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D-Town Burger Bar Opens on 6th

By Ed Fuentes
Published: Saturday, March 07, 2009, at 12:24PM
D-Town_2 Ed Fuentes

Customers place their orders off the simple menu at newly opened D-Town Burger Bar.

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — New Historic Core eatery D-Town Burger Bar opened on Friday, welcoming a brisk lunch business. Workers from local offices and nearby retail stores sat at the small tables in bright red chairs emblazoned with a 1950's era Coca-Cola logo, or along the winding counter with stainless steel trim.

Many of those future regulars have watched the area around 6th and Spring go through numerous changes. They see the addition of D-Town as another good move for a neighborhood in transition.

Having a veggie burger was Nancy Ramirez, an attorney for the Mexican American Legal Defense & Educational Fund (MALDEF), who first worked at MALDEF's Spring street office from 1991 to 1997. When she returned a year ago, she went through minor culture shock. "Now I've been to 626 Wine Bar after work," she says, adding that she has been trying to talk former co-workers into visiting her for lunch to see the difference for themselves.

At the counter was Yahia, the owner of International DJ Equipment, a store that's been located across the street for 20 years. "This is good. Better than having a liquor store here," he says. "Look at the menu . . . no sandwiches. Let the other places sell them. So many businesses sell what each other is selling. The owner is smart."

As for the food, D-Town's menu serves up a quick lunch or dinner from a minimal menu -- single and double burgers, hot dogs, russet or sweet potato fries, old fashioned milk shakes and, of course, Coca-Cola products.

D-Town Burger Bar / Hayward Hotel, 216 W. 6th / 11am - 11pm, Seven Days

Update (April 2nd): D-Town is now open until 2:30am on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights.

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Two D-Town Girls Ed Fuentes

Jane Vinnik and Amy Pigg at the counter of the D-Town Burger Bar.

6th Street Retail Ed Fuentes

The night falls on the Hayward Hotel's ground floor retail.

inside D-Town Ed Fuentes

"It was busy all day" said Jane Vinnik of the opening day at D-Town Burger Bar.

DTown Exterior Ed Fuentes

Large open windows make people watching easy.

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Conversation

Guest 1

mac on March 07, 2009, at 12:43PM – #1

Wow, look at that night time picture... are there any street lights on that block??


Guest 2

ankur on March 07, 2009, at 12:43PM – #2

Area looks great now, but I hope they extend their hours.


Eric Richardson () on March 07, 2009, at 12:47PM – #3

Mac: The street's a lot brighter than it comes off in that photo, but if you balance for the street, you end up with nothing but white blobs in the windows. Way too much range in brightness for a good shot.


Guest 3

Tim on March 07, 2009, at 02:09PM – #4

^ photoshop?


Eric Richardson () on March 07, 2009, at 02:49PM – #5

Actually, this is the sort of context where High Dynamic Range photography works well. Dave Bullock wrote up a three part series on HDR back in September:

Part One || Part Two || Part Three


on March 07, 2009, at 04:00PM – #6

HDR = Tripod


Guest 4

Purple Haze on March 07, 2009, at 05:24PM – #7

If they serve Buffalo Burgers - open flamed, I'm on my way.


Guest 5

max on March 07, 2009, at 06:33PM – #8

looks like a great addition to downtown, but what is that store to the left of d-town? looks interesting.


Guest 6

djernie pearl on March 07, 2009, at 07:14PM – #9

I was there Sat late afternoon. As I was sitting on the counter looking out to 6th St I realized how much this part of 6th St has changed. It remeinds me alot of 4th St between Spring and Main. With it's over-sized windows the building across the St was mesmerizing with it's Indian Heads Facade. What an amazing spot. As for the burgers, I can't remember the last time I had to slow down eating a burger because it was still hot. I think their burgers are better that In-N-Out. The fries were delicious also. I think downtown needed a place like this.


Eric Richardson () on March 07, 2009, at 08:15PM – #10

Max: The store to the left is a little market (though, really, not all that little).


on March 07, 2009, at 10:00PM – #11

To add info about the store on the left.. they have a small deli.


Ginny-Marie Case on March 07, 2009, at 10:56PM – #12

We tried to go last night, but by 9 p.m. they had to close because they ran out of food.

We ate there tonight. Yum. The price was right, food was good.


Guest 7

John swartz on March 08, 2009, at 03:55AM – #13

Way to go burger bar!


Guest 8

JM on March 08, 2009, at 05:26PM – #14

Went there today (Sunday). Food was great. Congratulations, D-town Burger Bar.


Guest 9

Benjamin Pezzillo on March 08, 2009, at 06:08PM – #15

Nice photographs Ed.

For handheld lighting dilemma like this, try a rear-curtain flash sync setting, with a wide angle at about 1/8th to 1/15th to see if you can get the light from inside and add to the dark outside with your strobe.

Erica and I ate there last night. Good burgers, not much variety on the menu. But clean, bright and a nice addition to this patch of Sixth.


Guest 10

Veronica M. on March 08, 2009, at 08:47PM – #16

Delish!


User_32

() on March 08, 2009, at 10:31PM – #17

I ate there today.. The Cheeseburger was pretty good.. the french fries are a mix of sweet potato fries and McDonalds-like french fries. I went ahead and added a few of my pix from lunch to the BlogDowntown photo pool.


Guest 11

muxup on March 08, 2009, at 11:19PM – #18

I was really excited about this place, I'm happy it's there but I didn't think the food was all that great. If you're going to do a burger and charge morethan in n out it should be amazing....but it was average at best. It's nothing I couldn't get off a roach coach or make a better one at home. The fries were just "eh" as well. Hopefully they will do something great like add a secret ingredient to give it that wow factor. I'll still go there just because it's so convenient and I'm just glad they make 6th street that much better.


Guest 12

MarkB on March 09, 2009, at 08:35AM – #19

I'm glad it's there and I'm sure I'll be checking out the food soon... and probably again later ... and later after that...

However, the Hayword retail doesn't really fit the aesthetic of the building. The huge glass curtain walls look like they were grafted from a modern building. I wish more effort had been put into making the new retail architecture blend better with the rest of the building.


Guest 13

Scott Mercer on March 09, 2009, at 08:37AM – #20

No, I think they are filling a niche for burgers.

There's no Fatburger downtown. No In-N-Out. And the McDonalds at 7th and Hill just closed down, leaving only 2 McDonalds in Downtown. (One in the basement at 505 Flower and one at Third and Broadway.) No Jack in the Box either! Okay, there's one at Broadway and Venice but that's almost outside Downtown really.

Sure, there's plenty of Carl's Jr.s, but they get old eventually.

They should do well if they can keep the quality up.


on March 09, 2009, at 01:57PM – #21

Thanks Ben: I'll try that. However, at that time the biggest concern was looking out for traffic and those dang busses.


Guest 14

Ankur on March 09, 2009, at 03:52PM – #22

Agreed guys. They just need a lil tweaking - and perhaps their own secret sauce to make this place pop.

Diff cheese + diff vege patties + sauces = make a world of difference.

Service was very good however!


Guest 9

Benjamin Pezzillo on March 09, 2009, at 08:32PM – #23

Yes Ed, the trick is always to set the camera before taking a step out into traffic or whatever the risk involved in getting the angle is!

It's of course better these days with the advancements in auto-metering and the instant feedback of digital imaging.

Looking back, it makes the work of vertigo master Peter B. Kaplan all that more amazing to think of what he did in the 1970s and 1980s without such technology.


Eric Richardson () on March 10, 2009, at 12:21AM – #24

MarkB: Though the finishes aren't quite the same, it is interesting to note that the original retail in the Hayward contained glass fronts roughly the size of what's being put in now. Check out this photo:


Guest 15

Jason on March 10, 2009, at 12:53AM – #25

Nice Job! This place really came out amazingly. I was there last night, burger was delicious, especially with top 50's tunes playing continuously the whole time. This is what downtown needs more of, restaurants with a good concept and a good theme. These guys say this thursday's artwalk will be a little grand opening night for them, and it should be fun!


Guest 16

MarkB on March 10, 2009, at 09:28AM – #26

@Eric: Great historic photo link! You're right, the 1st floor was mostly glass. Which makes me compare my thoughts to some of the burger commenters: sometimes all you need to do is tweak the recipe a little. In this case, maybe return the "clock face" details? Use a brick facade instead of plaster?

In any case, it won't stop me from eating there! :-)


Guest 17

50'sgal on March 10, 2009, at 10:40AM – #27

In any case, I am just glad there is a no fuss burger joint you can eat at now downtown. The girls that work there are great and always smiling! I really like that the customers are so diverse. I hope they start making grasshoppers, Shirley temples and lime Rickeys! D-town is gonna go through changes in food still, they have only been open 5 day's! But they sure are slammed already! If you guy's want a gourmet burger, go to one of these places you gotta pay near $25 to sit down and deal with a lazy waiter to get one. GO D-TOWN! WE NEEDED YOU!


Guest 18

SinoSoul on March 11, 2009, at 01:50PM – #28

The burger was just downright atrocious. It is somehow worse than Pete's and even worse than Blue Dahlia's. Patties were not hand formed, and came from a commercial purveyour ("we get them shipped in" - no? REALLY?).

Everyone's happy it's not a chain but c'mon. $7 for a non-descript burger with dubious meat product? And super soggy fries? GTFO of DTLA.

Ankur (read your Yelp review, you had the FTR so I didn't bother): if the bread's bad, the patty's bad, what else is there left? Burger = meat between bun. EOS.


() on March 11, 2009, at 09:29PM – #29

Penelope and I tried it tonight. The fries were pretty good, wish they put in more sweet potatoes. We had the veggie burgers, nothing extraordinary, but not bad either. We will be back I'm sure. They do need some secret sauce though! And maybe onion rings!


Guest 19

Pepsi Monster on March 11, 2009, at 11:40PM – #30

Is this worse than Comme Ca? Just kidding.

I still had high hopes since they just opened. I'll have to check them out soon when I'm up there again.


Guest 15

Loft Lover on March 12, 2009, at 12:33AM – #31

SinoSoul,

I could not DISAGREE with you more. It seems to me like someone could give you a brand new Ferrari and you'd still find something negative to say about it. Give these guys a break! They've been open for less than a week and I'm sure they're still figuring things out, but I thought their products were fantastic!

I ate there twice already and each time the food was excellent. The customer service was better than I've seen in most places, and the overall atmosphere was comfortable and fun!

I'm so happy you're here D-Town Burger Bar!


Guest 18

SinoSoul on March 13, 2009, at 08:57AM – #32

good customer service doesn't make a crap burger great. And a bit of an errata: they do NOT have sweet potato fries per se. What you get, in the regular order of fries, is 4 sticks of sweet potato fries tossed in, see pix here:

Loft Lover : comparing this to a Ferrari? (Not that I own one) uhmm... you must like Spitz as well?


Guest 14

Ankur on March 13, 2009, at 09:47AM – #33

SinSoul, what does FTR mean?

I know where you are coming from man, but they all seem like nice people, so any type of comments I'm sure wont go unheard to the guys @ D-town burger.


Guest 20

Pepsi Monster on March 13, 2009, at 12:02PM – #34

Hey Ankur,

FTR = First To Review

Which I'm sure it's refering to your review on Yelp about this place.


Guest 21

VictorAtomic on March 14, 2009, at 09:28PM – #35

The food was ok...not bad but not the best. The price however was decent compared to most places.

Still a new place so I'll go back in a month once the kinks of who does what is worked out hehe...they were running around like a bunch of chickens with their heads cut off.

BTW big improvement with the new windows with this space and the market next door. The building deserves major kudoos!


Guest 22

lasty on March 15, 2009, at 12:23AM – #36

Wow some harsh words from some people. While I agree with everyone that we are happy to have DTown in the 'hood, I have to object with some by saying the food isnt all that great.

I pretty much consider myself an EXPERT on delicious french fries and when I find one, I latch on to that place for dear life. DTOWN however had some pretty awful fries. If you like sweet potato fries I would recommend them checking out Fathers Office's recipe and stealing theirs haha! Those are pretty darn good! But these fries seemed to come out of a bag and thrown in a bucket of lard. The burger was just barely ok.
I really do think they need to work on the freshness of the food, they should get those frozen patties because they taste just awful.
Heres what I suggest, mix your own meat with a great seasoning, get some fresh lettuce and tomato and a great special sauce.

But lets all be nice to them anyhow because I think if we offer suggestions in a kind way, they very well may listen.


Guest 23

AnchorSteam on March 17, 2009, at 06:20AM – #37

The best burger in downtown is also the newest. Went to hanks bar at the stillwell hotel and they opened a new joint next door called the Mother Road. You can order a burger from the bar so I did. They serve this huge burger for 8 bucks. They also have like four or five burgers. They clearly get their bread from a place like LaBrea bakery, clearly get it fresh, and made a medium burger that was juicy, pink, and still charbroiled to perfection. You gotta try it to believe it!


Josh Gray-Emmer on March 17, 2009, at 10:33AM – #38

Congrats to everyone who made this place happen... now if we could just get late night hours! ;)


Raina Roessle on March 17, 2009, at 11:00AM – #39

Echem Josh...it is open til 11. Remember the days of everything closing at 6? It was not that long ago... Also, yummy veggie burger and great service!


Guest 24

: ? on March 17, 2009, at 12:26PM – #40

the opening of a burger joint is news?


Eric Richardson () on March 17, 2009, at 01:14PM – #41

Considering that this post has garnered 40 comments, it seems that may be a silly question. Absolutely it's news for Downtown.


Guest 24

: ? on March 17, 2009, at 04:20PM – #42

yeah, exactly


Scott Mercer on March 17, 2009, at 05:38PM – #43

Sino Soul was just offended because he only got four sweet potato fries. I got a 50/50 mixture of regular and sweet potato, so they probably didn't like him too much. I can see why.


Guest 25

Greg Kr on March 18, 2009, at 10:02AM – #44

I like it! Ive been there twice now, #1 and #3, Mmmmm! With the same waitress waiting and shes a little creepy looking. I liked that too!


Reed Quinn on March 18, 2009, at 10:54AM – #45

I've eaten there a couple times already and thought it was a great place overall. The food is good, the help is friendly and personable. I'm really glad they're there.


Guest 26

Pepsi Monster on March 19, 2009, at 04:39PM – #46

I went there this week. It's not bad at all. I was expecting the worst or maybe catastrophic, but it's a solid place to grab a bite. Plus, they have just opened... like as in two weeks ago. To proclaim them a failure is premature.

I knew that Church and State was proclaimed as a mess when they opened. Now, they got three stars from LA Times.

My


Eric Richardson () on March 19, 2009, at 04:45PM – #47

I was just in D-Town today and learned that as of April, they're planning to stay open until 2:30am on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. I know that's something several people have asked about on this thread.


Guest 27

Raymond on March 19, 2009, at 05:21PM – #48

I havent been there yet but I was wondering why they dont have a cohesive uniform, like Johnny Rockets, thats one of the things about nostalgic places is the uniform also, IMO if they all had a uniform it would further add more to the ambience/experience. As an above poster said how about Lime Rickeys, Grasshoppers, Shirley Temples, ice cream floats?? like flirting with what Johnny Rockets offers but putting their own spin on things a little to set them apart.


Chris Vazquez on March 19, 2009, at 11:00PM – #49

Have made two previous trips and greatly appreciated the friendly staff and service. Definitely will make more trips for a quick bite :)


Guest 28

Li on March 20, 2009, at 08:57AM – #50

The food is just okay--not great, not terrible. But I live across the street and between D-Town and the market next door, the block has improved dramatically. The increase in foot traffic, the fact that the windows are huge so the interior light spills out to the sidewalk--it's truly amazing how much safer and more inviting the block feels. I moved downtown less than a year ago and the improvements have been dramatic despite the shitty economy. It's really encouraging and exciting.


Guest 29

JM on March 20, 2009, at 09:46AM – #51

Getting tired of the haters...It's a burger bar. What do you expect? It beats McDonald's any day. The great thing about new businesses in the area is that they're adding to the community Downtown. Increasingly, I find other areas of Los Angeles unfriendly and unappealing. I chose to live here and I like it because the people are decent and want a different lifestyle. It's all changed so much in the four years I've been here and any new business (yes, even the continuously sprouting dog shops) should be welcomed. For the record, I got 50/50 regular potato fries and sweet potato fries, the veggie burger was OK, and I found the staff friendly.


Guest 25

Greg Kr on March 20, 2009, at 02:17PM – #52

The creepy looking waitresses (there are 2 now) I was referring to earlier are not pictured above. I havent seen any of those humans yet in the place, maybe the latino guy in the back was there on a previous visit. His front is turned and I cant make him out too well.


Guest 15

JB on March 20, 2009, at 06:17PM – #53

I ate there earlier this week and the food was really great! I also got 50/50 regular and sweet potato fries and the seasoning was really tasty! You can also ask for a side of Thousand Island or get it on your burger which makes it even better.

I don't know what creepy waitresses Greg Kr is talking about, I actually think their staff is pretty good-looking and very friendly!


Danyul on March 21, 2009, at 04:21PM – #54

Eh. I finally went in to try the place and I was rather underwhelmed. They did not have turkey burgers (but promised to be getting them soon, we'll see) and the veggie burger I had was nothing I couldn't make at home by warming up a trader joe's veggie patty. The fries were also pretty paltry. 3/10 overall in my opinion


Guest 30

Hey hey hey! on March 23, 2009, at 12:04AM – #55

It's not so much that they are bad but just average which is the problem. A lot if us really wanted them to be extraordinary and they failed. We wanted them to be great because we want 6th to as succesful as can be. I honestly believe that those who really think they are good have no great burger palate, and I agree with Lasty that some people really understand a good one when they see it and some have absolutely no clue. Oh and in case you are wondering I'm not 500 pounds just got a nack for great junk food!


Guest 29

JM on March 23, 2009, at 09:05AM – #56

Hey hey hey! I know what you're saying, but, really... Palate? C'mon. I'm tired of burger snobbery. The D-town burgers could be better (and I could make a better one myself, which I could say of most of the food in Los Angeles), but it's not going to spoil my experience of having another option in town. If you don't like them, go somewhere else. That's the beauty of choice. It's not going to be the best burger you've ever had, but it doesn't suck either. If you're in the center of town and looking for a quick eat, they're a decent option.



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