BURGER FRIDAY
A tiki bar with a good burger? Who knew?
Somewhere it is written (like right here) that a bar menu demands a burger.
The Toasted Coconut, the young tiki bar put together by the teamat Nobie’s restaurant, has obliged with a double-double cheeseburger to go with its roster of tropical-themed drinks.
They serve it under a palapa thatch on lower Richmond, along with all sorts of snacky bar food in the assertive, revved-up style chef Martin Stayerworks in at Nobie’s, his Montrose flagship.
I enjoy Stayer’swork and the relaxed Nobie’s vibe— not to mention the cocktail smarts of his bartender Sarah Troxell, who always seems to have something interesting in theworks. All of which sent me forth, on a day when I really needed a frivolous drink to liftmy spirits, for a Burger Friday excursion. Here’s howitwent:
PRICE: Double-double cheeseburger, $13; spiced frieswith chili aioli, $8; Vamos a la Playa cocktail, $13, for a pre-tax and tip total of $34.
ORDERING: Online ordering for curbside takeout is through the Toast platform, and itworkswell— including tip option, ability to schedule pickup for later and instructions on what to dowhen you arrive. I had towait 4 or 5 minutes formy food to come out, but itwas for a good purpose: Theywere mixing and pouringmy cocktail-to-go on the spot, rather than letting it sit around diluting.
ARCHITECTURE: No salad stuff. Iwas much taken with the neat, globular form of this burger, the twin domes of a toasted Hawaiian roll tucked tightly into its tissuewrapper, then spearedwith an appropriately silly plastic cocktail pick. Itwas just howI wanted a burger froma tiki bar to look.
Howit stacked: schmear of rosy chili aioli, fine mince of red onion, paving of pickle slices. Then came the first patty and its slice of American cheese, followed by the second patty and its slice of American. Over and out.
QUALITY: My favorite thing about this burgerwas the eyeopening textural pop of four-count’em-four crusty surfaces on the aggressively smash-seared twin patties. I’ve learned something recently: Despitemy love formedium-rare ground beef, I can appreciatemedium towell-done if the beef is good enough and the textures are alive.
All that applied at the Toasted Coconut, plus extra credit for the effective simplicity of the sandwich and the sticky, satisfyingway the two slices of American cheese melted down and into the patty grooves. Not everyone loves the contrast of a sweet bun with savory burger ingredients, but when the seasoning’s right, they can balance out in a grabbyway.
Here, with a suitably tropical sweet Hawaiian bun, they did. Confident salting, clear beef flavor, bitey pickles and a controlled burn of chili aioli all kept this burger in tune.
OOZE RATING: Meat drippage not happening, but therewas enough moisture in the patty to neutralize the issue.
LETTER GRADE: A
VALUE: OK for the meaty burger; less OK for the expensivewaffle fries thatmade it into a 20-buckplus meal.
BONUS POINTS: My Vamos a la Playa cocktail, as in “Let’s go to the beach,” came with awonderfully silly orchid on top and a burst ofmy favorite flavors: smoke-tingedMezcal, Mexican rum from Uruapan, pineapple shrub and lime.
MINUS POINTS: I couldhave used more minced red onion spread over awider surface on the bottom bun. And I did wish thewaffle fries had been available in a smaller portion and that they had been less aggressively seasoned. They had stiffened and cooled by the time I drove home, and Iwas left with a box full of fries thatmay have tasted far better in situ.
STUFF FOR LATER: An opulent slice of tres leches to dress with the
tiki bar’s signature toasted coconutwas rich enough to serve as dessert and breakfast the next day.
Hot-as-hell ground-lamb flatbreads lost a little texture in the translation tomy home kitchen, but Iwas entertained by their rambunctiousness— and by their jaunty clamor of influences. Sichuan, Middle Eastern … I don’t knowwhat all. Stayer and company set out to write a menu inspired by equatorial regions, so Southeast Asian meets Caribbean meets Mexican here.
A common thread is the capsacin heat and swagger that make for prime drinking food. The menu— which boasts an unusual number of vegetable dishes— is more for turbocharged snacking and sipping than making a meal. That burger is a fine exception.
So is the fresh, cool pop of marinated cucumber chunks to shower with toasted garlic confetti once you get home.
vinyl collection syncopated out tomy car, smiting me with longing.
Iwas taking aweek ofmy annual vacation, so called, which involved staying at home in much the same fashion as I have since midMarch. Suddenly, I felt piercingly bereft ofmy old, prepandemic freedoms. My last trip to Mexico City flashed throughmy head, and I remembered a very tropical cocktail on a deck at Bacoa, a wood-fire restaurant on the southwestern flanks of El Yunque, Puerto Rico’s mountain rainforest park.
Then, as awoman with a stroller passedme by, I turned the key inmy ignition and drove away, an orchid bloom bobbing onmy tiki drink the back seat.