Go Ahead, Enjoy a Double Smashburger at Smashburger

By the time Tom Ryan co-founded Smashburger in 2007, he had already made quite a name for himself in the restaurant industry. He created Pizza Hut’s Stuffed Crust Pizza and the infamous McGriddle sandwich from McDonald’s.

The name Smashburger comes from the cooking technique of smashing the beef on the griddle, which creates a beautiful meat crust on it. This is my favorite style of burger, and Smashburger does it right. I always order the double with cheese, mustard, onion, and pickles (ol’ school).

One of the most stressful things I’ve ever been asked to do was Smashburger’s Celebrity Smasher when they inaugurated their first South Florida restaurant in 2011. I’ve cooked thousands of burgers in my life using various techniques, but never with all eyes and cameras focused on me. I was nervous but did a pretty good job, I think.

Currently, there no Smashburgers in South Florida. Whenever you find yourself at one of the Central Florida theme parks, hit up one of the restaurant locations in Orlando or Tampa.

Smashburger Content on Burger Beast

November 2011

November 16th, 2011Smashburger has finally opened up in Coral Springs (1840 N. University Drive) on Tuesday. On Monday, I was lucky enough to be invited to their VIP, aka Soft Opening, to be their “Celebrity Smasher.”  As a Celebrity Smasher, I did the ceremonial 1st smash on the grill, which also involves having to execute a flip after the meat had adhered itself to their 400 degrees flat top.

I put a whole bunch of undue pressure on myself, and when you watch the video, I look proud of myself as if I had given birth to a child when it was over. I was relieved to realize I didn’t mess up in front of a kitchen full of people.

But on to the food.

As a fan of their burger cooking technique and style, I was ecstatic to try this burger. You’ll notice in the pic the crust created when the meat sticks to the flat top and has to be scraped off. All the juices are locked in, and the meat stays nice and juicy, not dry and overcooked.

Smashburger Meat Crust
Check out that Meat Crust

Just squeeze the burger, and juices come oozing out. It was plain ol’ delicious. I had the burger I cooked on the flat top with only cheese, and later on, when I had an opportunity to have another, I went the plain cheese route again. I couldn’t bring myself to add any other toppings to it.

Folks around me had their specialty burgers. I tried someone’s A1A Burger, which is their local specialty burger topped with chorizo. I loved the light spiciness of it. And now I must go, but I’ll leave you in good company, check out this Smashburger money shot.

A Juicy Smashburger
A Juicy Smashburger

October 2011

October 26th, 2011 – Well….we’re only about 2 weeks away. On November 15th Smashburger will open its first location in South Florida. Where do you say? At 1840 N. University Drive in Coral Springs.

It will feature the “A1A Burger” with 100-percent Certified Angus Beef burger topped with grilled Spanish chorizo frita potatoes, Swiss cheese, lettuce, tomato, a spicy chipotle sauce on a Cuban Roll.

Smashburger A1A Burger
A1A Burger

New items just for the South Florida market include the “Spicy Baja Black Bean Burger” (pepper jack cheese, guacamole, lettuce, tomato, onion, spicy chipotle mayo, and fresh jalapenos on a spicy chipotle bun) and “Skinny Chicken (100-percent, all-white meat, grilled or crispy chicken sandwiches combined with artisan toppings such as goat cheese, spinach, avocado, mango, pineapple or grilled onions).

Me? I’m just looking forward to having their signature Smashburger possibly with cheese; from there, the sky’s the limit. For a little more info, check out what I wrote about Smashburger just a few weeks ago.

See you Tuesday, Nov. 15th; I’ll be the dude with burger deliciousness on my shirt.


July 2011

July 11, 2011 – Most people I know are holding out hope that In-N-Out might make it to Miami at some point, but I’m not one of those folks. I’m realistic and realize that it’s not in the cards since it took them 60 years to make it to Texas.

However, I’ve had my fingers crossed for a few years that Smashburger would find its way to Miami. This morning when checking out their website, it mentioned some South Florida locations.

Maybe you’re not as excited as I am. I’m hoping you are. They use my favorite technique for cooking burgers.

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