look at that flapper great it's rad
[Music]
the classic roadside burger is what gave
LA its burger identity but in my book we
don't give enough credit to the patty
melt the crunch from the toasted rye and
the sweetness of the caramelized onions
makes it one of the most delicious and
underrated burgers today I'm going on a
patty melt tour and I'm teaming up with
the undisputed champ of patty melt chef
Christian page to see the best of what
LA has to offer I love burgers if I
equally love patty Mouse it's the same
you know there's to me it's like it's a
burger they're both our children you
gotta love them yeah exactly so what is
it about the penne mother you love when
you get that outside toast on the bun
the bread and then you have this soft
inside you know I'd like to see the
inside
oh yeah I like to see the meat and the
and the temperature that the meat is
yeah and see like a beautiful grind when
you have some rare and right inside and
have some crispy meat on the outside to
me I look at that that's what makes it
patty not so beautiful yeah exactly and
that's like we eat with our eyes first
right yeah like that's that's the whole
thing makes me hungry yeah rush it what
it's cut on a bias and it has a perfect
point yeah there's something about that
like move when you need it yeah just
like zips it off for me
what up Bret does it have to be rye you
need it like a bread that has some good
structure to it right because when you
when you spread whatever you're gonna
spread on it you know we're brush on it
whether it's clarified or it's the Mayo
right like you got the onions you got
the cheese you got the the butter on
ones like you know you need bread that
has some structured patty melts and tuna
melts and turkey mouths those that's the
food of the diner you know and so that's
why today we're at the one of the most
classic diners iconic diners in Los
Angeles do part
Biff Naylor who's the owner of dupe bars
just so I have patty melt royalties yeah
manatee let's see thank you sir
pip pleasure to meet you I hear you are
patty melt royalty telling stories about
you there's a little bit of a legacy to
this it goes all the way back to 1924 in
Pasadena okay at a place called the
right spot cafe and the young fella by
name Elias turn burger was working
for his father and he actually burned
one side of the hamburger patty so he
put a piece of cheese in I could cover
it up set it out to the customer who
loved it and that was the first
cheeseburger
Lionel's Nurnberger and my dad were good
friends my dad's name was tiny Naylor he
was 6 3 320 pounds and so I think they
was tiny my dad took that cheeseburger
put some grilled onions on that and then
he grilled bread so it was sourdough
bread originally years later when he
moved down to Southern California after
World War 2 the patty milk then served
on rye bread down our he was a pioneer
in the restaurant business here in
California and that's why we honor him
with this on the menu calling it Chinese
patty melt as the originator at a great
restaurant tour we grind this meat fresh
every day we just use choice Chuck we
grinded course the first time and medium
the second time is what's chewier and
juicier and I know you're a busy man but
before we dig in I'll let you do your
thing is this a burger or is it a
sandwich no it's a patty well this is
what we've been talking about all day
let's just have at it and see what see
what's really good all right there is a
nice coarse grind to the meat I like
when you're grilling the onions and you
get that little bit of char on them too
right there's a little more depth
plastic is Swiss right okay I like to
use two different kinds of cheese
I throw American and they're just for
like to feel melty so it has that like
nice sweetness it complements the onion
yes deviling so I'm a good friend of
mine who judges a diner by how good
their patty melt is do you have a type
of gauge like that whether it's there
whether it's their burger or their patty
melt yes but I think the patty mole is
probably a better indicator right
because you're basically seeing all of
the short-order cook skills right rolled
into one date you got the fries right
right you got the crispy bunch of
grilled bread you got the meat how they
cooked the meat and then you got their
reason Plus how they did the onions yeah
it's a great scale on how great yeah how
everything else will be in the
restaurant yeah
this patty melt carries the DNA of the
original patty
pick up tiny nailer tiny nail around so
we've had the historic patty melt but
you're known for like the baddest patty
melt in the city right now
so I can't wait to go over to your spot
try it out let's go check it out yo chef
we're here
PACA selves I've seen this all over my
feet I've heard David Chang calling this
like the best thing he's ever eaten I
think he like he nominated you for like
Pellegrino's like I don't know how it
happened but I tell you we've been
buying a lot more rye bread ever since
it did have I bet before we dig in you
took over this legendary burger brand
you know Cassell's has been in what's
now Koreatown since 1948
now Cassell got very well-known and and
well written about in food press from
basically you know having a product that
was you know very craft driven and
ground his own need as we still do today
we bought it about five years ago remove
that couple blocks down the street al
Cassell rest in peace
we try to keep his spirit alive and
everything that we do Tommy step-by-step
how this thing gets done first you're
cooking your patty and it's like coarse
grind so you get that stinky ER right
here to your meat you're searing your
patty beautifully you got your bread
brushed with clarified loup-garou butter
so you're crisping that up and the
cheese goes on and you're overlapping
slices until it's hanging off the edges
of it then as it melts it hits the grill
and starts to crisp up throw your scoop
of onions on once your breads ready
right put the whole thing together and
then we're always about sauce on the
side here so if you just want to go pure
and no sauce you can I like dipping
better anyway can control all the sauce
provide the crispy cheese was like one
of those lucky mistakes I'm always like
very specific about putting the cheese
on a sandwich so it goes all the way to
the edges on every bite yeah and I think
my sous-chef was like oh and like
putting it on because I kept counting on
my time and again like it's got to go on
every side so you just threw it at the
thing so there's cheese all over and
put on the deciding that Christmas I was
like I like that right I'll do it like
that
enough talk you know I can't wait to get
dig into this
look at that flapper it's rad comparing
it to two parts the thickness of the
bread is thicker so it absorbs it more
and the onions are low and slow super
sweet there's that Swiss cheese
Rico chip right there whoa dude
that tastes like cheese [ __ ] your own
yeah it's exactly and you have one of
those like the Maserati of griddles
right
it's a griddle underneath the griddle
that crossfire broiler so that was from
a San Francisco broiler restaurant that
brought in in like the 50s to increases
throughput time right so you essentially
have two drawers they move up and down
there's a flame across the top there's
flames underneath right so you're always
heating it from both sides not only is
it pretty yeah but it's [ __ ] powerful
right yeah a bunch of new parts learn
the history of it came to your joint
altogether this is probably the best
patio I've ever had in my life thank you
guys delicious I've had a lot of burgers
on the show but you know what like all
those aside there's definitely room for
the patty melt and it holds its weight
dude
like it is a burger and it's a fantastic
one at that and you know I commend you
for for just making such an amazing
product man well thank you man it's been
a pleasure to go through it with you
[Applause]
[Music]
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