It shouldn’t be much of a surprise that diets fail when every day is fry day. Many people wait for a Monday to begin their diets so they can have a final binge over the weekend and start the week off right. But what happens when Monday comes yet it is also fry day? You can’t start a diet on fry day! Not unless your diet is a strict course of French fries, in which case Daglas can totally help you out.
This small San Fernando Valley burger stand is famous for its fries, both in quality and quantity. Hand-cut and double fried to a golden brown, they’re cooked up right in the front window so you can watch from the sidewalk and then served up in gargantuan quantities. I came for the burger but couldn’t resist nabbing a few fries from my friend’s tray and they were super savory, cooked crispy well-done, but a bit overseasoned. I had to drink a full cup of water to match the salt of just a handful of fries.
The various menus posted around the service window don’t cover everything offered but there are paper menus available just to the right of the window, so be sure to pick one up if it’s your first visit. I missed out on having the “Greek Pita Burger” by not picking one up, and ordered a bacon cheeseburger ($4.60) instead. I watched as the grillmaster placed a fresh, large in circumference, preformed patty on the grill before taking a seat inside. It didn’t take long for the thin patty to cook and I picked up my burger in only a few minutes.
The burger was attractive with a nicely charred patty, griddled bun and reasonably vibrant veggies. The tomato slice was as thick as the patty itself. I lost a fair amount of the shredded lettuce with my first bite, which I later collected and put on subsequent bites after I realized that the patty had been overcooked and was dry. There wasn’t much flavor to the patty aside from the char, and it could have used some of the excess seasoning of the French fries. The relish was too sweet but the savor of the pleasingly thick bacon helped distract me from it. I’ll simply order my burger without relish on my next visit.
The staff was very friendly, so maybe I’ll be able to talk them into dusting my burger with some of the fry seasoning next time. A friend who has been eating at Daglas for decades told me not much has changed over the years other than the amount of fries in a serving has decreased. With the huge quantity of fries you get here now, I can’t imagine what it was like back in the day.
Hey, it’s Monday…
RATING: 3
Daglas Drive-In
20036 Vanowen Street
Canoga Park, California 91306
(818) 883-6313
www.daglas.net
Hours: Monday – Thursday 10:30AM – 9:00PM
Friday – Saturday 10:30AM – 10:00PM
Sunday 11:00AM – 8:00PM
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Yikes, pallid rump slice of tomato (sad tomato!) blocking only possible upside to shredded lettuce- mingling of patty juices with lettuce, alas…great sign juxtaposition however.