Dining review: Finding Eden in a burger

Burger boutique. That's the best way to describe the new Eden Burger Bar in Glendale. Just like on Rodeo Drive, chic surroundings beckon, lovely assistants provide excellent service, and beautiful products, in this case hamburgers, tempt.

When it comes to burgers, I steer clear of the build-it-yourself places. I like to leave it to creative and talented chefs to come up with good combinations under the bun. At Eden Burger Bar, they've engineered nine very different artisan burgers (all $10). With the exception of the vegetarian choice, at the core of each burger is Eden's excellent meat. Flavorful and cooked to perfection (they strongly encourage medium or medium rare), these half-pound patties happily take their toppings.

My favorite is the fig burger. A slathering of fig and olive tapenade on the brioche-like bun adds a crunchy, seedy texture to the balanced combination of sun-dried tomatoes, arugula, gruyere, crispy prosciutto and that superior-quality beef patty with a smoky grilled finish. Not too sweet, not too salty and very filling.

The blue burger is for blue cheese junkies. Stuffed with veiny crumbles and topped with a blue-Monterey Jack blend, this one has fresh lettuce, onion and tomato to offset the robust cheeses.

We found the flavors on the firehouse burger a little off-kilter. The jalapeno bacon, while delicious on its own, overpowered the delicate 35-day dry-aged ground beef. Still, this burger's habanero jack cheese, avocado and giardiniera, a pickled pepper and veggie topping, made it far better than any fast-food offering.

The truffle fries ($4) are as good as they sound and come piled high on a plate with a smattering of fragrant parsley. I'm sure the sweet potato and bistro fries are just as fresh and crispy. Ask for the spicy ketchup on the side.

While the burgers are the stars here, their artisan pizzas capture some of the spotlight. We sampled that night's special: Mexican pizza ($10). My dining mates were not blown away, but I found it unique and delicious. Puffy, yeasty crust held a base of cilantro pesto, then sizable shrimp, chunks of creamy avocado, thin wheels of red jalapeno, the house cheese blend, and a scrumptious, tangy pico de gallo.