1827 Ocean Front Walk
Venice, CA 90291
Before I met and married Katie, I had never really been an LA guy. Instead, I was content to just go about my regular routine in OC. Sure, I had made a couple of trips to LA; visiting Universal Studios, going to Pasadena for the Doo-Dah Parade, watching our friend run the LA Marathon, and then going to Philippe's for a french dip sandwich afterward. But that was really about it.
When I told her I had never been to the Valley, Katie was absolutely flummoxed. It almost rocked her to the core that I had never been there. She was even more shocked when I rattled off that I had never been to Santa Monica, Malibu, Westwood, or Griffith Park. We have since crossed most of these off this list, and it was time for another initial visit to an LA tourist spots, my first trip to Venice Beach.
We were on vacation this week and decided to take advantage of the light midday traffic and try some burgers in Venice Beach. I had the excellent burger at Great White for lunch. As we walked the famous Venice Boardwalk, I spied The Win-Dow, which has gotten glowing reviews from the good folks over at Eater LA, with a well-researched article by Farley Elliot, which you can read here. I've also seen this spot featured on local TV, and even though I was not precisely hungry when we walked by, I felt obliged to stop and try it out because who knows when I will get back up this way again.
The Win-Dow debuted in 2019, serving burgers from a window at American Beauty from 11-5pm on weekdays and 8am to 5 on weekends. They have since expanded to two other locations, one in Silverlake and the one we were visiting on this day, on the Venice Boardwalk. The Win-Dow is part of the same restaurant group as Superba, The Tasting Kitchen, and American Beauty, all of which have gotten glowing reviews in their own right.
The menu at this beach location is very simple and straightforward. There are three burgers to choose from, a fried chicken sandwich, a grain bowl, a kale salad, and fries. They also have shakes and dipped cones for dessert. Nothing on their menu is over $7.95, which is even cheaper than Carl's Jr. these days. Even though we had just eaten, I was excited about my first Win-Dow experience. Let's check it out.
My plan was that I was just going to have a single bite of whatever I got here and save the rest for later. However, after my first taste of the Double Cheeseburger ($6.50), I knew things were not going to go as planned. Nevertheless, I could not stop myself from eating the whole thing. The Angus patties were grilled on the flattop, allowing a bit of crispiness to surround the outer edge of the burger. This contrasted with the melted American cheese, grilled onions, pickles, and house sauce. The soft and pliable potato bun was structurally sound enough to keep everything together very nicely. Everything on this burger worked in perfect harmony to create an excellent sensory experience. I had wished I got one more to go, but I wasn't sure it would have lasted the hour drive home.
The second of my two sandwiches was the Fried Chicken Sandwich ($6.25). This was on the same bun as the burger and featured a very well-made fried chicken, coleslaw, and a small amount of what I assumed to be mayo. The chicken had a crunchy breading, with tender chicken inside, Just what you want with a chicken sandwich. This just needed more mayo and coleslaw added to it to make it stand out more. Not awful, but you might want to bring your own jar of Best Foods mayonnaise if you order this sandwich.
I was pretty impressed with The Win-Dow. Not only is their food available reasonably priced, but their stuff is pretty high quality. It makes you think that national fast food places are serving subpar food to us at inflated prices. For them, it's all about making money, unlike The Win-Dow, which is about making their customers happy by serving them a delicious burger at a more affordable price. We experienced good service this afternoon and got our food promptly. I'm glad I could cross the famous Venice Boardwalk off my list, but even more happy that I got to experience the burger at The Win-Dow.
Out of five dumbbells (because this restaurant is close to Muscle Beach, the famous spot where many renowned bodybuilders get their start lifting dumbbells), five being best to zero being worst, The Win-Dow gets 3.5 dumbbells.
For more information about The Win-Dow, head to their website by clicking here: https://www.thewin-dow.la/
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