In our “Urban Paleo Forager” series, we try to highlight different (usually) local restaurants and which items they offer might be “paleo” or can be modified to comply. One of the easiest items to get at most places is a simple burger. They’re offered at almost any restaurant and thanks to the Atkins Diet, waiters are usually ready to handle an order for one, sans bun.

Previously, Ruth covered The Counter, where you build a burger to order and I covered a slightly less expensive choice, The Habit. Knowing my appreciation for a good burger, and hoping to put me to work as her guinea pig, Ruth recently forwarded me a list of highly-rated local hamburger offerings. After looking at the website for Hole in the Wall Burger Joint, my curiosity was piqued. Per their page, “Our grass-fed Angus beef is custom ground and our burgers are hand formed – never frozen.” I had to rub my eyes… was a local eatery offering grass-fed burgers??

Further, they state “Our produce is fresh and grown locally” and “We make all of the spreads, pickles, ketchup and french fries in house”. This focus on quality and locally grown produce further convinced me to make the trek up to Santa Monica to give them a try. As you can see from the picture, I tried a burger with cheddar cheese and added avocado, which was all served on a bed of red leaf lettuce. I also ordered their sweet potato fries and tried the ketchup, mustard pickle relish and onion mayo. The ketchup is in a dispenser which proudly states the ingredients and although there is sugar further down the list, it emphasizes that there is no HFCS. For comparison, the leading brand of ketchup has HFCS, followed by regular corn syrup as their 3rd and 4th ingredients, respectively. The mustard pickle relish was really tasty and the onion mayo had a smokiness imparted from the pieces of caramelized onion mixed within.

While it wasn’t from Big Kahuna, afterward I still left saying that it was a tasty burger! I would recommend anyone take a trip up to Santa Monica to give Hole in the Wall a try.

WOD 07.11.12

Deadlift 1×5 or Wendler

With A Partner, Complete As Many Reps As Possible in 15 Minutes:
100 Pistols
200 Double Unders

Row 2k
16 Muscle Ups OR Pullovers
(sub 16 Rope Climbs)

One partner pistols while the other double unders, etc. Break it up however you would like to. You must complete the first couplet before you move on to the second.