Green horn gives Tin Horn a try

I’d driven past it a thousand times. The swinging doors intrigued me, but the place seemed a bit too bedraggled. Recently, a friend had told me the burgers there were good, so in my quest to bring readers all sides of Burbank cuisine, I pushed through the battered swinging doors of the Tin Horn Flats Bar and Grill. I was a green horn at the Tin Horn.

The décor ? perhaps too strong a word ? is cowboy kitsch. Cowboy hat light fixtures, license plates, neon bar signs and throw rugs strewn across a worn plywood floor pretty much says it all. Yet surprisingly, Tin Horn Flats serves up some decent grub at bargain prices.

The menu is heavy on sandwiches and burgers, as you might expect. Daily specials are posted on a board ? dollar tacos, spaghetti and steak are among the favorites. Being in a cowboy bar, I figured I would concentrate on meat. First up, the steak with steak fries. I was pretty suspicious since the price was so low, but I was nicely surprised. The meat was tender and cooked to my specifications. I enjoyed it with a little steak sauce to add some zing.

The steak fries, though, aren’t as good as the house-cut French fries that come with the burgers and sandwiches. They have just a bit of the potato skin left on and are fresh, flavorful and fried to a golden brown. But the poor things deserve a better ketchup than the sweet, thin, diner-style tomato sauce that Tin Horn provides.

Happily my friend was right ? the burgers are pretty good. The beef patties are of good quality and the toppings fresh. I dressed mine up with bacon and avocado. The burgers come on a too-big sesame seed bun that leaves you with a few mouthfuls of bread and condiments.

I also tried the Philly cheese steak sandwich, which I found to be tasty and satisfying. It offers thinly-sliced beef sizzled on a grill, topped with melted provolone and green peppers and set on a soft roll. Other menu items include burritos, hot dogs and a range of appetizers.

It’s important to keep in mind that Tin Horn Flats is first and foremost a bar, so let the kiddies stay home. Coarse language and good-natured rowdiness increases as the day wears on. Unless you’re up for a honky-tonk kind of night, plan on having dinner before about 9 p.m.

Tin Horn also hosts bands several nights a week, has a large-screen TV for sports broadcasts (it’s a Chicago-fan bar, by the way), a pool table and an outdoor patio. It’s a fun spot with decent bar food and a cowboy attitude. Next time, this green horn plans to dust off the ol’ Stetson and go in with his boots on.