The Point, El Segundo’s newest, outdoor shopping & dinning center aired out its official welcome over the summer with a ton of hype and well intended publicity. The Point is located conveniently at the crossroads of Rosecrans Avenue and Sepulveda Boulevard near a stretch of real estate already decorated with retail space from the likes of Plaza El Segundo and Manhattan Village Mall. And so it seems the South Bay shopping experience is a solid investment lately, most definitively illustrated by Torrance’s newly renovated Del Amo Fashion Center, all neatly packaged just in time for the holiday season. This new wave of hip living has ushered in a bevy of tasty plaza shopping eateries. One such location hails all the way from Austin, Texas, where Hopdoddy Burger Bar began.
Burger side of the menu at Hopdoddy Burger Bar located inside The Point (Photo by South Bay Events).
The name Hopdoddy is a compound word that pairs beer with burger: hop being a nod to that effervescent beer flower and doddy is the nickname for an Aberdeen, Scotland cow. Inside Hopdoddy there’s a laid back Texas drawl with high-top booths, a full bar and communal benches on the patio. First timers to Hopdoddy might get tripped up on the counter service order as its not typical server to patron role playing. First, someone hands you a ticket with your table number, then you’re given a menu, time to ruminate about your burger (beer, milkshake or cocktail too) order, proceed to the cashier, exchange everyday pleasantries, order and pay for your meal and ultimately find your seat. No doubt this process resembles Hopdoddy’s casual Austin ethos but it feels a little awkward at first.
The menu is two-sided with burgers, fries & sodas on one and local-regional craft beer, cocktails and milkshakes on the other. The sophistication behind Hopdoddy begins to ferment as you peruse the drink list. Local talent from El Segundo Brewery, The Strand and Absolution Brewing Co. get handles at the bar as well as Ballast Point’s Sculpin IPA. The hidden surprise was from a North San Diego Brewery named Belching Beaver and their creamy concoction: Peanut Butter Milk Stout. Subtle chocolate, coffee, malts, and peanut butter tastes round out this wonderful, aromatic stout that is easy drinking as a stand alone dessert beer or partner for a freshly ground, Black Angus burger patty free of hormones and antibiotics.
The Ahi Tuna Burger at Hopdoddy Burger Bar in El Segundo (Photo by South Bay Events).
The cocktail menu feels original and fresh with splashy derivatives on hallmark classics like margaritas, Sangria, Bloody Mary and a pear martini with a pinch. The Doble Fina Margarita mixes silver tequila, fresh squeezed lime juice, house-infused triple sec and sweet agave. Accent with a salted rim and it becomes clear why no margarita should ever be served with a pre-made sweet and sour mix.
All grass-fed beef patties come sandwiched between from scratch, fresh baked (egg) buns. Take a close look behind the cashier and you’ll spot marbled bovine cuts of beef in refrigerated poses awaiting a churn in a meat grinder. To say the burgers at Hopdoddy are fresh is understatement as their migration west is branded in the farm to table movement with an emphasis on locally sourced, organic ingredients. We got to nosh on Hopdoddy’s Classic Burger built with Angus Beef, red leaf lettuce, white onion Beef Steak Tomato and Sassy Sauce with cheese. Then threw caution to the wind and ordered the Ahi-Tuna Burger that tasted like sashimi style tuna with a little wasabi mayo kick and pickled ginger finish. Land or sea, both burgers make Hopdoddy a new hit among an already crowded burger scene.
The Classic Burger with cheese (Photo by South Bay Evens)
Burgers and beers have a long culinary history in America and have gone from backyard staple to food royalty within the blink of a generation. Cut through a cross-section of the South Bay today and you’ll find empirical evidence of such ascendance at restaurants like Simmzy’s, Buffalo Fire Department or The Standing Room. We don’t necessarily need to reiterate the reign of craft breweries but the city of Torrance could boast a total of seven at the beginning of 2016. A burger is simple but the way its engineered is changing and Hopdoddy has captured that spirit without taking itself to seriously.
Hopdoddy is located inside The Point in El Segundo at 850 S Sepulveda Blvd; open weekly 11:00 AM – 10:00 PM (310) 414-2337.