Short Order

After checking out the Tasting Table July feature on what burgers to try now, I saw a blurb on Short Order located in Los Angeles, CA.  Being that it was grilling season and my wife and I being in the L.A. area for a few days around the fourth of July holiday, the Tasting Table feature was extremely timely and provided us with a great place to go for a meal.  We ended up going to Short Order on July 4th, 2012 for a late lunch.

The restaurant is part of the Original Farmer’s Market block and has a prime spot right at the corner of West 3rd Street and South Fairfax Ave.  For those that haven’t been to the farmer’s market it is a neat spot to check out filled with all sorts of vendors.  Short Order isn’t the youngest kid on the block.  Some research on the establishment shows that it debuted a few years ago.

Perhaps it was due to the late lunch time, but everything on the menu looked really good as we pondered what to order.  It was likely a combination of both the late lunch and yummy selections as after our meal I definitely would like to head back and check out other menu items so I’d attribute it to more of the menu items being yummy.  For our lunch we ordered:

• Ida’s Old School Burger
• Lamb Burger
• Short Order Spuds, with sour cream dipping sauce with North Country bacon
• “Independence” milkshake

The Independence milkshake was a special item to celebrate the 4th of July.  As an ode to the nation’s birthday, it was also decked out with red, white and blue, made up of strawberries and blueberries, topped with a generous serving of graham cracker crumble.  It came out before our food was ready and boy oh boy was it a tasty treat before our meal!  Who says  you can’t have some dessert first?

The rest of our meal came out shortly after the milkshake left us salivating and anxiously awaiting our food.  Ida’s Old School Burger is comprised of grass-fed beef, Hook’s aged cheddar, SQIRL handmade pickles, rossa bruno tomatoes, griddled onions, iceberg lettuce and Short Order’s secret sauce.  I ordered it medium-rare and I got what I ordered.  The perfectly cooked burger was nice and juicy; each mouthful was perfect with its accompaniments and secret sauce.  The lamb burger – Sonoma grass-fed lamb with feta, wild arugula and salsa verde – was ordered to be a medium doneness.  Alas it came out a little past medium.  Even though it was slightly overdone the burger still retained enough juiciness and was still delicious.  Some people aren’t big fans of lamb, my wife being one of them, but even she could appreciate the lamb burger which did not taste too “lamb-y”.   The Short Order Spuds, small bite sized pieces of delicately fried potatoes with the skin on, were good but I think we happened to get some of the dregs and a few that were a little more well done.  Hopefully the following short photo slideshow of our Short Order experience doesn’t make your mouth water too much . . . I know mine is each time I watch it!

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Overall, the food was great and I can definitely see myself returning if I’m in Los Angeles again.  I’d love to try out more of their menu, including their adult milkshakes 🙂  With their fireplace and heat lamps setup, I can imagine Short Order getting extremely busy at night too.

Short Order
6333 W 3rd St
Los Angeles, CA 90036
(323) 761-7970

Further reading:

Tasting Table Los Angeles article on Short Order’s debut