Hollywood Dining -

Astroburger | Fast Food Hollywood Style

As if having Oscar accompany her home from the festivities weren’t enough, 2005 Academy Award® winner Hilary Swank treated herself to something surprising.

What was it, and why the surprise? It was a 2:30 AM visit to her favorite West Hollywood fast-food emporium, the Astroburger at 7475 Santa Monica Boulevard.

The Hollywood Astroburger is one of four in the LA area, and has been known to assuage the hunger pangs of other of Hollywood’s elite, including Leonardo DiCaprio and the late Marlon Brando.

And while those of us who only sit at home and wonder how the “never-too-thin” edict of Hollywood will allow for a wee small hours cheeseburgers and fries, the answer is simple. Astroburger, beginning in 1986 with the one at 5601 Melrose Avenue, one block down from Paramount Studios, added a number of vegetarian specialties to its menu.

A good-for-you-but-bland vegan burger, in Astroburger grill masters’ hands, is dressed up with a green Ortega chile and some also good-for-you soy cheese, and then flame grilled and nestled in a whole-wheat bun with vegetarian mayonnaise. Your first bite will transport you from the LA smog to the crisp southwest air of Santa Fe. At least it’s supposed to--that’s why they call it the Santa Fe Burger.

Astroburger’s onion rings, fried zucchini, and French fries are also legendary among both vegans and carnivores. Prepared with canola oil, they allow those with weight-and-cardiovascular concerns--like the people next door at Paramount--to indulge without guilt. Preparation of the vegan and meat-based menu item is kept segregated, with separate utensils and grills being used for each.

Astroburger introduced its vegan Gardenburgers in 1986, and now its vegetarian menu includes such treats as a vege-chicken sandwich, vege-ribs, and vege-chili to put on your canola prepared fries.

You can even request a vege-chicken burrito on a spinach tortilla; Greek moussaka prepared with ground soy instead of ground beef is just one of their many vegan Greek dishes. Their daily menu features a Greek special, and yes, they serve traditional meat Gyros.

The Melrose Astroburger, in fact, is run by Cosmos, a vegetarian Greek-born restaurateur, and is appropriately named, given some of its clientele. “Astro” is derived from the Greek word for star.

Astroburger also offers fresh fruits and salads, and juices squeezed on the premises. For early risers, there are blueberry muffins, hot cakes, or a number of full breakfasts, including a three-egg Greek omelet with onions, tomatoes, feta cheese, and a side of hash browns.

Should all this talk of vegetarian and Greek foods be a cause of concern, think “Double Meat Avocado Cheeseburger with Fried Egg”. If you can handle it, Astroburger can put it together.

As to atmosphere, Astroburger on Melrose has the requisite blue-and-yellow mega-sign, looking as if it were magically suspended in the air above the entrance. Its indoor diners, ordering at the counter and sitting at fold-out tables which accommodate large and small groups, will be surrounded with live plants and plenty of neon; its outdoor ones, on the parasol-shaded patio, with potted fresh herbs.

The Hilary Swank watchers debated at length as to Hilary’s choice of post-Oscar fare, and the official consensus is that it was a vegetarian cheeseburger with fries. Oscar stood on the table and abstained.

Astroburger is rated inexpensive, and is open from 7:00 AM to midnight Monday to Thursday, 7:00 AM to 1:00 AM Friday and Saturday, and 9:00 AM to midnight on Sunday.

And if you’re a regular patron who happens to win an Academy Award®, they will be expecting you as late as 2:30 AM.

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