Thursday, May 28, was National Hamburger Day. As a result, I had a hankering for a good burger. I haven’t experienced Goldburger’s double cheeseburger and went for it this week. The other two stops were at Mariscos Jalisco and Din Tai Fung.
Goldburger
Allen Yelent started as an Instagram account showcasing great burgers that he consumed. The quick rise to popularity made him realize how popular burgers are in LA. He leveraged his kitchen experience and started Goldburger as a five-month popup in Silver Lake. That success led him to re-open another pop-up in Highland Park.
The Goldburger – grass-fed double cheeseburger 
LA Special – Grass-fed Double Cheeseburger with Pastrami
Yelent’s simple focus is the key to his success. He smashes grass-fed beef and mixes the high quality ingredients with some classic elements, like American cheese and Bimbo’s soft white bun. Quality lean pastrami and dijon-slaw are added to the twin patties to create the “LA Special”. Both burgers were extremely tasty.
Goldburger, 5623 York Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90042
goldburgerla.com
Mariscos Jalisco
If you watched the City of Gold documentary, the opening scene of Jonathan Gold on the street is shot from the Mariscos Jalisco food truck. Gold also placed Mariscos Jalisco on his Top 101 Best Restaurants in LA list. My wife and I recently visited their original location on Olympic Blvd. in Boyle Heights.
Shrimp Tacos Dorados 
Poseidon Tostada with shrimp, octopus and more!
Shrimp Tacos Dorados is their signature dish. They stuff a filling made with a secret blend of chopped shrimp and spices. It is then fried until the tortilla gets crispy. It is topped with salsa roja and sliced avocado. You can’t eat just one of these. The Poseidon is a tostada topped with shrimp ceviche, spicy shrimp aguachile, cooked octopus, avocados, sliced cucumbers and topped with a delicious salsa verde.
Mariscos Jalisco, 3040 E. Olympic Blvd. Boyle Heights, CA 90023
IG: @mariscosjalisco
Din Tai Fung
Those that know me will say, wait, isn’t Din Tai Fung a restaurant chain? And sometimes, like now, I break down and succumb to dining at one. This time, my excuse is that I don’t care for the long drive to SGV to experience xiao long bao (XLB). Once Din Tai Fung opened in their Glendale location, they quickly raised LA’s XLBs to a different level.
A folding table covered by a shade umbrella was set up on the sidewalk in front of EMC Seafood. I spotted Din Tai Fung’s logo on the bags on the table and made my way there. After the staff verified my purchase, I was happily on my merry way.
Their signature Xiao Long Bao 
Diced beef and szechuan peppers with noodles
Sauteed Bok Choy 
Jidori Chicken Noodles
The “To Go” experience exceeded everyone else’s offerings. Each item is individually boxed and labelled. Of course, we ordered XLB (Xiao Long Bao) and the pork dumplings were juicy and spot on. The noodles were packed separately from the beef and szechuan peppers. After mixing all of the ingredients together, we achieved the desired result.
Din Tai Fung, 21540 Hawthorne Blvd #519, Torrance, CA 90503; 310.214.1175
dintaifungusa.com