Short Order

I like my red meat very rare or raw (yes, I love steak tartare), so for me to eat a burger, I have to trust the source of the meat. Even with the plethora of burger places in Los Angeles, very few casual places serve grass fed meat and even fewer are burger places.

Short Order in the Farmer's Market not only grinds their own meat from grass fed whole steers, but they use local, organic and artisanal products on their menu. The buns are as important as the burger, and you can rest assured that they bake their own bread since Nancy Silverton (La Brea Bakery) is one of the partners.

If you want a classic lunch combo, you can pair your burger with a milkshake or a beer starting at $6, or you can order wine by the glass starting at $10, but with 90+ degree heat and humidity, I opted for a herbal crimson berry iced tea for $3.50. It was slightly tart blend, and perfect if you want to quench your thirst without any added sugar.

The Commando is literally a "naked" beef burger for $8, but I "dressed" it a bit by adding raw onions. It was perfectly juicy and seasoned, so if you're a purist, this burger is the one to order. I loved getting a rare burger and not having to worry about the quality and safety of the ground meat! If you want to be more gourmet, you can opt for truffle mayo for $2 or a chipotle BBQ sauce for .75 more.

Besides beef, they have tuna, portobello and free range turkey burgers, along with salads, home made sausages, and sandwiches made with pork belly, so no matter how you want to eat, you will find something on the menu to fit your appetite. I was intrigued by the grass fed lamb, feta, salsa verde and wild arugula burger for $14, so I ordered it on another visit.

The seasoning that was so perfect on the Commando burger made this burger too salty with the feta cheese, but aside from that, this was a good alternative for a red meat burger even though it is a bit pricey.

Thrice cooked fries for $3 were ok, not especially crisp or addictive, but decent. They offer sweet potato fries with cinnamon and thyme for $5 but with the classic Commando, I wanted classic fries.

The wood grilled asparagus with almond basil pesto for $7 was wonderful as a side dish, but I could have easily made a meal of three plates of this!

For a quick lunch in the Farmer's Market, Short Order has good food ethics and enough options for everyone, so I'm keeping it on my short list of burger places:)