the Bacon-Avocado burger at longtime Pasadena favorite, Kathleen’s
One sign of a really good meal is if it entices you to sneak out of your comfort zone to try something you might have been missing. Case in point: I ain’t an avocado guy. I might be the only guy in California who feels that way. I’ve always thought they were just too green, too mushy, too something.
So, I knew I was there to sample the Bacon-Avocado burger at longtime Pasadena favorite, Kathleen’s, but when the cheeseburger was delivered, half of Planet Avocado had apparently landed atop its inner surface. Trouper that I am, however, I neither winced nor grimaced. I devoured.
Amidst the beef and cheese and bacon, and thick tomato slice (something else I’m not crazy about), the avocado was just one, albeit important, member of a beautiful-sounding orchestra. The accompanying sweet potato fries were the perfect percussion.
As owner Kathleen Maymerian proudly describes the burger, “We use Black Angus meat for the patty, it comes with regular fries, steak fries, sweet potato fries, onion rings, and potato salad or coleslaw.”
It’s a dizzying but delightful-sounding array of options, and they’ve been making it for nearly four decades now.
Back to the burger. I was late to add the 1000-Island dressing (Ask me about my “1000-Island Joke” sometime. Not now.), but even without it, the burger was sweet and juicy, as if the avocado and tomato had been placed there for a reason. What?
It was more than I could finish in one sitting, and that is a very good sign for a cheeseburger.
A full list of Cheeseburger Week participants is available at www.pasadenarestaurantweek.com. And if you haven’t had enough of elections yet, voting in the 2021 Cheeseburger Challenge opens Sunday, January 24, 2021, and ends January 30, 2021.
Kathleen’s Restaurant is at 595 North Lake Avenue. Pasadena, CA.
(626 578-0722). www.kathleensrestaurant.com.
