Ercolés

I had to drive down to Manhattan Beach today  for some business. I don't really know so I decided to find some old Manhattan Beach to get a bit of old color. I found Ecoles and it was said to be the oldest bar in Manhattan Beach. Opening in 1927 Ercoles is the real deal. This is what people mean by old school. Cash only goes into their old Mechanical NCR cash registers. Each sale brings a Ka-Ching. Hanging on the wall above one of them is a yellow wall mounted dial phone.
The crowd was 50% old daytime drinking guys and their ole ladies and 50% beach dudes all of them were having a gay old time. While I was there two chicks in chicly dressed in the latest of "resort wear" stepped in took a sniff of the 80 year old nicotine stained walls and décor and backed out. Nothing chic here ladies! This is a dive bar and its just what a dive bar should be. Fun loud and cheap. For 4 drinks the tab with tip was $15. A strong pour? I swear each pour was stronger than the last!
I might have to go to Manhattan Beach more often.

Dive bar with possibly the best burger in all of LA

From the burger reviews I've read, this is the place to grab a better than average one for a good price.  I stopped in today before the lunch crowd showed up, and was the only one there (besides the two people playing pool in the back).

A good selection of beer on tap, but I was jonesing for the cheeseburger.  On a tip from another reviewer, I ordered two cheese slices.  It showed up about 10 minutes later - hot, thick & juicy.  Very juicy!  The bun barely contained the patty, lettuce and tomato.  It disintegrated within in minutes, thanks to the burger juice & ketchup.  Perhaps he put a little too much ketchup on it, as I couldn't even taste the cheese.

For as good as it was, there was no sear on the patty to lock all that juice in.  Still, a very good burger for the price.  On my death-row scale (where I'd want this as my last meal), it's close, but not at the very top of my list.

Just a heads up... cash only here.  There's an ATM inside and several banks within walking distance.