Plan Check on Sawtelle Blvd. - Burgers, Pastrami and Crullers - Oh My!

[Servorg]

I noticed this place just a little while ago as I pedaled by on my bike. According to Grub St LA it is going to feature burgers and crullers: http://losangeles.grubstreet.com/2012... Looks interesting. I couldn't tell if it was open yet but the sign was lit and it looked ready. Just north of Granada Market and Tempura House on the same (east) side of the street.

According to Grub Street the menu will include items such as:

"pastrami nosh," with double-smoked, double-spiced pastrami placed on an upside-down bun balancing a fried egg, with kimchi mustard and melted cheese and a burger sporting blue cheese and thick bacon, along with a Southern sandwich of fried Jidori and duck ham with green pimento cheese.

The sandwiches can be followed up with desserts like a "swirly banana cream cruller"

[wienermobile]

Good news, looks like a second Plan Check is on it's way to the old Vodvil space on Fairfax . Slated to open summer 2013 and they can now spread Pastrami Noshes and Southern Frys to the world east of the 405.

[Dirtywextraolives]

Wonder how Golden State will feel about the burger competition.....

[Mr Taster]

Just walked past the old Vodvil yesterday and saw the ownership change posted in the window.

While I say "feh" to obscenely overpriced and distinctly non-smoky "smoky" fried chicken, I wouldn't mind having that pastrami sandwich nearby. Sure beats the fuck out of anything Canter's is offering up the block.

I thought I was the first one to notice it, but then there's the internets at play, and of course I'm 2 months late. (That's what I get for being a conscientious objector to all things social media)

I was sad to see Vodvil disappear if for no other reason than they had the absolute best promo tease slogan imaginable:

"THE MOST EXCITEMENT ON FAIRFAX SINCE THE GREAT WHITEFISH SCANDAL OF 1954"

http://www.chow.com/photos/577886

Mr Taster

[kevin]

Wow, I missed out on this info. I'm going to have to try the pastrami fries soon too.

[Dirtywextraolives]

It was a special and I didn't notice it on the blackboard on Monday..... But that pastrami Nosh is on the menu and it rocks.

[Dirtywextraolives]

Went again for lunch today and tried the pastrami gravy fries. Unbelievable. Delicious. Not salty at all. By 12:10, the place was full, except for a couple of seats in front of the line cooks. Butter lettuce salad was terrific as always. So glad the poutine did not disappoint.

[pnutbuddah]

Had my first disapponting meal tonight. Took my wife for the first time. We had the veggie chips ( tasteless and very oily except for the guac that came as dip for the chips). The sweet potato fries were crisp, but over salted. The fried chicken was delish! And the biggest disapoinment was the pastrami sandwich.....it was not the delicious perfection I have come to know. The pastrami was a bit dry, it was assembled in a sloppy manner, and it was not hot when served. This may or may not have been due to our indifferent server. I took my wife for the first time, and of course there was a high expectation. Her comment, "Tasty, but mediocre experience overall."
Has anyone else had inconsistent food here....or is the Sunday night chef a B player?

[latindancer]

As i stated, a few days ago, we had the same problem but mine was with my favorite fried chicken.
This was a Friday night. It was so busy there was no valet parking left and the place was packed.
I want to take other friends but I'm not sure I'm going to do it now, based on my last experience with the inconsistency.
Our server was top notch and I'm thinking now that I should have mentioned something to him, and asked his opinion as to why the meal turned out the way it did. It was the chef, no doubt. The food was just not the same.

[aching]

Just wanted to mention that I had a special for lunch today: the Cheeseburger Machismo. Despite being not-too-subtly plagiarized from Umami's Manly Burger, it was excellent - the cheese was spicy, the bacon was crispy, the mustard was tangy. I feel like Plan Check is just getting better and better!

[Servorg]

They should have named it the "Macheese-Mo." No? ;-D>

[wienermobile]

Was there last week and their special was a Pastrami Burger.....so goooood with that thick cut pastrami. Two...Two treats in one.

[aching]

Another great meal at Plan Check today - this time it was another special, the Chili Burger. I also had the pastrami fries for the first time and they did not disappoint!

[Servorg]

What was the chili like? Have not seen it as yet and i would be inclined to try it.

[aching]

I'll be honest with you, it disappeared so quickly (my husband and I shared it), I didn't really get a chance to analyze it carefully! I do know this - it was the perfect amount, distinct but not too sloppy, and it was perfectly spicy.

[Servorg]

lol...My wife is wise to the "Let's share this" ploy. And she protects her food with quick reflexes and a flashing fork to drive home her point... ;-D>

[pnutbuddah]

Had my first pastrami sandwich and it was heaven!
I'm sensitive to salt, and had no issue.
Also had a great IPA....crisp and bold.
Been daydreaming about the truffle burger.

[Burger Boy]

Either I went on an off day or everything that came out of the kitchen was so over salted. The pastrami fries had so much salt that with every bite it got worse, on had 3 bites, potential for an amazing dish the crab dip was okay, again salty, but would have like some more stuff in the crab, think a little onion, celery and mayo, something more than crab & cheese. The fried chiciken sandwich looked and tasted really good but again, so much salt! Their yuzu soda was excellent, I had 2 because everything was so salty.The donut dessert, you guessed it, to much, no I am joking, the donuts were really really good! I might go back but to spend good money and can noyt really enjoy the food, we will see.

[Servorg]

I would have to say either an off day on the kitchen's part or an overly salt sensitive one on yours as we haven't experienced that problem after 3 visits.

[Burger Boy]

I was with a friend and thought it was OVERLY, OVERLY SALTY also. Trust me, I am not sensitive to salt!

[maudies5]

I believe you. If you do go there again, ask them to withhold the salt. They are cooperate about small requests.

[Dirtywextraolives]

I've also been there three times and have had no salt issues, and I am usually sensitive to overly salty food. I've found everything we ordered to be perfectly seasoned. Did you go at lunchtime or dinner time?

[maudies5]

I have been there several times, as my husband has an office nearby. I agree that the fries were very over salted.I have had no salt issues with other dishes.

[Burger Boy]

Mid afternoon

[bulavinaka]

We've been mid-afternoon before and noticed that's when they do a staff change/break. Not making excuses for them, but this might have somehow affected your order.

[Johnny L]

I thought everything was perfectly seasoned but the portion and the quality of the fries didn't match the price. They could have been typical frozen fries for all I knew. The fried chicken sandwich is worth going alone for though!

[wienermobile]

I was not a fan of their fries until they turned them into pastrami poutine.

[latindancer]

I'm a little surprised to hear this. There is not one item on the menu that I can honestly say I'm not in love with. I find the seasoning of their food to be pretty much on target.
Is there a chance it was an 'off night' (although I've been several times and the food is completely consistent and tastes the same each time) or that you're salt sensitive for some reason?

[Dirtywextraolives]

Completely agree.

[latindancer]

I'm a little concerned.

I love Plan Check...have always been a huge supporter and absolutely love the Jidori Chicken.
I will stand and wait for a table with anticipation of it and my favorite salad.
We went with friends, who'd only listened to my excitement and had never been before. We all ordered the chicken. I can only think it was a chef who thought 'more is better' when it came to the seasonings. The chicken was completely overpowered by the smokiness. My guests ate it and said they loved it, in order to be mannerly I suppose, but afterward agreed that it was way too salty and smokey. Come on Plan Check. Please don't deviate from the consistency I've loved about your place. I want you to stay open for a long, long time.

[Dirtywextraolives]

I'm sure if you said something to the waitstaff, they would have either corrected the order or take it off your bill.

[Burger Boy]

4 of the five things were salty or overly salty (pastrami, cheese fries). The only thing not salty was the cruellers. I plan to give them another chance, but trust me, this was crazy salty!

[latindancer]

Anxious to go tomorrow.
I'll be paying close attention.

[linus]

aren't things like pastrami and cheese fries salty by definition?

[Burger Boy]

Yes, but salty to the point of over salty that you can not eat more than 3 bites. When I say SALTY I mean SALTY!

[Servorg]

Just went again and had the pastrami poutine for the first time. Not over salted. Not too salty for my palate. Had a burger with pig candy. Again, not overly salty at all.

[Dirtywextraolives]

Gosh, I have got to go back & try that poutine, cholesterol levels be damned....

[foodiemahoodie]

Tried it. Will go back, but I can't say I was floored by anything. Fries were good, solid. Not the best, but better than most. (we finished them). The burger - hm. I'd like to try it again, but it had something they call "ketchup leather". I'm not sure how they make it, but it seems like a ketchup chew - like it was dried on a plate and peeled off. Too one-note tasting. Real ketchup is - despite the reputation - pretty great stuff - tomato, sweet, vinegar tang. Would prefer to try the burger without that. Pulled the taste in a direction I didn't enjoy. One thing about burgers - they can be a palate which you can paint with many flavors. This was not one I particularly liked (like sun-dried tomatoes - I can enjoy them in moderate or less than moderate amounts). Might hold the pickles too, but I think it was the tomato leather that skewed the taste and my enjoyment of it.

The pastrami was a heart-attack on a plate. I'm taking statins, but I felt no comfort knowing that. Greasy meat, with cheese topped with a fried egg? But for me - that was the more successful sandwich of the two. I liked it. In a better frame of mine (like drunk at 2:00 am) I might have craved it and loved it. Like a Tommy's chili burger - you gotta get a little f***ed-up to pay the toll in your head to let that slippery-slider get sucked down the gullet. Might try it next time without the egg - the pastrami part itself seemed to be very good.

[PeterCC]

Had similar impressions myself, was expecting to love it but ended up only liking it. My wife really did enjoy the Southern Fry, but she had to send it back to the kitchen when it was first brought out because the chicken was actually raw in the middle (good thing she cut the sandwich in half first). My older daughter liked the Chef's Favorite Burger, but she got the ketchup leather on the side and didn't like it either.

I got the Pastrami Nosh, and from previous posts about it, I was expecting to be blown away, but I wasn't. Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy it, but wasn't as great as I thought it'd be. Also, I wish our waiter had pointed out the Specials blackboard tucked in the corner of the place. I saw a Lamb Burger that looked interesting but only after we had ordered.

A few kinks, like the aforementioned raw chicken, the fact we ordered regular fries and was brought out the sweet potato fries by accident, the fact that we didn't get our drinks (housemade yuzu and mango sodas were excellent) until nearly halfway through our meal, kind of turned us off too.

[Ciao Bob]

I, too, find Plan Check disappointing in most ways.

However, the bar is truly great, I've had nothing but interesting, well-made drinks and good suggestions from the barkeeps.

The regular menu is simple, the specials tend to be quite interesting and creative (escobeche on a burger).

But the food just doesn't make it to great for me. It's good, but that's it.

[linus]

i thought the folks at the bar were very nice and helpful people. the drinks, however, were a little on the sweet side.

[Dirtywextraolives]

You can always ask for them to keep the ketchup leather off, they won't kick you out for asking for alterations of their food ;)). BTW, it's supposed to be a play on fruit roll ups. A lot like Animal, the chef seems to bend toward stoner food-flavor bombs. I have no problem with that. Maybe you just don't get or appreciate the concept.

[J.L.]

Drove by last night - Soft opening was going on.

The place was PACKED. Gotta try it soon, to separate the food from the hype.

[wienermobile]

Official opening date is Feb. 22nd. Oh I see that PaulF beat me to it. Never mind.

[PaulF]

LA Weekly reports that it will open on February 22. That's next Wednesday

http://blogs.laweekly.com/squidink/20...

[Servorg]

The best laid "plans" of Plan C? ;-D>

[Servorg]

Sorry for the misspelling of the name in my title. It is actually "Plan Check" and I've asked the CH Team to correct it for me. Here is the website: http://www.plancheckbar.com/ and I do note it's not quite open as of yet. The menu looks terrific. This place, if the cooking lives up to the menu descriptions, ought to be a roaring success. It will be a great option for late night eats as well. Till midnight during the week and until 2 AM on the weekend.

[wienermobile]

Servorg thanks for the heads up. This menu looks Great! I want that SOUTHERN FRY sandwich with smokey fried jidori chicken, spicy green pimento cheese, duck breast ham & pickles now.

[Servorg]

The other good thing is it's outside the crazy busy part of Sawtelle, so parking should be at least somewhat possible (?) by comparison to all the places closer to Olympic and La Grange.

[Servorg]

I also see that BIM had a brief mention of Plan Check here: http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/833599 (which I would have found before if I had had the name right in the first place...that's what comes of seeing a place at 2 AM on your bike and then trying to type and think at 4 AM)...