BAH, HUMBUG
Season’s favorite curmudgeon’s many forms.
The gurgle of potatoes in the deep fryer and the hissing sizzle of ground beef on a flattop grill. The smell of chopped onions, spicy chili and dill pickles. The long lines at the counter of hungry people ordering burger baskets and the blur of servers pulling beers and hustling milkshakes.
These senses defined Matthew Pak’s early restaurant days. And they’re the same ones coloring the new chapter in his culinary career.
“I grew up on classic diner food,” he says of his youth in upstate New York, working his way up the restaurant ladder. “I’ve learned to know what people like.”
They like the same things he does, he says: late-night cheesesteaks, pizza and burgers.
Especially burgers. Which brings us to his newfound beef-and-bun fame at the Burger Joint, the mobbed burgers/fries/beers/shakes Concept that opened only weeks ago in the former home of little Bigs in Montrose. Part of the joint’s overwhelming reception is obviously owed to Houston’s hunger for a good burger. But a good deal can be credited to popularity of Pak and owner/partner Shawn Bermudez. Bermudez has plenty of fans and industry love via his Montrose restaurant/bar projects including Royal Oak, Pistolero's and Stone’s Throw. And then there is Pak, who spent several years as a sous chef at both Benjy’s restaurants before opening Koagie Hots Korean barbecue food truck followed by the Golden Grill, Coreano’s and he Burger Joint trucks, all with Bermudez. The Burger Joint restaurant is Pak’s first brick-and-mortar partnership. And he’s leaving nothing to chance. He wrote the menu 20 to 30 times: “I spent a lot of time on the simple stuff,” he says.
The menu’s foundation is burgers made with 6-ounce beef patties sourced from 44 Farms in Cameron, which Pak says was unquestionably the best ground beef he tested. The lineup speaks to Houston’s collective palate, with classic toppings mixing with international flavors.
Texan tastes include a BBQ Burger topped with caramelized onions, bacon, onion rings, cheddar and barbecue sauce; the Mexi Burger (think avocado and queso fresco); and the Fire Burger, which sports a sting of serrano peppers, jalapeños and pepperjack cheese. There’s also a Korean-inspired burger saddled with kimchi and a fried egg, as well as the Opa made with a ground domestic lamb patty and zapped with feta and tzatziki sauce. All are sandwiched between cushy Mrs. Baird’s buns, and range from $6.25 to $11.50. Hand-cut fries, onion rings, sandwiches (chicken, pulled pork and chopped brisket), all-beef hot dogs, house-made dipping sauces and salads fill out the menu.
After looking at a dozen locations, Bermudez settled on the former Little Bigs, which has been handsomely redesigned and almost entirely rebuilt. The 150-seat space, with its generous patio, is ringed by attractive landscaping, lighting, new bike racks and fitted with red umbrellas that underscore its red-and-white color scheme. Inside, the bar serves 24 beers on tap and another 19 bottled brews; wine and adult shakes.
Bermudez and Pak are so high on their Burger Joint, they’re already talking about how to grow the brand. But for now, they have their hands full flipping, frying and sudsing at Houston’s new hot spot for burgers and fries.