Marathon Burger

Marathon Burger, a casual smashburger spot run by the streetwear company founded by late LA rapper and community activist Nipsey Hussle, has had a line out front since the day it opened, and it's not just because of the food they're serving from the original Johnny Rocket's space on Melrose.

Hussle was known as an advocate for Black entrepreneurship in South LA through his music and community work, and even years after his death, his legacy looms large in street culture. It might seem a bit odd that the inaugural Marathon Burger popped up along a boutique-heavy stretch of Melrose—or maybe not with all the sneaker shops nearby—but there's no doubt that the location is high-profile. Even during our first visit on a weekday before noon, people were lined up before opening to order. Our wait wasn't awful—20 minutes to order, and another 20 to get our food—and at $20 for a combo that includes a double burger with fries and a choice of drink (get the blue lemonade), the cost isn't as outrageous as some online folks would have you believe.

So how are the burgers? If you stand in line for an hour you might be disappointed, but that's true of a lot of things in life. By the metric of a neighborhood burger spot, however, Marathon Burger is pretty good, as long as you know what to order. The Marathon Burger, with secret sauce, ketchup, and mustard, had one sauce too many, but we really like the griddled fresno chiles on top. The real winner is the OG Burger, decked out with lettuce and tomato, reminding us of an old-school Fatburger in the best way. And despite being labeled smashburgers, the patties are substantial with a nice seared crust. Once the crowd dies down, we'll happily grab a seat at the diner-style counter just to watch the line of burger-smooshing cooks in action. Maybe they'll let us add some of those chiles on top of our OG Burger, too.

Food Rundown

photo credit: Maya Muldrew

OG Burger

Our favorite order. It's substantial for a smashburger, the toppings are fresh, the pickles are housemade, and the toasted bun is soft and squishy. Seeing the words "wagyu smashburger" might make you think you're for something trendy, but it's more nostalgic backyard burger than anything.

Marathon Burger

Ketchup, mustard, and secret sauce? If you took just one of those away, we'd like Marathon's signature burger much better. Overpowering sauce trio aside, the griddled onions and fresno chiles are a nice touch on this well-seared burger. If we could take those chiles and add them to the OG Burger, we'd be very happy (they don't allow substitutions at the moment).

photo credit: Maya Muldrew

Vegan Burger

Marathon makes its vegan patties in-house, which involve wild rice and potatoes and remind us of a giant fritter. They're a little oily and tend to fall apart, but delicious when paired with a swipe of mayo and those spicy fresno chiles.

photo credit: Maya Muldrew

Fries

We appreciate the shake of peppery seasoning on here, but otherwise these are just solid shoestring fries. Dip them in ranch, dip them in ketchup, follow your heart.

photo credit: Maya Muldrew

Hot Wings

These wings are total salt bombs, but that might be our fault for ordering a mix of lemon pepper seasoning and mild wing sauce and it seeming like they literally doubled up. Sauce aside, the wings are on the smaller side and lack that crunchy skin. Skip.

photo credit: Maya Muldrew

Strawberry Shake

Shout out Thrifty ice cream and creamy shakes you can actually drink through a straw.