Review: Bun & Patti brings better burgers to Little Italy
I love a good burger. But the older I get, the fewer I eat. So when I do indulge about once a month, I don’t bother with fast food or run-of-the-mill burgers. I want a sit-down restaurant, house-ground patty burger cooked just right with delicious toppings, a crisp butter-toasted bun and a side of hand-cut fries.
Lucky for me, San Diego has lots of great burgers, and one of my new favorites — the Smoke Show — is at Bun & Patti, a family-run burger-and-bar outlet that opened in March in Little Italy. In honor of National Hamburger Day on Sunday, Bun & Patti is offering a 15 percent discount on all burgers consumed in-house that day.
Bun & Patti is owned by San Diegans Elion and Amy Prodani. From 2011 to 2022, Elion managed several restaurants at the Wynn Las Vegas resort, including — most recently — the hotel’s SW steakhouse. So, Prodani knows his beef and he knows how to please customers. During my first of two undercover visits to the restaurant in April and May, Prodani happened to be in-house and we briefly chatted as he was making his way around the dining room to greet diners and gather feedback.