Hello everybody, hello. I’m a first time BEU attendee and a first time guest blogger. I’m honored that the BEU powers that be (Rebecca, I’m talking to you) arranged for this to happen. I was in town from NYC. And, feeling a bit of pressure not to screw this blog post up.

I pulled up to Sunny Spot in Venice, and was immediately taken aback by how many BEU members there were and how seemingly organized the whole operation was. I don’t know what I was expecting; I felt a little pressure to take it all in. I popped on the BEU Burger Crown and so began my night.

Wait, was I at the LA chapter or did I somehow end up in Nashville? I’d venture to say a solid 20% of the attendees were in town from Nashville. Amazing! I had heard about the BEU Nashville chapter from my friend (and many of yours) Dave Hopper but I didn’t realize they were connected! That made me happy. New friends from LA and Nashville and everyone has burgers in common. Woo!

A large section of the restaurant was sectioned off for the group. Grading pamphlets, adorned with pictures of Prince (as they should be – nice work Brayden), were laid out for each place setting on the high tables.

Time to order. This place was not a burger place, but a Roy Choi restaurant with a burger on the menu. So there was no CHOIce but to get “the burger.”

I love burgers. When my kids and I have the “what’s your favorite food” conversation, burgers, pizza and a bagel w cream cheese are always fighting for top spot with Burger often winning.

The Burger: 2 all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a…

Buttered Brioche.

The first bite was really good. Very balanced with a bit of weight to the sautéed onions. I pretty much devoured the rest of my burger quickly and found it all very enjoyable. I also enjoyed the fries which gave me everything I’d want from McDonald’s fries with much better ingredients.

As a matter of fact, that’s pretty much what I would describe the entire burger/fries experience – it was like a very high quality McDonald’s Extra Value Meal #1. Big Mac & Fries. However, at $16 was it worth its value? I say yes. Sure! Why not.

How about the service? Well, it’s hard for me to compare it to anything since this was my first BEU outing, however judging by the actions that Brayden and Jon Granat endured to make sure that everyone was paid and accounted for, it was likely not the best. Then again, I give a lot of leeway to servers serving 50+ folks at once.

To sum it all up, if you’re in Venice, check out Sunny Spot. It’s solid! But even better is if you have the folks and fun to go with the food like we all had at the BEU Sunny Spot outing.

I’m Lovin’ it.

Hope to hit the trifecta of BEU’s and go to one in Nashville and NYC soon.

Out of 34 people in attendance, here’s how Sunny Spot fared:

Appearance: 7.6176

Patty: 7.6176

Taste: 7.2647

Creativity: 5.7941

Bun: 8.0294

Toppings: 7

Value/Price: 5.2058

Service: 7.2058

TOTAL: 6.9669

(Finger) prints beat out (printer) prints in the “Who would win in a fight?” category.

Additional Comments:

Binks: Good, but not great. Buttery buns are always preferred and, yes, it delivers on that front. But “best burger Cheap has ever had”?? Give me a mother-fucking break. P.S. David Hoffman is wearing this hat, it is NOT wearing him.

Dawn Delvo: A giant, good-looking burger!

Jon: Good not great.

Michael A.: Good burger, needed more toppings.

Patty Burgerchanan: Guys. This is how we do it on the westside. We do burgers. Pretty good burgers too. Then we double the price and you love it. You freakin’ love it. This burger costs so much that you won’t have any gas money left over to drive yourself back to Silverlake. So you live here now. One of us. ONE OF US! Anything east of the 405 is too damn far anyway. Word. -2Patty Shakur

Omar Herrera: Burger was on point! Had to lower the score a bit on the account that I was served a pilsner when I asked for an IPA. Nobody’s perfect! Bonus points for Pat Buchanan!

Russell Nygaard: Love you, burger.

Aaron Monty: Chelsea don’t eat no meat, still got butt like a leather seat. – Prince (Chelsea Rodgers)

Jenn Wolcyzk (Nashville Chapter): Fries crispy, service was great! Pickles were sweet and crunchy. Good hangs.

David Hoffman: Compared to what? Difficult to put a number down when I wolfed the whole thing down in 10 seconds. It was delicious. But a 7? 8? 9? 10? All I know is wearing a burger hat, I felt a bond with the beef. I enjoyed this burger a whole lot.

Sherwood: The burger was well-cooked, but missing some freshness and tang to offset the toppings. One of my favorite brioche buns I’ve had.

Anon: Strippers, beards, bearded strippers.

Brian Litwin: Burger was delish! A bit pricey…

J-C-to-the-H: Where the fuck is Cheap?

Allysun Marshall: Westside rules!

Chris Piccaro: I’ve never been here this late or this sober, and the burger was mushy overall.

Andrea Litton: Bun was delicious, but the rest of it wasn’t too exciting.

Koichi Sanchez: Dat pickle tho.

Patrick Clancy: This was good, but the patties were a little charred. It’s like kissing your #1 crush but her breath is weird, high school problems amiright? Also, what’s with the hefty price tag?

Brayden: They should’ve put Chex Mix on the menu, because that basically summed up the last 30 minutes of the night while we scrambled to figure out who paid what (one check for the whole group = maybe not the smartest idea).