I managed to track the Grill 'em All truck down in Long Beach, which is a relatively new spot for this truck. With the positive reviews the burgers from this truck were receiving, plus the long line that was present when I arrived, I figured it would live up to the hype. While in line, I couldn't help but notice the burgers coming off the truck. Everyone who received their burgers looked like they knew what they were getting themselves into, especially those who ordered the Dee Snider; a burger with peanut butter, jelly, and sriacha. Since it was my first time, I wanted to go big so I chose the Behemoth, which consists of two grilled cheese sandwiches for buns, bacon, cheddar cheese, beer soaked onions, pickles, and a homemade BBQ sauce. The burger even had a spread in Los Angeles Magazine, so how could I go wrong?
All I can say is INSTANT REGRET...
Don't get me wrong, the burger itself was quite good. It's really hard to mess up anything with bacon and cheddar. The patty itself was grilled to a nice medium rare and had an appropriate amount of juiciness, but it didn't convince me that it could hang with the best of the LA burgers. My only qualm with it was the BBQ sauce, which was a little heavy on the vinegar side for my tastes. I was left with the feeling that I'd be OK if I never had this again, or at least in a relatively long time. It was just quite excessive. I felt death creeping on me with every bite.
If you want to pay 10 to 12 dollars for a burger, you're better off going to Umami or Father's Office. Grill 'em All isn't anywhere near that tier of burger supremacy. Grill 'em All resides along the lines of your premium fast food burger like In n Out, Fatburger, or Five Guys, but on steroids. I can only assume the high price tag comes with the novelty of the increasing popularity of all-things-food-truck.
