FOOD & DRINK

Comfort Food with a Japanese Twist

Westchester’s Humble Potato reopens its doors

By Morgan Owen

Westchester’s beloved Humble Potato has reopened for business after popular demand and transformed into what owner Eric Ong has called a more “mature” version of the original. What once was a self-service, over-the-counter burger joint is now an in-house, full-service dining experience with beer on tap. Humble Potato has locations in Westchester and Culver City, and both are excellent spots for a classic burger and beer. The Hambaga, Ong’s most popular menu item, comes with all the comfort of a classic hamburger with a Japanese twist. For the more adventurous eater, the Kare Baga burger comes with Japanese curry, a fried egg and yuzu-jalapeno slaw. Other must-try menu items are the Shichimi garlic parmesan fries and the choco avocado shake. “When we first put the choco avocado shake on the menu people were [hesitant to try it,] so we gave them some samples and everybody said, 'This is so good!’” Ong said. “It's just avocado, crushed ice and simple syrup. Then we add a little bit of Hershey's chocolate sauce to add a flavor twist that makes it a great combo with burgers and fries.” When Ong abandoned his corporate job and opened Humble Potato 12 years ago in Westchester, he had no idea the community would fall in love that quickly. Within a couple years, Ong had the revenue and popularity to open a second location in Culver City. He credits his success to the quality of his food and running his business by the book. Ong also has a third location in Palms called Mee & Greet, which he opened in 2018. That location focuses on more traditional Southeast Asian food inspired by Ong’s childhood in Southeast Asia. “I would credit [my love of food] to a multicultural kind of life because I was born and raised in Southeast Asia,” Ong said. “We're not a technologydriven country. We are Third World…so everything revolves around food.” In 2019, Ong decided to take a Humble Potato is a neighborhood eatery with locations in Westchester and Culver City that serve its interpretation of comfort food with a Japanese flavor twist.

PHOTOS BY CHRIS MORTENSON ious, snobby LA eatery, so I called this place the Humble Potato.” The popularity of Humble Potato has sparked the interest of investors who want to help Ong expand into a larger chain, but he rejects that path for Humble Potato’s future. Ong doesn’t want a third party to come into the business and try to change the down to earth, community nature. He believes that is what makes Humble Potato special. “We do have an expansion plan,” Ong said. “We're going to grow, but we'll wait until the [Westchester] location is perfect.”

Humble Potato

8321 Lincoln Boulevard, Los Angeles 310-910-0367 humblepotato.com

chance by changing the concept of Humble Potato in Westchester to focus on a similar concept to Mee & Greet. “It was a spur of the moment decision [that I decided] to do something similar,” he said. But the pandemic made his community-focused menu difficult to sell. “I think the food was not perceived as valuable when it became takeout,” Ong added. “It was meant for sharing.” During the pandemic, Humble Potato’s Culver City location thrived, so Ong settled on bringing back what Westchester eaters were craving with a new and improved menu and interior. “I want to re-introduce ourselves,” Ong said. “We made some tweaks to the menu and we introduced some plant-based options. That’s what everyone is looking for now.” Even as Humble Potato, Ong’s vision for his restaurants have always been to create an unpretentious community oriented restaurant. “When I was on the grill, I would know every single customer's name,” Ong said. “I wanted to adopt that type of [philosophy.] It's not the typical LA [restaurant] where it’s an hour away, you have to make a reservation… I wanted the anti-stereotype of the obnox-