Dave's Burger in Long Beach-a nice surprise

[Ogawak]

This place has flown under the Chowhound radar, even in "places to eat in Long Beach" posts. It popped up on my Iphone GPS and had 4 1/2 stars on Yelp. My phone does that automatically I guess. Since I had to run an errand in Bixby Knolls, I decided to try their burger. Surprise #1: It's a tiny stand sharing a lot with a Chevron gas station at Wardlow and Atlantic. Surprise #2: No "Dave", but two nice and friendly Asian women manning the grill. Surprise #3: No fries, ala Tommy's in the old days. Just chips to go along with a whole slew of various burgers, including chicken, turkey and dogs. Surprise #4: Every burger is $3-$5. I had the basic burger, and it's an excellent burger done the old fashion way, with lettuce, tomato and pickle.

I think this will be a regular stop for me, even tho I love fries with my burger. Then to Bake & Broil for dessert.

FYI I think there is another Dave's nearby, but I don't believe they are related.

[FED]

interesting. i'll have to try it. my junk food fix is the Mustards hot dog stand across the street (seriously good hot dogs). i've watched Dave's from teh window, but may have to stop in now.

[kevin]

Yeah, I remember passing Dave's and thinking how fucking cool, and dumpy the shack looks meaning it's prolly got great burgers. But somehow I never made it there so far.

Usually, I'd just hit up Mustard's for some Vienna Beef chitown dogs or nowadays Jongewardd's (sp ?) bake n broil for the burger special and followed with the coconut cream pie. Though the peanut butter cup cream pie sounds beyond exceptional, natch.

[FED]

brutha from another mutha. that's exactly what i order at both of those places.

[kevin]

Oh, I havenb't tried the peanut butter cup cream pie just yet, they didn't have it last time I was there. But it does sound beyond fucking exceptional.

[Ogawak]

My favorite pies are the lemon lush, and in June, the Ollallieberry pie, something like a 6 week window.

[FED]

the peanut butter cup is good (and relatively new, i believe). teh walnut spice is the bomb. but for everyday, there's nothing like the coconut or banana cream. they're just about perfect versions.

[Ernie]

Agree regarding their banana cream. It's so good there!

[TonyC]

This Korean burger shack does not hold up against the other burger shack which used to be also the vicinities of work.

The Big Burger in Carson is far better than Dave's. Against Mom's, it falters even harder. In Bixby Knoll, El Pollo Imperial is probably the best option, with Chiltepe behind them offering decent pupusas, and Natalie Gutenkauf’s The Factory which offers farmers market ingredient driven pub food. I really enjoyed The Factory, nice staff, quick lunch turn around with a great tap list. It's not a cheap burger like Dave's, but again, for that, Big Burger's smash (turkey) burgers are just superior in every way.

[Ogawak]

We might be talking apples and oranges here. Price point-wise, Dave's is superior to In N Out and Five Guys. I will check out Big Burger, but I really do like Dave's.

Also not a turkey burger fan. When I go out for a burger, it's gotta be beef.

[TonyC]

The hood burgers are often about turkey. Witness Fred's Downhome burger, witness Master Burger, witness the now-deduct Soul Burger. All of them carries similar price tag to Dave's, with a touch more soul.

I don't touch In-N-Out/5 guys. That's like eating a hot dog.

[Gypsy Jan]

The OC Weekly did a review: http://blogs.ocweekly.com/stickaforki...

Both of these reports makes me want to make a special stop for lunch.

[Ogawak]

I guess the other Dave's are related, but there is something charming about this one. It was one of the best burgers I've had in a long time, price not withstanding. The cooks were very meticulous about making sure your burger was prepared the way you wanted it. Since I'm in the area again tomorrow, I will try one of their more massive burgers. One has a burger/dog combination. Let us know what you think when you go.