On our way home from Los Angeles, we needed some lunch. We were going to just hit a drive through but I did a quick Google search and I saw we were near a place called Howard’s Famous Bacon & Avocado Burgers. I liked the name. It was closeby. We went on a whim.
Howard’s Famous Bacon & Avocado Burgers is in a little strip mall near the 405 in Venice. It doesn’t look like much but I did dig the font on the sign. It looked like my kind of spot.
Here’s the menu at Howard’s Famous Bacon & Avocado Burgers. They have a selection of burgers along with hot dogs, tacos, and sandwiches. We found out the cook was also the owner. He has owned the spot for 6 years and worked there for 16 years before that. Wow!
There’s a number of cool old time movie posters on the wall.
After we ordered our burgers, we noticed this little brochure for going on a “Burger Trek” in LA.
The restaurants are listed in alphabetical order and Howard’s Famous Bacon & Avocado Burgers is in the brochure! I’ve only been to a couple of other spots in this list so it was fun to find out they were listed in here when we came on accident.
I ordered the namesake menu item – the Famous Bacon & Avocado Burger with everything on it (cheese, lettuce, tomato). We actually both got the “Howard’s Special” which I think was $8.50 (it was on a little chalkboard menu that I forgot to photograph). I got my special with a side of onion rings and some ranch dressing and an iced tea. I’d like to note that they make the iced tea here. They pulled out a pitcher from the fridge to fill my cup. It was unsweetened (my preference) and tasted great!
Here’s a close up on that famous burger. They use a 1/4 pound patty for the burger which is not frozen. I saw the owner slap a fresh patty right onto the grill which made me happy. The meat is quite juicy and well seasoned. The bacon is nice and crispy and there are a few slices of avocado stacked on the burger. The bun is nicely toasted and I believe there’s mayo but on. The lettuce and tomato were fresh and the cheese nicely melted on the burger. A really simple and excellent burger – I especially loved the crunchy bacon and those fresh slices of creamy avocado on my tasty burger.
The onion rings had a nice simple coating on them and were quite tasty dipped in their ranch dressing. Good, standard, not outstanding, but I still liked them.
With Jake’s meal, he got the french fries and we shared the onion rings and fries between us. These are a big thicker than shoestring, but not quite steak fries. A good thickness on the french fries to keep them crispy and fluffy on the inside.
Jake also wanted to try a bacon wrapped hot dog. I watched the owner pull out a fresh hot dog and slice of bacon and he wrapped it on the spot and threw it on the grill. The bacon got nice and crispy for the hot dog and make for a yummy dog. The condiments are on the side so you can dress it just the way you like it.
All in all Jake and I quite enjoyed our little unexpected lunch trip to Howard’s Famous Bacon & Avocado Burgers. The food is simple, it’s fresh, and clearly made with lots of love and heart. The burgers are excellent and full of flavor and I liked that it was just a little place – not too crowded and full of hype. If we were in the area again, I would definitely want to come back for another one of their tasty burgers.
Howard’s Famous Bacon & Avocado Burgers (Yelp | FB)
11127 Venice Blvd # 7,
Los Angeles, CA 90034
