A few months ago, I wrote about a restaurant in my neighborhood that had been a part of my life for
more than three decades. Hamburger Hamlet closed in July, headed for bankruptcy court. The windows looked blankly out on Van Nuys
Boulevard, and those who ambled past the place each day saw dust and idle
stoves, the bar swathed in black plastic trash bags. I held out little hope that the place would
rise from the ashes and make a comeback.
So I was surprised to
drive by the other day and see bus boys cleaning the windows and signs of
activity. Something was happening. A quick Google search gave me a most welcomed
result: yes, Hamburger Hamlet was open
again, under new management, guided by the owners of the Killer Shrimp restaurants, one of whom started his career at Hamburger Hamlet working
alongside original owners Marilyn and Harry Lewis. Looking over the newly reconstituted menu, it
is clear the owners wanted to bring back the classic hamburgers and dishes made
famous in the original restaurants both here in Los Angeles and back east.
Earlier this week, I
stopped in for dinner and received another surprise. One of my former students, Dustin Belvedere,
is the Director of Operations. He
greeted us at our table and we were able to reminisce about the days of
yore. Interestingly, he clearly
remembered being assigned summer reading when he was in my junior high school
English class. In short, he hated having
to read during the summer, and his family continues to tease him about it even now. On those long ago days of summer break, if he
became annoying, his parents would command him to leave them alone and “go
read.” In spite of his lackluster
enthusiasm for books over the summer, it was good to see how well his life had
turned out.
The food was, as the
old Hamlet sign used to say, “simply marvelous.” The lobster bisque and split pea soup are
back, as are many of the classic burgers that had dropped off the menu in the
last few years. The ambiance remains
intact, and some of the wait staff have also returned for another go
around. Of course, they are still ironing
out the kinks—the restaurant will undergo remodeling after the first of the
year, and more classic food items will be added back onto the menu soon—it was
comforting to know our favorite comfort food place is back in operation.
After dinner, we
walked to the newsstand at the corner of Ventura and Van Nuys Boulevards for
our usual magazines and reading material.
The air was autumn crisp with a slight breeze. For a week night, there were a lot of people enjoying
the transition to November in southern California. When I last wrote about Hamburger Hamlet, I
said that things did not look promising for a resurgence of the brand. I am very happy to say that at least for now,
I was wrong. Hamburger Hamlet is back.
