Burger Quest :: Whistle Stop

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I’ll start with the truth. Whistle Stop first caught my interest purely on aesthetics. It’s cute. Rustic and charming and contemporary all at once with a little LB edge. It’s the kind of place that, in daydreams, I picture myself hanging with my crew. That is, if I had a crew who regularly hung. And there was a television show about us. Yes, Whistle Stop would be my Central Perk.

But I have no show. And while I have a crew, we tend to hang irregularly, and can’t stay faithful to just one spot – I don’t care how great the fare. But I do have a blog. And a quest for burgers. So it hit me – I need a cute, whimsy little Long Beach gem on my Burger Quest. Whistle Stop is that cute little gem (as if you didn’t see the end of that story coming).

I went full on beef for the occasion (since they offer a chicken breast sandwich but not a turkey burger). My crew for the evening went beefy, too, a few of them and my youngest daughter joining me so I didn’t have to tackle my burger alone. It was burgers and fries galore at our table, the group enjoying the breezy outdoor seating, the buoyant social sounds of LB’s Belmont Heights.

My cheeseburger was a beut, but she had substance too, the meat perfectly seasoned and hearty. With lettuce, grilled onions, and Whistle Stop sauce, it balanced well. And it was just big enough to satisfy while being courageously cheesy. Certainly a yummy, well-priced, quality crafted burger. And my fries were quite nice – wonderfully greasy and crisp and fluffy. They’re perfect for dunking in ketchup or Ranch. Whistle Stop, in their offerings and delivery, proves simplicity breeds excellence. So happy to have a Long Beach local on my Quest list.

Official Dianderthal Burger Quest Burger List:
1. The Spicy Bird at Umami Burger
2. Hawkins House of Burgers turkey burger with everything (mayo, mustard, pickles, tomato, red onion, lettuce), cheese added
3. The Chianina Burger at Working Class Kitchen with cheese
4. PCB (Plan Check Burger) at Plan Check with americanized dashi cheese, ketchup leather, schmaltz onions, mixed pickles, crunch bun
5. 25 Degrees Number One Burger (turkey subbed for beef) with caramelized onions, crescenza, prelibato gorgonzola, bacon, arugula, thousand island
6. Whistle Stop Cheeseburger with lettuce, tomato, grilled onions, and Whistle Stop sauce
7. Shake Shack’s ShackBurger, with cheese, lettuce, tomato, and ShackSauce
8. Burger Lounge’s Free Range Turkey Burger, served Lounge Style with organic white cheddar, grilled onion, lettuce, tomato, and house-made 1000 Island
9. Father’s Office Burger with arugula, caramelized onions, Gruyere, applewood bacon, and maytag blue cheese
10. Island’s California Flyer turkey burger (BBQ sauce, “Island Reds” – fried onion straws, pepper jack cheese, lettuce, tomato & mayo)
11.Golden State turkey burger with provolone, lettuce, tomato, red onion, aioli, and ketchup, (added grilled onions)
12. Oh My Burger BYOMB (Build Your Oh My Burger) turkey with OMB sauce, ketchup, pepper jack, and onion rings
13. Holstein’s California Turkey Burger with sprouts, tomato, avocado, cucumber claw, pepperjack cheese, and Russian dressing
14. Yeah! Burger (Make It Your Own – turkey patty, whole wheat bun, pepper jack cheese, sriracha mayo, ketchup, grilled onions, honey mustard)
15. The Habit (Veggie burger made like a Charburger, with mayo, pickle, tomato, lettuce, caramelized onions, cucumber, and sprouts)
16. The Counter (Build Your Own – turkey patty, grilled onions, cheddar cheese, chipotle aioli, ketchup)
17. Burger City Grill (The BCG, turkey patty, pickles, grilled onions)
18. The Dallas at Bobby’s Burger Palace – spice crusted ground turkey patty with coleslaw, jack cheese, BBQ sauce, and pickles

Fry Factor
1. Island’s fries with ranch dressing
1. Sweet potato fries at Umami Burger*
3. Golden State fried sweet potato wedges with garlic aioli (and a few with curry ketchup)
4. Working Class Kitchen’s frites
5. Burger Lounge’s fries with house-made Ranch
5. Whistle Stop’s fries
7. Holstein’s sweet potato fries
8. The regular fries and the cheese fries at Shake Shack
9. 25 Degrees Half & Half (sweet potato and regular fries)
10. Father’s Office sweet potato fries with blue cheese aioli
11. The Counter 50-50 fries (half regular, half sweet Ps)
12. Oh My Burger sweet potato fries
13. The Habit french fries
14. Plan Check sweet potato waffle fries and regular fries
15. Bobby’s Burger Palace sweet potato fries
16. Burger City Grill fries
17. Yeah! Burger sweet potato fries
18. Hawkins House of Burgers fries

Whistle Stop
3701 E. 4th in the LBC

*As of this post, I am now allowing myself ties in the fry category (since ties and fries rhyme). With this new rule, it has become apparent that, at this particular moment, I’d have difficulty choosing between SPFs at Umami Burger and my beloved Island’s fries with ranch. Tied fries listed alphabetically.

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