Many moons ago, the Manchester was the local Loyola Marymount haunt, the Fireside. It’s where fake ID’s were honored and where staggering drunkards whittled their time away. Since then, the location has been reinvented into a few other iterations, but it wasn’t until it morphed into The Manchester that I finally decided to return. Long gone are the dark, dank walls where I walked between for my 21st birthday and was nearly forced to drink a disgusting shot of Jagermeister. What emerged was a contemporary, dimly lit, very popular spot with the locals and millennials alike.
Fortunately, I was able to get a last minute dinner reservation on Resy on a Friday night. When we came in, the place was packed. We were a few minutes early so we had an opportunity to look around. The space is not that large, but it didn’t feel oppressive. It took a few minutes for our table to become available but once that freed up, we were taken care of the rest of the evening.
Fernando, one of the owners, had set us up with our cocktails before our table was ready, which arrived just as soon as we were being whisked to our table.
After reviewing the menu, we opted for the burger and fries to start and the chicken and salmon from the large entree menu. Our appetizer was quite savory.
The burger patty was slightly salty and the meat was fairly tender. The fries were crispy, per my request and the aioli dip hit the spot.
Our entrees also were quite good. The salmon was moist and flaky. The accompanying vegetables, the eggplant and baby bok choy, were lightly seasoned and perfectly cooked.
The chicken had a surprisingly crispy skin and moist, tender meat with a savory and a slightly crispy broccolini as its accompaniment.
We ended our meal with a very chocolatey pot de creme. It was quite creamy and could possibly cause one to stay up all night.
All in all, the food and service were quite good. Truth be told though, the prices were high for what we ordered. I’ve eaten at other restaurants like Prospect Gourmand on La Cienega or Lunetta All Day on Pico where comparable entrees are closer to the $18-$22 range so we felt the prices were a bit inflated. Other than that, the service, ambiance, vibe and the food were quite enjoyable. Though we would likely not return as there are better values for the experience, the Manchester would definitely be one to try.
The Manchester
8522 Lincoln Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90045
https://themanchester.la
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For many years, I had driven by Marty’s Hamburger Stand and had seen the tiny blue stand with people hovering around it, ordering or waiting for their food. A week or so ago, after running a lunchtime errand in the area, I told myself that if I could easily find parking, I would finally stop by and try their burger and fries. Lo and behold, there was a metered parking space right in front! Taking the cue from the universe, I parked and ordered my first meal.
I had a hankering for a double bacon burger lettuce wrap and was torn between tater tots and curly fries. It was a good omen when I was told I could get both. I watched as the burger patties were grilled and as the bag of packaged fresh lettuce wraps were brought from the back of the stand.
Everything came out perfectly. The lettuce was crisp and fresh, the burger patties were juicy and lightly seasoned and the bacon was crispy but not oily.
The tots had a fluffiness and lightness to them while the curly fries were enveloped in a delicious seasoning coating each curl.
It wasn’t the cheapest casual meal but considering the quality, it was totally worth the cost. I can’t believe it’s taken me 20 years to try out Marty’s Hamburger Stand, but if it makes things right, I’ll definitely be coming back for the next 20!
Marty’s Hamburger Stand
10558 W. Pico Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90064
https://www.restaurantji.com/ca/los-angeles/martys-hamburger-stand-/
Grace Gambin
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