Burgers & Beats - Recession Priced Burgers
There are so many variations of burgers all over town, but an 'underground' burger from a chef of quite an extensive background was a first for me. |
| Burgers & Beats 4.0 - The Juicy Luicy |
For this beautiful burger it's worth going underground.
Several months ago my friend Abby from Pleasure Palate shared some tweets and blog posts about a monthly outdoor event by Chef Christian Navarro of Haute Skillet.
So a group of us were determined to try his next creative burger at the 2nd event of this type. Because of the rain, the normally outdoor location moved to the Curry Up Cafe in Woodland Hills.
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| Christian Navarro and the Mother's Office Burger description |
His concoction for that day was the Mother's Office Burger - "the difference is Mom doesn't get mad when you add bacon and sauce to it".
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| Curry Up Cafe's Wongie Fries |
While the burgers were grilling in the kitchen we ordered some of Curry Up's side dishes - the Philipino lumpia (egg rolls) and the house special Wongie Fries (think In N Out Animal Style - esque fries), complete with cheese, green onions and secret sauce.
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| Mother's Office Burger |
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| Mother's Office Burger - unwrapped |
The burger, served on a French baguette, came with pork belly confit, organic arugula, maple glazed onions, classic American cheese and the divine topper of a 63 degree egg. The runny yolk served as sauce which the bread held up to well.
After eating we got to go into the kitchen one by one (due to space restrictions) where Chef Navarro warmly chatted with us and we exchanged contact information.
Needless to say, I was a fan. Not only of the delicious food, but also of his passion and charisma. Which brought me back to B & B 4.0 where Chef Navarro would prepare his much requested signature version of the Juicy Lucy burger, and it would be outdoors as intended.
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| Burgers & Beats 4.0 - The Juicy Lucy |
Upon arrival at the 4.0 Hollywood location (a private residence), Chef Navarro was prepping out in the yard. Fresh croissants were on the grill with sprigs of rosemary that were sourced from the house's garden.
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| Burgers & Beats 4.0 - The Juicy Lucy |
Next step was seasoning the patties. Since this was a Juicy Lucy, the cheese goes inside the patty and melts to gooey perfection when served (an inside-out cheeseburger). Chef Navarro completed this step prior to arrival, but talked us through his recipe.
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| Burgers & Beats 4.0 - The Juicy Lucy |
If you usually add ketchup, mayo or mustard to your burger, how about a freshly prepared lemon-rosemary aioli, fresh picked from the garden? Perfect complement to the burger.
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| Burgers & Beats 4.0 - The Juicy Lucy |
By this time the meat patties came off the grill to rest.
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| Burgers & Beats 4.0 - The Juicy Lucy |
Next the chef mixed up and dressed some greens including organic arugula and pea shoots, another unexpected twist. I particularly loved the fresh, almost minty quality, the pea sprouts brought to the table.
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| Burgers & Beats 4.0 - The Juicy Lucy |
The patties and greens went on the croissants.
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| Burgers & Beats 4.0 - The Juicy Lucy |
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| Burgers & Beats 4.0 - The Juicy Lucy |
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| Burgers & Beats 4.0 |
Did I mention this chef-prepared burger is free ? Tips help offset the costs of this generous operation and keep it sustainable, so diners are invited to pay whatever they feel is appropriate.
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| Burgers and Beats 4.0 |
The first round of people ate and relaxed with drinks while the "beats" portion of the event, the musicians, began setting up.
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| Burgers & Beats 4.0 - guests enjoying the space |
In order to make room for the next round of lucky diners, a group of us migrated over to nearby Milk for dessert.
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| Milk - butterscotch banana ice cream bar |
All in all, a delightful gourmet Sunday.
If you'd like to experience an upcoming Burgers & Beats, you can follow Haute Skillet on Twitter (@hauteskillet), on Facebook, or join their mailing list directly from their website.
Look out for the details. Chef Navarro has all kinds of interesting plans for the future.
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