The Brief

When we announced LAist was hosting the Tournament of Cheeseburgers (read all about it here, we’re looking to crown the best cheeseburger in L.A. and we need your help) — I was so excited. Why? Because of all the cheeseburger recommendations that would be coming my way.

But something even better than a cheeseburger recommendation landed in my email last week: Reader and cheeseburger expert Donnelle Fuller reached out to tell me about her club — her burger club.

Yes, a monthly burger club affectionately titled Team Burger LA. It’s the way she and her husband get together with friends once a month and choose different cheeseburgers around SoCal.

The best part is that they’ve been doing it for a decade! In total, the burger club has held around 120 “meating” sessions. Members have consumed roughly 180 burgers in almost 10 years of the club's existence. I had to know more, especially since we here at LAist have been delving lately into the severe problem of loneliness in our increasingly device-driven and scattered culture.

Perhaps one solution to ponder is starting your own version of Fuller’s cheeseburger club.

I reached out to Fuller, who works in digital operations and lives in East Hollywood, and asked her to share how they did it.

A single Oklahoma burger and fries from Burger She Wrote on Beverly Boulevard.

(

Brian Feinzimer

/

LAist

)

Origin story

The premise was simple: Agree to get together once a month and try different burgers around Los Angeles.

The group created a private Facebook group called Team Burger to stay organized. Members of the group would submit different burgers to try, and then the group would vote. Whichever burger got the most votes is where they’d go.

Team Burger LA consists of eight people; however, about four to five people usually show up to eat at monthly burger meatups. Of course, there is an IG Account. And they’ve made up shirts with their burger monikers on the back. Fuller is known as Burger Pixie because of her pixie haircut. Others include Burg Brain, T Burg, and Donut Buns.

The rules of Team Burger LA

According to Fuller, the fundamental rule of Team Burger LA is that there must be a quorum, meaning that at least three people must show up for it to be an official monthly “meating.” There aren’t geographic limits, but the group is usually within L.A. limits, including Pasadena, the Valley, and Santa Monica.

And Team Burger goes where the burgers are, whether it's a brick-and-mortar or a pop-up.

After selecting their burger destination, the group meets at the agreed-upon spot and tries a variety of burgers, usually splitting them into fours for sharing. (Unless there is only one type of burger on the menu, in which case each person will get their own). They also divide up sides and desserts so that everyone can try everything.

“It's a very collaborative meal,” says Fuller.

Post-burger grub, the group settles in for some burger talk, comparing and contrasting it with other burgers.

For the love of burgers

If you're looking to start a club of your own, Fuller says it’s imperative that you pick something you'll love to eat again and again, month after month, year after year.

“Do it because you love it," she advises. "Don't do it because you're trying to get some other thing out of it,” says Fuller.

That means content creation isn’t central to Team Burger LA's mission. The burgers and getting together come first, everything else second.

When asked about her favorite burgers, Fuller quickly rattled off Burgers Never Say Die, Burger She Wrote, and Love Hour. (She has good taste, I've featured those all in my Cheap Fast Eats columns.) She also likes Cassell's, Grill Em’ All, and Electric Owl.

Next up for Team Burger LA

Later, during a text message exchange, I asked Fuller if club members were planning on joining us at Tourment of Cheeseburgers on July 7 at Smorgasburg LA.

She responded, “Oh, we will BE THERE 💯.”

Will you?

In the wake of the Eaton Fire, Altadena and Pasadena’s music community have really shown up to support fire survivors, especially fellow musicians who lost instruments and record collections.

That effort continues this weekend with a special donation concert at a Pasadena record store, with the aim of getting vinyl records back in the hands of survivors who lost their collections.

“You know, our name is Healing Force of the Universe, and I think that gives me a pretty clear direction… especially after the fires,” said Austin Manuel, founder of Pasadena record store, where Sunday’s show will be held.

The record donation effort is the brainchild of musician Brandon Jay, who founded the nonprofit Altadena Musicians after losing his home and almost all of his family’s instruments in the Eaton Fire. Through Altadena Musicians’s donation and registry platform, Jay said he and his partners have helped some 1,200 fire survivors get their music instruments back.

Brandon Jay.

(

Robert Garrova

/

LAist

)

Now, that effort has fanned out to restoring vinyl record collections.

“All of that stuff evaporated for thousands of people,” Jay said. “Look at your own record collection and be like, ‘Wow, what if that whole thing disappeared?’”

You might know Jay from several bands over the years, including Lutefisk, a 1990s alt-rock band based in Los Angeles. He and his wife, Gwendolyn Sanford, composed music for TV shows, including Orange is the New Black and Weeds.

Jay plans to play some holiday tunes at Sunday's record donation show (which LAist is the media sponsor), along with fellow musician Daniel Brummel of Sanglorians. Brummel, who was also a founding member of Pasadena’s indie-rock sensation Ozma, said he was grateful to Jay for his fire recovery work and to Manuel for making Healing Force available for shows like this.

Brummel, who came close to losing his own home in the Eaton Fire, recalled a show he played at Healing Force back in March.

Ryen Slegr (left) and Daniel Brummel perform with their band, Ozma, on the 2014 Weezer Cruise.

(

Even Keel Imagery

)

“The trauma of the fires was still really fresh,” Brummel said. After playing a cover of Rufus Wainwright’s “Going to a Town,” that night — which includes the lyrics “I’m going to a town that has already been burnt down” — Brummel said his neighbors in the audience told him the rendition hit them hard. “It felt really powerful. And without that space, it just wouldn’t have occurred.”

Details

Healing Force of the Universe Record Donation Show
Featuring: Quasar (aka Brandon Jay), Sanglorians (Daniel Brummel) and The Acrylic.
Sunday, Dec. 14; 2 to 5 p.m.
1200 E. Walnut St., Pasadena
Tickets are $15 or you can donate 5 or more records at the door. More info here.

Topline:

The case: In September, the city settled a lawsuit brought forward by two brothers in their 70s who said they suffered serious injuries after an LAPD officer crashed into their car. Days before the $18 million settlement was reached, lawyers for the brothers said Feldstein Soto called an expert witness testifying for the plaintiffs and “attempted to ingratiate herself with him and asked him to make a contribution to her political campaign,” according to a sworn declaration to the court by the plaintiffs’ attorney, Robert Glassman.

The response: Feldstein Soto did not respond to an interview request. Her spokesperson said the settlement “had nothing to do” with the expert witness. Her campaign manager told LAist the city attorney had been making a routine fundraising call and did not know the person had a role in the case, nor that there were pending requests for her office to pay him fees.

What Jurado says: In a statement to LAist, Jurado said she wants to “make sure that the city’s legal leadership is guided by integrity and accountability, especially when their choices affect public trust, civic rights and the city’s limited resources."

What’s next: The motion needs to go through a few committees before reaching the full City Council. If it passes, the motion calls for the city attorney to “report to council in closed session within 45 days regarding the ethics breach violation and give updates to the City Council."

Every year in Santa Ana, Luis Cantabrana turns the front of his home into an elaborate altar in honor of La Virgen de Guadalupe that draws hundreds of visitors.

Along the front of the house, the multi-colored altar is filled with lights, flowers and a stained-glass tapestry behind a sculpture of the Lady of Guadalupe. Cantabrana’s roof also is lit up with the green, white and red lights that spell out “Virgen de Guadalupe” and a cross.

Visitors are welcomed with music and the smell of roses as they celebrate the saint, but this year’s gathering comes after a dark year for immigrant communities.

Luis Cantabrana stands in front of the stunning altar he built in front of his home in honor of La Virgen de Guadalupe. Every year, his display draws hundreds of visitors.

(

Destiny Torres

/

LAist

)

Why do they celebrate? 

In 1513, the Virgin Mary appeared before St. Juan Diego between Dec. 9 and Dec. 12, asking him to build a church in her honor. Her image — a brown-skinned woman wearing a green veil with her hands together in prayer and an angel at her feet — miraculously appeared on his cloak.

To celebrate in Santa Ana, worshippers gathered late-night Wednesday and in the very early hours Dec. 12 to pray the rosary, sing hymns and celebrate the saint.

Cantabrana has hosted worshippers at his home for 27 years — 17 in Santa Ana.

The altar started out small, he said, and over the years, he added a fabric background, more lights and flowers (lots and lots of flowers).

“It started with me making a promise to la Virgen de Guadalupe that while I had life and a home to build an altar, that I would do it,” Cantabrana said. “Everything you see in photos and videos is pretty, but when you come and see it live, it's more than pretty. It's beautiful.”

The Santa Ana home's elaborate altar in honor of La Virgen de Guadalupe draws hundreds of visitors each year.

(

Destiny Torres

/

LAist

)

Gathering in a time of turmoil 

Many also look to the Lady of Guadalupe for protection, especially at a time when federal enforcement has rattled immigrant communities.

“People don’t want to go to work, they don’t want to take their kids to school, but the love we have for our Virgen de Guadalupe,” Cantabrana said. “We see that la Virgen de Guadalupe has a lot of power, and so we know immigration [enforcement] won’t come here.”

Margarita Lopez of Garden Grove has been visiting the altar for three years with her husband. She’s been celebrating the Virgencita since she was a young girl. Honoring the saint is as important now as ever, she said.

“We ask, and she performs miracles,” Lopez said.

Claudia Tapia, a lifelong Santa Ana resident, said the Virgin Mary represents strength.

“Right now, with everything going on, a lot of our families [have] turned and prayed to the Virgen for strength during these times,” Tapia said. “She's a very strong symbol of Mexican culture, of unity, of faith and of resilience.”

See it for yourself

The shrine will stay up into the new year on the corner of Broadway and Camile Street.