I love cheeseburgers, a lot. I love them at any time of the day, from any restaurant, and find it difficult to decline a free cheeseburger. Put it this way: if a creepy old guy was standing in front of his windowless Astrovan which was parked in front of a dark alley and he had cheeseburger and fries I would have an internal struggle. Of course I would decide to run away, but a little part of me would look back longing for the meal. To avoid being fed by creepy alley men, I hit up restaurants that have burgers on the menu. Recently I went to Plan Check in Santa Monica.
I first heard about this restaurant when they opened a location close to me in Downtown LA. I never got the opportunity to check out the DTLA spot; instead I followed my gut to the location Santa Monica. The spot is off of Sepulveda, which means you’re moving away from traffic. Although you’re driving away from the main street you are running into a residential area, which means parking, is scarce.

The wait, just like with any other popular food spot, can feel long. The wait on this visit trickled close to 20 minutes. Once seated, I ordered the Chef’s Favorite Burger ($14) without the hot sauce, sweet potato waffle fries ($6), and a friend got the pastrami gravy fries ($5). A tad pricey, but as I said, I’m obsessed with cheeseburgers, so I caved and coughed up the dough. The burger comes with an original slice of cheese and crispy cheese, two types of bacon, leather ketchup and a fried egg all enclosing the wagyu beef. I thought all of the components would make the burger greasy; instead it was juicy, tender, and crunchy in the right places. It was perfect! Then there were the sweet potato waffle fries, which were so sweet and crispy that you eat them faster than you expected. Here’s a friendly pro-tip: shove the waffle fries into the burger. It becomes a flavor explosion in your mouth. I’m not a fan of topping condiments onto fries, but the pastrami and gravy were so delicious on the fries that I wouldn’t mind if someone got them for me (hint, hint).

Altogether, it is such an appetizing plate to all of your senses that you want to devour it in the beastliest of ways. When the waiter places it in front of you, you immediately grab it with both hands and attack it without regard to of the looks others may give you. It’s the type of burger that would make even the classiest lady look unrefined and without concern. It’s safe to say that if Audrey Hepburn had this same meal, she would have difficulty keeping her composure. But I doubt she would care.

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