Kali, LA

What to expect

Kevin Meehan and Drew Langley’s Melrose spot — once Michelin tasting-menu temple, now reinvented as a Mad Men steakhouse with martinis, chops, and the burger restored to the bar at a sane price. Pretension dialed down; dry-aged beef dialed up.

Hollywood-adjacent, lively, less precious than the old tasting days. Come for steak if you must; stay for the burger if you are reading this site.

Burger

Dry-aged Flannery beef burger with Fiscalini cheese, caramelized onions, black garlic ketchup, fingerling potatoes on the side. Fine-dining brain applied to bar-burger body. Burger Review team recommendation: dry-aged burger at the bar with a martini that could freeze time.

Bun

Soft sturdy bun built for dry-aged juice and black garlic sweetness.

Cheese

Fiscalini — California cheddar with a resume. Melts like it belongs next to dry-aged beef.

Pickles

Caramelized onions cover the sweet lane; classic pickle may play backup. Black garlic ketchup steals the acid-sweet job anyway.

Sauces

Black garlic ketchup — umami ketchup for people who outgrew the packet. This is the plot.