Burgers bailing out the restaurant industry

can cheeseburgers save the restaurant industry?

FINDING COMFORT IN AN AMERICAN CLASSIC

by Ryan Donahue for the California Cattlemen’s Association

On March 15, 2020 our casual diner in midtown Sacramento, open just for a few weeks, had it’s most lucrative service ever. As operators, days like those normally validate all of the preceding hard work. All the cleaning, hiring, sourcing, training etc. However, on this day my partners and I were filled with anxiety. Four days prior the World Health Organization declared that COVID-19 was a global health emergency and even more impactful (to us anyway) the NBA abruptly ended it’s season minutes before tip-off at Sacramento’s Golden One Center that same day.

After that brunch service Sunday our team met and accepted the inevitable. We had to suspend indoor dining (a mandate which would later follow on March 19). At that time uncertainty ruled all of our actions. We trashed the regular restaurant order guides and brought in canned goods, frozen meat and whatever sanitation supplies were still available. We figured we’d at least have food for our employees and families should the supply chain shut down. I specifically remember a day where I met one food service representative in a parking lot where he gave me the last bottles of concentrated sanitizer he could get his hands on. It felt like a drug deal.

A few days passed and we discussed what was next. Re-opening the restaurant was not feasible. We didn’t want to put anyone at risk whether customers or staff. We went into a holding pattern.

With indoor dining shut down and all restaurant’s reeling to figure out how to do any business, we arrived at the only type of service that could be profitable and safe. A fast food drive-thru serving cheeseburgers. Our diner was not conducive for the operation (we had no drive thru) so we secured an unpermitted industrial space owned by friends. While we had mailing lists of customers we opted to advertise only on Instagram and compile orders on a spreadsheet where instructions were emailed to each customer. At first we offered a single item. A “wiener burger.” The burgers were meat/cheese/bun and were packed them with a bag of chips and a zotz sour candy. Cash only (exact change), no food modifications and everyone stays in their car.

Our pop-up cheeseburger restaurant was wildly successful. We would sell out in a few hours, customers were good about maintaining their windows of time and the burgers went out hot. We did a half dozen pop-ups, all of which sold-out.

I’d like to think that our burger recipe, though simple, was exceptional or that we were marketing geniuses but

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I think at that time people needed some semblance of comfort through food.

Turns out we weren’t the only ones doing it. Scores of restaurants everywhere were retooling and eschewing their traditional menus for fast food classics. Most notably, Noma, a Danish fine dining restaurant featuring multi-coursed Nordic cuisine (oft considered the best restaurant on the planet) created a burger pop up, “Popl” which has went on to becmme a permanent brick and mortar business this year.

Ultimately, our diner did not survive 2020. The stress and uncertainty proved too much to bear. Our team mostly left the industry. In fact, ,I’m currently writing this from the CCA office.

These burgers are intended to evoke memories of childhood. A time where there was at least the illusion of comfort and certainty. Our diner didn’t make it but something as seemingly ridiculous as a “Wiener Burger” proved mutually beneficial for our customers and for us, in a time when we all needed it.

For many CCA members - who are no doubt are burger conisseurs - I hope this recipe brings you the same joy it did for our customers in the face of the unprecedented pandemic of the past year. While I no longer work in the food business, it is still a passion of mine, making working with cattlemen and women an exciting and fascinating career pivot where I feel like I am sharing my passion with another industry I respect and hope to help continue long into the future. Try this simple burger method, let me know what you think.

the wiener burger

an ultimate smash burger

essentials: Our meat/cheese/bun burger recipe is deceptively simple. It’s the cookery that’s integral. As for ingredients you’ll need, 80/20 ground beef. Quality of beef is important We used American raised Wagyu for this burger but a quality high choice ground beef would work too. You’ll want to use simple white buns (a brioche bun would work too). Other ingredients are: American cheese, butter, garlic powder and kosher salt. You’re going to need a griddle or cast iron pan and a large spatula. instructions: First, melt the butter and add salt/garlic powder to taste. Next, brush the buns with the garlic butter and toast. Set aside. Gently ball up the ground beef into the size of a golf ball. Do not season and do not overwork the meat.

You’ll want you cooking surface really hot (420 degrees). Place the beef on the surface and smash to a quarter inch thick (for the first one you may need to oil the spatula). Season with salt. Once a crust forms flip and add cheese. The total cook time will be less than 2 minutes. My preference is meat/cheese/bun but the burgers can be dressed in every which way. There’s nothing wrong with having 2 (or more).

First, melt the butter and add salt/garlic powder to taste. Next, brush the buns with the garlic butter and toast. Set aside. Gently ball up the ground beef into the size of a golf ball. Do not season and do not overwork the meat.

You’ll want you cooking surface really hot (420 degrees). Place the beef on the surface and smash to a quarter inch thick (for the first one you may need to oil the spatula). Season with salt. Once a crust forms flip and add cheese. The total cook time will be less than 2 minutes. My preference is meat/cheese/bun but the burgers can be dressed in every which way. There’s nothing wrong with having two (or more).