Prime dry-aged Beef Burger on bun #4, cheddar cheese, house-made thousand island

Josie’s menu is the kind I salivate over. The kind I toil for days online over, wondering which 18 things to order.

Narrowing it down is like Josie’s Choice. Heartbreaking.

Josie Next Door is the slightly more casual sister restaurant to Josie (which is right next door).

The theme is seasonal, farmer’s market-driven California cuisine. It makes me happy that many LA restaurants are taking advantage of the fresh fare in their own backyard.

(God, did I really just say that??)

HERE’S THE FACTS:

The burger was excellent, super duper juicy. Simple flavors, not too big to bite into (despite the photo).

It tastes like a burger, not some obnoxious burger art with pureed dandelion greens and old man’s elbow scrubbings on it, or such nonsense.

Deviled eggs were tasty, but very mild. Would have liked a bit more tang to them.

Banh Mi was messy but DAMN GOOD. Bread was crusty and fresh, the duck confit was PERFECT. Not too fatty (which is always the case) and not too dry and crispy (ditto).

The consistency reminded me of pulled pork. Except using duck. Poor duck. Yummy duck.

Bacon Kettle corn was inhaled in minutes. The bacon and the sweet went perfectly together.

While every restaurant is jumping on the “let’s put bacon on something weird” bandwagon, I’m more than happy to chow down and oblige them.

Lardon and Carry On!

2420 Pico Blvd
Santa Monica, CA 90405
(310) 581-4201
http://www.nextdoorbyjosie.com

Deviled Eggs, duck cracklin’, pickled beets, scallion

Mai's Duck Confit "Banh Mi" with pickled daikon and cucumber

Bacon and Beer Kettle Corn