Neil Syal and his father, Raj, haven\u2019t always worked together. Raj is a chef and baker, and Neil started his career as an accountant. It was Neil\u2019s growing love for health and fitness that pulled them together for their latest project, Bungraze, on Central Avenue in Little Tokyo.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a culmination of what we’re passionate about,\u201d Neil said. \u201cWe came together to create a burger with a flatbread focaccia bun. We make the dough every morning.\u201d<\/p>\n
The concept for freshly made bread for each burger began at Raj\u2019s restaurant, Rockfire Grill, around 2014. During the pandemic, Neil started to make his own food, including bone broth and yogurt. Raj, being the chef in the family, asked his son if he could make the bone broth and yogurt, and in 2022, the two began to sell their newly created brand, Sungraze, at the Historic Downtown LA Farmers\u2019 Market. As the two were setting up for the market each week, they noticed the signs for lease on doors.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we were looking for restaurants, as a joke I said, let’s call it Bungraze for the freshly baked bun,\u201d said Neil. \u201cBut that joke wasn’t really a joke. We rolled with that name, and we like it.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Bungraze stands out with its high-quality beef and freshly made bread.<\/p>\n
Chris Mortenson\/Staff<\/p>\n
Neil has been a resident of DTLA since 2018. While he worked at Sweat Cycle, one of the best parts of the day was the 20-minute walk from his apartment to the gym.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would see that there was a Yogurtland that was previously in this space,\u201d Neil said. \u201cWhen you walk down 1st and you\u2019re on Central, you’re at the start of Little Tokyo, and there\u2019s a ton of foot traffic. I was so set on this Yogurtland spot and thought, we got to do it right here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another big draw for the location was the opening of a Little Tokyo Arts District Metro stop. The featured item on their menu was a no-brainer.<\/p>\n
\u201cBurgers is probably the single most or the highest consumed comfort food if not in the world at least in the U.S.,\u201d Raj proclaimed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe’re Indian,\u201d Neil said, \u201cand it\u2019s funny that people seem to think the bread is naan just based on who’s making it.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI am actually trained in Europe and Asia,\u201d Raj added. \u201cThe idea came to me because I wanted to make a bread fresh without having to wait for it to cool off. I combined this idea of a flatbread, and the best flatbread I could think of was a focaccia bread, which is almost like a pizza dough but little softer, and it comes out crispy on the outside and soft in the inside. I developed it in a way where I could use a pre-ferment. This actually has fermented dough in it, and what that does is it is easier to digest and after you eat a burger, you don’t feel that heavy.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Bungraze offers flatbread hamburgers in the heart of LA.<\/p>\n
Chris Mortenson\/Staff<\/p>\n
Bungraze stands out from the meat pack with its high-quality beef, freshly made bread and homemade condiments.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can see and smell the bread by the time you get the burger,\u201d Raj said. \u201cIt’s still cooking, so even before you get a bite you already have all these pleasures of fresh bread, and fresh bread, universally, brings out nostalgia in ways that we don’t realize.\u201d<\/p>\n
Along with the rest of LA, Bungraze has caught Dodgers fever. It has added hot dogs to its menu: Bunglizzy. It also has Japanese letters on its menu to cater to the growing number of Japanese tourists.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere’s a hotel next to us, Miyako, and apparently it gets hundreds of people from Japan to watch Shohei Ohtani play for the Dodgers,\u201d said Neil. \u201cHe’s really considered God-like. In Japan, people are making a pilgrimage to come here to watch him play.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bungraze is also embracing the community by providing catered lunches for LAPD when it can and accepting EBT.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we’re probably some of the most premium food to accept EBT,\u201d Neil said. \u201cMaybe if you spend the same amount or a little bit more than at McDonald’s, you can get something from us. We have security guards working in the area that come in. We have people who are homeless, and they really appreciate us because they have no place to cook.\u201d<\/p>\n
More Information<\/p>\n