Grill ‘Em All gives heavy metal the culinary treatment

By Luis D. Marquez

Students are bombarded with food choices by ELAC, but to find the most “brutal” burgers they can to go to Grill ‘Em All in Alhambra.

Grill ‘Em All is a themed restaurant that specializes in Heavy Metal hamburgers. Their name derives from Metallica’s first album “Kill ‘Em All.” All of their burgers are named after bands, band members, or an object from the genre. One of their burgers is named the Dee Snider, after the famous lead singer of Twisted Sister. This burger consists of meat, bacon, peanut butter, strawberry jam and sriracha, an unusual assortment of condiments, but a satisfying choice.

 

Their staple hamburger is the Behemoth, named after the famed Black/Death Metal band from Poland, and is accordingly named. The buns are two Texas toast grilled cheese sandwiches, a thick meat patty cooked medium rare, a slice of melted cheddar, and the crispiest slices of bacon, topped with some beer-drenched caramelized onions. Say goodbye to the fries, there won’t be any room left in the stomach.

Hamburgers aren’t the only items on the menu. They have specialty fries like the Primate Fries, which are fries with melted cheddar, a house made Thousand Island dressing, and grilled onion. If you’re feeling a bit healthy, they also have specialty salads, such as the Exciter Salad, which has duck confit, frisée, red wine vinaigrette, truffle herb, and goat cheese.

For those of age, Grill ‘Em All supplies a variety of commercial and local brewery beers on tap or in a can. On tap people can order Miller High Life, Stone IPA, The Trooper, Eagle Rock Brewery, Figueroa Mountain Brewery and The Bruery. In tall cans Pabst Blue Ribbon, Budweiser, Coors Banquet, Dales Pale Ale, and Golden Road Brewery are available.

The décor of Grill ‘Em All looks like a mixture of a 1950’s diner with glittery red bar stools by the kitchen, and a skateboard shop. It returns to the metal theme with black chairs, black tables, and a purple vinyl booth padded bench. Painted portraits of heavy metal legends like Rob Halford of Judas Priest and Lemmy Kilmister of Motörhead hang next to some of the murals.

While dining, people are entertained with various genres of metal music and sometimes-other forms of rock music, such as punk. The restaurant also has televisions where movies that people haven’t seen in years are played, such as the live action “Super Mario Bros.” movie and “Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey.”

Although Grill ‘Em All is a great destination for everyone, it could put a dent in people’s wallets with their prices ranging from $9 just for the burger and up. However, it is a gourmet burger that most likely won’t be seen elsewhere unless experimented at home.

The customer service is great, with workers walking around to answer questions. Grill ‘Em All can be found at 19 East Main Street, Alhambra. Their hours are Sunday, Monday – Thursday: 11:00 am – 10:00 pm and Friday – Saturday: 11:00 am – 11:00 pm.