BURGER HEAVEN
Some of Boston's best patties reside in unlikely spots
Independence Day brings with it fireworks, beach trips — and burgers, lots of burgers. Gourmet burger bars have been popping up around Boston in recent years, but truth be told, some of our favorite patties are actually found at restaurants you might not expect to serve such awesome iterations. From a famed Fort Point cocktail bar with a semi-secret order to a new Fenway-side seafood spot as adept with turf as surf, here are a few of the more surprising spots smuggling A-plus burgers in a sea of other options. Eventide Fenway (1321 Boylston St.; eventideoysterco.com/eventide-fenway). In October, Boston received a fast-casual spinoff of Portland, Maine's award-winning seafood restaurant, Eventide Oyster Co., and, naturally, its fin fare (like a signature brownbutter lobster roll) stole the show. But look past the raw bar to find a fantastic burger. The Eventide team receives whole cows from a family-owned Maine farm and grinds its own luscious blend of beef round, short rib, brisket and chuck. That's topped with American cheese, pickled red onions, iceberg lettuce and a mayo made of gochujang and rendered beef fat. “Since we source the beef ourselves and do all the butchery, we end up with a lot of beef and a staggering amount of beef fat,” said Eventide chef-owner Mike Wiley. “There's only so much aged beef fat that we can get into the patty, so we thought, `Why not make a spicy emulsion with rendered beef fat?'” Beefy and brilliant. Uni (370A Commonwealth Ave.; uni-boston.com). Uni, a sleek and sophisticated modern Japanese restaurant owned by star chef Ken Oringer, is not standard burger territory. But the Uni Burger, introduced by chef-partner Tony Messina as a Marathon Monday special, has become such a hit that the spot is reviving it as a recurring pop-up item, available only during late-night service one weekend per month. Mark your calendar for July 20-21 and Aug. 17-18, when you'll next find the indulgent patty blend (short rib, brisket, sirloin, bone marrow, bacon and dehydrated miso) topped with burnt ketchup remoulade, slow-roasted tomato, cheddar and American cheese, balsamic roasted red onions, secret sauce and fried pickles. It's a monthly marvel.
Drink (348 Congress St.; drinkfortpoint.com). The secret is out. For years, the “Secret Burger” at Drink, a swinging subterranean cocktail den from fine dining doyenne Barbara Lynch, was an off-menu order available in limited quantities nightly. No more. Recently the team decided to finally add the popular patty to its small list of snacks. The secret to its flavor: two grilled patties of Colorado-raised Wagyu beef on a brioche bun, American cheese, raw red onion, gem lettuce and house-made pickles, plus a bit of ketchup and black pepper mayo. Wash it down with some of the best cocktails in the city, made by bartenders who work entirely freestyle — no drink menu here — by crafting every drink specifically to guest preferences. Pick your poison, then pick up the patty.
Shojo (9 Tyler St.; shojoboston.com). Tucked among all the old-school joints of Chinatown, longstanding dispensaries of takeout-friendly fried rice and lo mein, is Shojo, a decidedly more hip hangout with modern Asian eats and kicky cocktails. Keeping with the neighborhood's food culture, the “Shojonator” burger uses soft and yielding steamed bao, studded with sesame seeds and smeared with smoked hoisin barbecue sauce and spicy Sriracha aioli, for its buns. In between, a 4-ounce beef patty is topped with crispy fried shallots, superfine slivers of scallion, house-made garlic-dill pickles, Applewood-smoked bacon and a kimchi-cheese sauce. It's a showstopper.
Hojoko (1271 Boylston St.; hojokoboston.com). Chef Tim Cushman offers ultra-high-end sushi experiences at his Leather District legend O Ya. So Hojoko, a quirky and casual
Japanese izakaya by Fenway, already feels like a departure from the toque’s typical work. Besides sashimi and Eastern-inspired small plates (like crispy calves’ brains), Hojoko hides a decadent roadhouse-style burger among its offerings, which Cushman calls an “homage” to the space’s old identity as a Howard Johnson motor inn. The patty is a mix of top-quality Wagyu short rib and chuck. It’s cooked on a searing hot griddle in Wagyu fat to achieve some caramelization (so is the Pepperidge Farm bun), dashi pickles of cucumber and onion incorporated into a special sauce, and “good old American yellow cheese singles,” Cushman said. It’s a beefy umami explosion.
Tico (222 Berkeley St.; ticoboston.com). Boston-based star chef and restaurateur Michael Schlow has built an empire through diversifying — from the Italian cuisine at his Alta Strada locations to Latin American eats at Tico. But the latter Back Bay favorite is also home to a special burger that has been a mainstay of Schlow’s career since it was first introduced at Radius, the former Financial District restaurant that made his now-marquee name. Fans of that late fine-dining room may not realize that the “Schlowburger” lives on at Tico, and it’s still the same delicious patty — topped with crispy onions, cheddar and horseradish-black pepper sauce — you fell in love with the first time.