We decided to hit up Red Car Brewery in Old Town Torrance one sunny Saturday afternoon after having driven by it everyday on the way to work for the past year since we’ve relocated to the South Bay, The Red Car Brewery and Restaurant is also a micro-brewery in addition to being a traditional sit-in restaurant, brewing its own six distinct English-style beers.
Beer Sampler Paddle Set
The beers range from crisp light lager, to hoppy IPA and dark porter (ABV ranges from 4.42% to 9.04%). Can’t decide on which ice cold beer to pair with your Red Car burger? Order a Red Car Beer Sampler Paddle set and taste away. It seems like any self-respecting burger joint or restaurant that proclaims to be makers of “craft burgers” these days use their own fresh baked buns or toasted Brioche buns to package their burgers. Red Car Brewery is no exception to the unspoken rule. I’ve been eating “craft” burgers for the longest and I think this new trend of using freshly baked buns or Brioche buns was ushered in by Wendy’s recent capitalization on their oven baked fresh pretzel buns, which competing nationally recognized fast food burger joints immediately imitated. While Red Car Brewery serve other delectable delights, such as pastas, pizzas and sandwiches, their dedicated burger section is what brought us here today. We’ve been dining at the Red Car Brewery for a while and the service has always, every time, been great.
For our burger entrees, I ordered the Motorman Bacon and Cheese burger while Abi ordered up a daunting Dagwood Burger, both cooked to medium heat. My wash-down companion was a 9.04% ABV South Bay IPA and a regular Coke for Abi. We munched on a starter consisting of bread and oil-vinaigrette as we waited for our order to arrive. Our plates arrived about 10 minutes after with the top bun separated from the main burger. The fries that came with our orders were almost thick cuts and a bit on the limp-but-not-soggy side.
Motorman Bacon and Cheese Burger
Motorman Bacon and Cheese Burger
At first glance, the Motorman Bacon and Cheese burger look just like your classic cheeseburger, on steroid. The Brioche bun was nice, thick and toasted. Maybe toasted just a tad bit longer than I’d like because the surface of the top bun appears dry and began to flake and compress when I held the burger in position for consumption. Sitting on top of the patty were three slices of three different cheese: cheddar, provolone and swiss. All melted and amalgamated into one cheesy mass. Two strips of perfectly cooked Applewood-smoked bacon criss crosses the aforementioned cheesy mass. The burger was so big that I had to slice it in half using a butter knife. It took some effort but the burger became manageable once split into two halves. Upon biting into the burger, I get a very pronounced Applewood-smoked bacon flavor, followed by cheesy goodness. Of all the bacon cheeseburgers I’ve had the opportunity to enjoy, Red Car Brewery perfectly executed the bacon part. The bacon strips were nice and crisp, not crunchy. You know it’s overcooked when your bacon is crunchy. It’s not soggy either and the bacon strips still retain their maroon hue that contrasts nicely with the white-yellowish bacon fat. The burger patty was cooked to perfection, but for several reasons it quickly and unfortunately became the back-up singer in this cheeseburger chorus. The burger patty was particularly small and didn’t appear to be seasoned enough, giving it a less pronounced flavor when pitted against the array of ingredients in the stack. The secret sauce tastes great and appears to be a mixture of ketchup and some type of hot sauce as it gives off a nice spicy kick towards the tail-end of the chew. Generous use of red onion on top scrumptious tomato slices on top of pickle chips atop of green leaf lettuces.
After pounding through the first half of my Motorman Bacon and Cheese burger, I’ve noticed that my white plate has been converted into a tiny pool of burger juices in which my limp fries were swimming in. I was surprised to see that the bottom half of my burger became soggy, despite the thickness of the bun.
Motorman Bacon and Cheese burger’s less than impressive burger patty size
Fortunately I took a photo of the cross section of the Motorman Bacon and Cheese burger before I finished it. As you can see, the burger patty is embarrassingly small compared to the rest of the stack. Matter of fact, the tomato slices appear to be thicker than the burger patty itself! At the end of my burger experience, the bottom slice of the bun has soaked up most of the juices from the tomato, secret sauce and burger juice that it began to fell apart and prompted the aid of a fork and knife to finish the last quarter bite of this surprisingly lackluster burger. Improvements for this burger? Double up the size of the patty and tone down on the veggies and Red Car will have a cheesy winner. Since Abi had the Dagwood Burger, she’ll write about her encounter with the Dagwood monstrosity.
Dagwood Burger
The Dagwood Burger
Because I was previously wowed by Red Car Brewery’s stellar service and scrumptious Fettucine Alfredo, I had high expectations for my first hack at one of their burgers. Feeling as bold as their full-flavored array of beers, I went ahead and tried the Dagwood, a burger that consists of a beef patty, bacon, fried egg, pastrami, pickles, lettuce and tomato. Although extremely bad for my cholesterol levels, I had to say no to the angel on my right shoulder and yes to the hungry devil on my left shoulder. What can I say? I’m a hardcore carnivore. Pastrami, bacon and beef on top of each other is a combination that is about as meaty as you can get. The egg doesn’t help either, but it is hard for me to resist it. I usually like dishes with egg on top or on the side.
I was mildly disappointed however, as I strived to finish my Dagwood. There was just too much going on in this burger – I could not even bit it whole or pick it up in one piece. Because of the meat juices, the bread got soggy as I ate it. I had a first few whole bites but had to eat the rest of the burger like a salad. The ingredients did not really blend well – the flavors did not result in a harmonious taste medley but more like disjointed sour notes. There was too much pickle (I am not a fan). The patty was a bit on the dry side as well. The pastrami tasted like vinegary sauerkraut and did not pair well with the dry beef patty. I wouldn’t dismiss the entire burger however, as it does fill you up pretty well. Come in really hungry and the gigantic portion of stacked up meat will satiate your hunger. But if you’re looking for a heavenly burger-eating experience that arouses your tastes buds enough for you to want to order the same burger again, you might be a tad bit disappointed.
At a price point of $10.95, I would say that this burger is priced appropriately for the restaurant experience but too much for the actual taste value. With burgers, it doesn’t necessarily follow that you get what you pay for. I’d give Red Car Brewery’s other burgers a chance, but for now, I think I’m okay with this one.
Our burger experience for the day ended with us being fuller than anticipated due to the size of the burgers. Survivable? Yes, we probably won’t order another Dagwood when we return, but will try out their other burgers. Our visit concluded with me bringing a 64 oz. (1/2 gallon) growler of Red Car’s delicious South Bay IPA to go.
Red Car Brewery & Restaurant
http://www.redcarbrewery.com/
1266 Sartori Ave.
Torrance, CA 90501
(310) 782-0222
Hours
Mon-Thurs: 11:30 AM – 9:30 PM
Fri: 11:30 AM – 11:30 PM
Sat: 12:00 PM – 11:00 PM
Sun: 12:00 PM – 8:00 PM