenda is to decide whether to include fries and a drink to make it a combo.

If creating a burger is too much pressure Juicy burger has seven readymade burgers to choose from. One of those burgers is the California Cheese Burger which is topped with guacamole, bacon, American cheese, and Thousand Island dressing.

When the cashier asks how the burger should be cooked it becomes obvious that this will be a special experience.

After ordering and shelling out around $12 a person, customers can sit at small two to four person tables in the back of the restaurant or they can pull up a chair at eat at the bar while looking out at the street.

The bar seats are the most interesting because of the plethora of people that Hollywood has to offer.

Depending on what time of day it is, there can be a five minute wait to a wait close to half an hour. Drinks are served directly after ordering, and there are no free refills, so sip slowly.

When your name is called, the amount of food that faces you will be daunting, but conquerable.

After giving the burger one big bite best one can look down at the paper tray the food comes in and see where the name of this establishment came from. It will also be apparent why this burger was voted the number one burger in Los Angeles by Citysearch.

The burger is the absolute best part of the experience, and the fries and drink complement it nicely.

The fries are fresh and come with a free premium sauce. The Buttermilk Ranch is extraordinary. The fries themselves are seasoned lightly with sea salt. They do not compare to fries at burger stands like In-N-Out, but the burger makes up for it.

Juicy Burger has classic fountain drinks along with shakes and fresh lemonade. The shakes only come in chocolate and vanilla but are thick and flavorful. The fresh lemonade is hit and miss. Sometimes it has the perfect balance of sugar, water and lemon, and other times it tastes like water with an unhealthy amount of sugar. The lemonade is not worth the gamble.

If you are looking for a small burger joint that packs a ton of flavor and is well worth the money then Juicy Burger is the right choice.

Juicy Burger’s first location is at 6340 Hollywood Blvd. and the second location is at 1820 N. Vermont Ave. Both locations are in Los Angeles. For more information their website is JuicyBurgerOnline.com.

Take a trip to Hollywood, walk the Hollywood Walk of Fame, see the characters that populate the city, and see how the burgers at Juicy burger live up to their slogan “Always fresh, always juicy.”

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars