This is a place I’ve been wanting to try for quite a while. Lucky for me, we had a few readers who wanted to try it too. So last week, after a long day of work, I hopped in my car and cruised down PCH to Santa Monica toward an evening that can only be described as epic. Out of the three people I was meeting for dinner, I had only met one. My buddy Chris, who actually shot the pictures for this post, was in town from NYC and wanted to find out if the burgers were as good as everyone said. The other members of our group were Liisa, who is an awesome and frequent commenter on the site and Courtney, a NYC transplant who is just starting to figure out how awesome L.A. is. I was glad that EatMeCalifornia could help with that.
Father’s Office – On Montana Ave., between 10th and 11th Streets, Santa Monica
Father’s Office was very similar to another one of my favorite burger joints: The Apple Pan. They’re both tiny, hole-in-the-wall places, they’re both famous for their burgers and they both strive to keep things simple. Father’s Office is a little more “upscale” than The Apple Pan, but has a similar attitude when it comes to dining in their fine establishment. The Apple Pan makes you wait your turn, standing around the lone counter, but FO, once filled to capacity, forms a line outside so you can patiently wait your turn to go inside. Both places also frown on substitutions, with the Apple Pan being the more lenient. If you want something changed at Father’s Office, they’ll just turn you down.
So this place is not for the picky. What else? It’s not for big groups either. In fact, the four of us lucked out with getting our table. Courtney and I got their early and shared half of a table with two random dudes. When Liisa and Chris met us inside, the guys were just leaving so we got to snag their seats. I don’t think that’s the norm, as I spied a ton of people just hovering around waiting to slip into an open seat. If the worst thing I can say about a place is that it’s hard to get a seat, you know it must be good.
Once we were settled into our table we went to the bar and placed our orders. At FO, there are no waiters, just busboys who bring out your food and take away your empty beer glasses. Speaking of beer, FO has one of the most impressive selections of beer that you’ll find anywhere. They have about 30 beers on draft and plenty more in bottles, with their specialties being California microbrews and Belgian ales. They also have a good wine selection, which hopefully Liisa will comment on because I stuck to the beer. With so many amazing choices on tap, how could I not?
I could write a whole post on the beers I tried, but this is a food website, so I’ll give you what you want: just the facts food.
I quickly realized that nearly every single person in this place was gettin’ down on the burger. Not that I was shocked, mind you, just aware. I had heard about the unique Father’s Office burger, but until I actually took my first bite, I just figured it was all hype. It was not. Continue reading
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