It’s time to come down off my burger high from last month. I probably didn’t eat as many as I had planned to for National Burger Month, but my stomach, and heart, are thanking me for that. So it’s fitting that I downsized my burgers this weekend when we stopped in at Mini Bites in Silverlake/Los Feliz (adjacent anyways.) The reviews I had read so far were mediocre of the Sean’s Burger/JayBurgers, replacement.
Their replacement, Mini Bites is taking the small burger stand concept literally, and serve up the mini versions of its predecessor’s greasy offerings. Except these seem to be a bit higher in quality than the former inhabitants, with (rumored) custom made buns, high quality meat and fresh ingredients.
They have burgers (veggie and beef), plus chicken and steak sandwiches, then there are the mini burritos too. Off menu items are the same cheese burgers on the menu, but with added toppings like mushrooms, jalapeño and thick cut bacon. The standard mini burger comes topped with or without cheese, plus onions, pickles and ketchup. The especial burger came with tomato, small pieces of thick bacon, and a perfectly cut round piece of iceberg lettuce.
The burgers themselves were flavorful, cooked medium well, and are well seasoned. As one might imagine it’s hard to get a burger this size to be super juicy, and they were suffering from being slightly on the dry side. Hopefully they will improve on this as they learn the ins and outs of cooking the mini sandwiches.
Their fries, dusted with salt and pepper were lacking flavor and came to us hot but soggy. Served in a clever cardboard to go box, these fries were suffocated into a submissive, limpy, potato stick. The onion rings, were much more like onion strings, deep fried, too complicated to eat with your fingers, and hence required a fork to enjoy. Flip side, they made a good topping for the burger, and came with a house made semi-spicy dressing.
They are served two to a pack for $4, $5 for the special burgers. I’d like the option of getting just one for $2. The fries and onion rings were priced at $2 and $3. Add in a soda and you’re looking at a hefty price tag of nearly $10 a person. For a meal that’s not so much mini in price, it’s nice to see a burger stand return to a corner, in a neighborhood that is void of good food stands. I believe they are open late on the weekend too. It will be a popular stop for those late night, booze inducing munchies.
