Pit Burger

You know you're near a great burger spot when you can smell the patties charring on the grill from several blocks away. Pit Burger in Gardena is exactly that kind of place: an old-school stand with a few tables that opened in the 1960s and probably hasn’t changed a single piece of decor since. The backyard-cookout-esque cheeseburger here is excellent, but almost everyone orders the teriyaki burger, which isn’t actually a burger at all, but char-grilled teriyaki beef piled on a butter-toasted bun with shredded lettuce and mayo. Somehow it works, probably because their just-sweet-enough teriyaki sauce would make shoe leather taste amazing. If you want something heftier, go for the massive teriyaki plate, which comes with a mound of sticky white rice, a salad with Thousand Island and pickles, and a tasty toasted bun. No matter how hungry you are, there will be leftovers.