The undulating red neon heartbeat atop the center of Hollywood’s renaissance belongs not to a tarot card reader storefront, nor a house of sci-fi soul salvation, but to the Roosevelt Hotel, which conceals in its underbelly a gourmet hamburger diner called 25 Degrees.  A lead on the streets about the burgers at 25 Degrees had fired our imaginations so Madlib and I braved the wilds of Hollywood traffic on a Friday night to see if the place truly delivered. Admittedly our expectations were through the roof, but shouldn’t they have been? The very name 25 Degrees is burger secret code (the temperature difference between a medium rare and well done patty) and a few aficionados have deemed it the best burger in LA.

After a bit of spelunking through the Roosevelt’s cavernous Spanish Colonial main lobby (don’t forget to look up at the ceiling details), we finally found 25 Degrees located street side. Inside it’s a long and narrow space, like a Louisiana shotgun shack, with a lengthy counter and a few semicircular booths. Menus in hand and stump to stool, we settled in at the counter and got straight to work.

Let’s get down to the nitty-gritty: 25 Degrees offers three house burgers ($12 w/ side) and a smörgåsbord of high-zoot toppings for those inclined to take the helm and captain over the creation of their own meaty vessel. To this end, $9 nets you a basic burger to which you can add from an assortment of 13 cheeses ($1.50 per), 13 toppings ($1 per) and 14 sauces ($1 per). From the sublime—red hawk cheese, portabello mushrooms, tarragon remoulade—to the mundane—Amercan cheese, chili, thousand island—pretty much all bases are covered. As seems par for the course these days with high end burgers, 25 Degrees serves theirs on a brioche, in this case house made. Sirloin patties are loose packed and weigh in at nine ounces before being introduced to the griddle.

I always like to use the house’s signature burger as a baseline, so I went with the Number 1, medium well. This concoction features two cheeses, gorgonzola and cresceza, with bacon, carmelized onion, arugula and thousand island rounding out the mix. Madlib was inspired by the presence of his favorite cheese on the menu, Midnight Moon, and riffed with an original styling the details of which escape me. Along with the burgers we asked for a half and half order of onion rings/fries (sweet potato are available), and of course, I requested a half chopped salad ($6) in the name of good health.

After the order was placed we had a moment to soak up the atmosphere. Lets just say the designer of 25 Degrees, the ubiquitous Dodd Mitchell, stuck it in overdrive to endow the eatery with swanky distinction (servers wore Ed Hardy T’s for chrissake), and love it or hate it, the execution is topnotch. The self described “bordello meets burger bar” décor of the establishment is supposed to conjure a contemporary vision of the Moulin Rouge—velvety ruby wallpaper, mirrored metallic tile, oxblood leather booths, and crystal chandeliers all cater to the effect. Hopefully this hamburger house of ill-repute served up the goods cause I was ready, willing, and able to get a private room upstairs with house burger Number 1.

Burger Ecstasy or C’est la Vie?

My salad arrived first. “Aw merde!” But I didn’t say “merde.” I’d been snookered—there would be no lettuce in this salad, mon ami, cabbage was the order of the day. To say that cole slaw and I don’t get along is an understatement, much less $6 cole slaw. Chopped indeed, the cabbage lay strewn in narrow strips with avocado blocks, beets, white beans, grapes, grape tomatoes and a few transparent sheers of parmesano reggiano bandied about for good measure. Creamy, above the norm ranch dressing topped it off. Fortunately, this was no cole slaw and despite my prejudices, the salad was…good, a triumph considering its cabbage based composition—a fact that really ought to be mentioned on the menu.

The fries/onion rings were delivered UPS-style in a brown box similar in shape to the familiar Chinese take out container. Onion rings were on top so we started with those. Madlib and I skipped the fancy dipping sauces eschewing trendy for tradition and poured a splotch of ketchup. The rings were a deep golden hue, near brown in places, though a few miscreants spoiled the party by arriving burnt. Those that were unscorched had a thin flaky crust that fell off the bone, revealing glimpses of wide cut onion cores. Apparently these rings are dipped in buttermilk batter and sprinkled with cayenne pepper, but any zing was slight and easily muted by light application of ketchup. Certainly these rings were good, just not mythical. Fries were next. Of the shoestring variety they were slightly sea salted and scattered with a green spice Madlib opined was pine needle, but I’m not so sure, I’ll go with thyme. Crisp outer texture, soft in the middle, they met the measure of a decent fry, but were a long way from setting the standard. So far we were pacified though none too impressed by the house’s deep fried offerings.

The burgers arrived slightly thereafter. With presentation thoughtfully considered, they came stark on white rectangular plates, ¾ wrapped in wax paper, with a tidy stack of tomato, dill pickle slices, white onion and carefully manicured iceberg square on the side. The brioche had a dimpled muffin top and flat base between from which protruded a rotund beer belly of a patty. Madlib and I opted out of mustard and ketchup and took our main course straight up wanting the taste experience unmitigated by frivolity.

The Number 1 is a tall burger, especially after reassembling it with tomato, pickle, onions and lettuce, so the mouth strains at first bite. Hmm? The brioche billowed under a toasty crust while the blend of melted cheese oozed a tempered gorgonzola hint. Salty bacon snapped crisp and the beef was piping hot, firm and with a satisfying, meaty bite. For sure, all the elements were there for a best of breed burger, however…it was just too dry. Mine came with thousand island lubrication but it’s limited presence was mightily over taken by the three-pronged assault of bun, bacon and slightly overcooked patty. Even the moist counterattack of fresh lettuce, tomato and onion was fought in vain and ultimately repulsed. Maybe a little ketchup or mustard would’ve helped, or perhaps my burger was wait for it…25 degrees too hot and should’ve been ordered medium rare. Hell, a shot of WD-40 might’ve loosened things up. Regardless, in it’s prepared state, dryness was the deal breaker that took it out of “Best Of” contention. Bites that followed only confirmed my earliest suspicions, a conclusion Madlib arrived at independently with his order. Not being ones to let a burger, any burger, go to waste, my partner and I chewed on in shared disbelief quietly coming to terms with cold, hard reality. There would be no ascension to the burger promised land tonight. C’est la vie.

Now to be fair, 25 Degrees makes a damn fine burger, one that anybody in their right mind is sure to enjoy. But, make no bones about it, we were in anything but our right minds that evening and 25 Degrees was a letdown. We came seeking the Holy Grail of hamburgers and left needing a drink of Holy Water. In fact, Madlib was so outraged by the disappointment he claimed he’d never be back. I definitely will though. I like the old Hollywood essence of the Roosevelt too much to stay away and who doesn’t enjoy eating in a bordello. I say go for the unique ambiance and a very good burger, one better than most, just don’t expect burger nirvana.

Grade: B+
Case closed.

25 Degrees
7000 Hollywood Blvd.
Hollywood, CA 90028
(323) 785-7244

Open Daily, 24 hrs.
www.25degreesrestaurant.com