One star for good fries, but that’s it. Parking situation there is difficult, too. Waitresses aloof to say the least. Walked in with a friend on an early Saturday afternoon…was not greeted at all, just looked at. Sat ourselves at two open seats at the counter with dirty dishes not yet bussed. For ten minutes, still not greeted nor was the counter in front of us bussed. They were not busy at all. Finally they bus the counter and a few minutes later take our order. I ordered a cheeseburger without onions and we split an order of fries. Cheeseburger comes to the table and the waitress says, “Hmmm, looks like there’s nothing in that burger?? (I pick it up) Oh, there is something in there.” WTF? No onions is what they got right, but there was no lettuce or tomato. There was just a huge load of dressing in it, cheese, and a small broken-in-half patty. Also, that burger is very, very small.

So, one turkey burger and soda for my friend, my cheeseburger, and a plate of fries and some thousand island dressing for the fries for a grand total of $20. C’mon, this place only lives on all the BS hipster hype.

For that early Saturday afternoon lunch, we saw disorder, laziness, and disorganization.

When my friend got home his wife exclaimed, “You ate there? That place sucks!” when she heard the name Pie and Burger.

Ok, so here I was walking on Lake avenue in Pasadena absolutely jonesing for a burger when I remembered reading somewhere that one of the best burgers in the Los Angeles area was to be found nearby…at a place called Pie-N-Burger. So, down Lake to California, took a left and on the left hand side of the road…the object of my quest.

So, I go inside, and…it’s a weird little joint. It’s all lunch counter, with a couple of uncomfortable-looking tables in the back. The place looks like it hasn’t been redecorated since it opened in the early 60s because…it hasn’t. The menu is a board up on the wall. There’s a wait – even to be seated at the counter. And it’s loud. It’s as far a cry from the chic LA restaurant scene as one could imagine, but hey, I’m here for a burger, not chic.

I was a little put off at first, especially by the wait, but I decided to stick it out and see how such a place could have survived so long. Why, I asked myself, would a place like this be so crowded?

So, finally my name was called and I was seated at the counter. A waitress threw a glass of ice water down in front of me, and asked to take my order. I ordered a cheeseburger, and she suggested that I add grilled onions. I asked the size, and she suggested I have a double. I took both suggestions, along with a diet coke, an order of well-done fries and a small fresh fruit plate.

This place definitely is a blast from the past. They have a single soda fountain for carbonated water, and make your choice of soda by mixing the appropriate syrup with carbonated water. Neat!

Before long, the food arrived. One bite into the burger and I fully appreciated just how and why this place is still around. It’s a truly great old-fashioned burger! The meat was delicious, and the bun soft and superb! (and you can’t go wrong with the grilled onions) The burger is served on a plate and wrapped in paper (needs to be…it’s quiet large, each patty is 1/4 lb, and it’s JUICY). Delightfully messy, dripping, pure carnal pleasure! The fries were fantastic too and were perfectly done just to the point of crispy (per my request).

The meal was absolutely delicious. The service was great, as least after getting seated. It would definitely be a great place to take a date you’d like to put to the “casual/cool” test.

I didn’t explore the other half of their name (as in "pie") but did observe several large home-made-looking slices slathered in melting vanilla ice cream being doled out to other customers. They looked to be truly enjoying it…

BTW…cash only!