In the Burger Olympics, the “smash” has now ascended to the highest step on the podium. Even though the origin story goes back a century or so, they taste contemporary and au courant. They are a culinary step forward that can complement other trending items such as iced matcha drinks, boba teas or even regular old milkshakes. Juan Nuñez, the proprietor of Richmond’s The Burger Spot Co., said the most popular item on the menu is their double burger ($14.55). Each one, the website notes, is cooked to order “on a screaming-hot flat top.”
“The reason why I like smash burgers is because it is almost well done, but it’s still really juicy,” Nuñez said. “They’re not dried out hockey pucks.” Each one comes with the “Boss Sauce,” lettuce, tomatoes and caramelized onions. But customers can add or subtract ingredients in any way they desire. Cooking smash burgers takes less time than an old-fashioned patty. “With the way we get them down, thin enough, they cook pretty quick,” he said. “Then it gets a little crisp edge on both sides where it gives that little different flavor than just a thicker, puck-style, frozen patty.”
Nuñez tried one for the first time a few years ago. “Some places do them different, really thin, I mean paper-thin where it gets crispy almost like a chip,” he said. “I wasn’t too much into that style so ours has a thickness to it, but still able to get that crust, that crisp edge on both sides.”…