Besha Rodell Recommends Sticking to the Burgers at Cassell’s in Koreatown

This week, Besha Rodell visits the relocated and revamped Cassell's. The Koreatown burger restaurant opened up back in 1948 serving only burgers, patty melts, sandwiches, milkshakes, and potato salad in lieu of fries.

Christian Page, who now helms the original crossfire broiler at Cassell's 2.0, stuck mostly to founder Al Cassell's vision, with the exception of less-than memorable fries, cocktails that taste like Rodell's "teenage dalliances with [her] parents' liquor cabinet," and pies that are "blunt in their sugary excess." What she can and does recommend are the patty melts, milkshakes, and that traditional burger:

This is a thing of simple beauty, served on a Parker House bun, with lettuce, tomato, pickles and onion on the plate for you to utilize at will. You can add bacon or a fried egg or even avocado if you'd like, but it really doesn't need any of that. Cheese is also optional, and I'm not going to tell you whether a cheeseburger or plain burger is for you. What I will tell you is that it's the burger itself, its tangy, meaty juiciness, that's going to make this a great few minutes of eating. Page grinds Colorado Angus chuck and brisket daily for the patties, using the original Cassell's grinder. Maybe it's the meat, maybe it's the grinder, maybe it's the magic of that grill. Whatever — it's a damn fine burger. [LAW]

Cassell's earns two stars.

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The Elsewhere: Franklin Avenue eats tonkotsu at Glendale's Kanpai Ramen and Poke Bar, The Actor's Diet documents her meal at 9 on Vine, and Eating L.A. enjoys the fish and shrimp tacos at La Tostaderia in Grand Central Market.