Father's Office -- where controversy meets dry-aged goodness

If you were to survey 10 people and ask them to reveal their favorite hamburger, you will likely receive 10 different answers and each person would believe with deep passion that his or her favorite is in fact the people’s favorite. If you don’t believe me, just search the LA boards on chowhound.com for “best hamburger” and you are guaranteed to come across heated, long-winded debates over In and Out, Tommy’s, Five Guys, Lucky Devils, 25 Degrees, and the like.

Those of you who know me also know that—in my opinion—the best hamburger without a doubt is the one served at Father’s Office. Sang Yoon, founder and owner of Father’s Office, believes his prime dry-aged beef version is not only the people’s choice but is in fact so perfect that modifications are strictly prohibited. Those are fightin’ words for some burger aficionados, but Mr. Yoon stands by his word and if you walk into his establishment asking for no cheese or extra bacon compote, then such requests will be deemed nonsense by his staff.

My better-half Fonda and I convinced our friend Jackie to meet with us at the Culver City location (the original is in Santa Monica) so that we could treat her to the legendary Father’s Office burger as a return favor for taking care of our JRT. A coworker of mine also joined us, making it an even foursome for the night.

Father’s Office carries about 30 beers on tap, ranging from light fruity ales to dark, malty stouts. I’ve had maybe a dozen or so different beers but I always keep coming back to the Ommegang Hennepin. It has a crisp, clean spicy-citrus flavor with excellent aroma and texture that pair well with the substantial burger.



My coworker—after perusing the beer menu for a few minutes—finally succumbed to a pour of Lost Coast White Ale while the ladies each had a glass of Pinot Noir.

Fonda hiding behind her drink selection:



I ordered a few appetizers to start.

Spanish Mushrooms with garlic, thyme, vinegar, olive oil:

Delicious. The earthy taste of the oil-bathed mushrooms was nicely complemented by the sharp, focused flavors of the vinegar and thyme.

Prosciutto wrapped dates with cheese:


The dates were amazingly sweet, almost too sweet until the prosciutto and cheese balances out the taste and reminds you that this is indeed an appetizer, not a dessert. A good rendition, but not the best I’ve had as I would have preferred a firmer, less cooked date and a stronger presence from the prosciutto.

Basket of fries:
When we first placed our order for fries, we were told the deep fryer wasn’t working and that the fries were not available. Our heats sunk to uncharted depths with this most painful news, especially since my wife comes here mainly for the wonderful fries. After our round of appetizers, I asked the bartender for an ETA on the deep dryer and, as if Sang Yoon himself had felt our pain, the fryers were back in action. Our fries arrive 10 minutes later, and were well worth the wait.

Basket of sweet potato fries:

The sweet potato fries at Father’s Office are the best I’ve had and I’ve had many a sweet potato fry. They’re crisp on the outside, soft on the inside, seasoned perfectly, and cut nicely and relatively evenly. The texture and mouth feel from these fries are many grades above anything else I’ve had. Substantial yet light. Sweet yet savory. They’re perfect.

The hamburger:


A closer shot of the One:


This is prime, dry-aged beef topped with Maytag blue, arugula, Gruyere, caramelized onion, bacon compote, and served on a hearty roll.

Father’s Office is one of the few places that can consistently cook a burger medium rare:


This hamburger is so good that—in my humblest opinion--it ranks number 10 on the “Seven Wonders of the World”, right after numbers 8 and 9 which are clearly my ’84 Datsun (still in use by its current owner) and Tiger Woods’ amazing birdie chip at the 2005 Master’s. Clearly.

The chefs will gladly cook yours rare, and my coworker had his rare. You, sir, deserve another beer.

The table next to us ordered a round of Lindemans Framboise -- a raspberry lambic beer seasoned with fruits. The result is a deep-red colored beer with a sparkling raspberry Champagne taste. My coworker and I just had to order a round:


This was crisp and refreshing and very enjoyable. I was quite surprised of how easily I fell in love with this beer. Father’s Office doesn’t have any desserts, but drinking this sparkling beer was perfect way to bring our dinner to a close.

Much controversy surrounds Mr. Yoon and his no-alteration policy. Some attest it’s unfair, snobbish, lazy, and just plain rude. I’ve come across people on the boards and forums that have certain food allergies and have asked in their most pleasant tone for no cheese or no onions, only to be quickly dismissed by the servers. I’m not sure what to suggest to those people other than removing the offending condiments yourself, or taking a hike to Counter Burger where you can specify every single ingredient via a Scantron-like form.

Sang Yoon’s policy doesn’t appear to be affecting the masses because this place is consistently packed, often times with a line out the door on weeknights. By 7:30pm, the interior was standing-room only, and when we departed our table around 8:30pm, a group of onlookers quickly took our places at the table (Father’s Office has a no-reservation-find-your-own-table arrangement).

Regardless of your opinions, one thing is for certain, that the Father’s Office establishment has been a booming success since day one. Mr. Yoon has certainly found an unusual recipe for success both in terms of his burger and his rules.

Father's Office
3229 Helms Ave
Culver City, CA 90034