In 2019, the chef Jae Lee had an concept. What if he might make a smash hamburger—an renowned quick food meal including a smashed patty, American cheese, pickles, and a hamburger sauce—even muchbetter? He began to play with a kimchi-based hamburger sauce, and a flavoring mix for the patty (the dish for which he holds really close to the chest). He served his veryfirst kimchi smash hamburger at his New York pop-up, and the excitement was instant. After Gothamist stated that Lee’s take on the timeless was “one of NYC’s biggest hamburgers,” it endedupbeing a regional fixation. Just a coupleof months lateron, he opened his veryfirst diningestablishment, Nowon, where he still serves this smash hamburger to its numerous fans—clocking in at about 1,200 hamburgers offered each week.
Over the last 5 years, smash hamburgers have endupbeing more popular than ever. And a number of chefs throughout the nation are signingupwith Lee in dealingwith smash hamburgers as a canvas for all sorts of reinterpretation and imagination. For them, upgrading the smash hamburger is, in part, an workout in tapping into fondmemories—both for quick food and the meals they liked as kids. Lee’s kimchi smash hamburger, for circumstances, is a take on a Big Mac, which was his preferred hamburger growing up. Chef Sky Haneul Kim’s bulgogi smash hamburger, on the menu at Gift Horse in Providence, calls back to her most-loved meal in Korea. “In Korean McDonald’s [back then], they had a bulgogi hamburger, however they had an choice to include an egg,” she states. “That’s how I get it every time I’m there.”
Nowon’s smashburger.Courtesy of Nowon
These chefs are structure on the noticeably American cooking custom of hamburger patties smashed flat for efficiency and taste. This meal may haveactually been created on the flat-top grills of lunch counters and restaurants, however today’s finest smash hamburgers are anything however old-school.
The mostcurrent boom is partially driven by the draw of standard smash hamburgers. They appear at pop-ups; in vibey, poorly lit dining spaces; on Shake Shack menus throughout the nation; and of course, at the eponymous chain, which has places in 30 states, as well as in Washington D.C. and Canada. For restaurants, these slim hamburgers present a fairly economical choice (many expense less than $8), and diningestablishment owners value that they cook rapidly. The thin, crisped hamburgers make routine looks on influencer’s feeds, too, thanks to their visual appeal. The exuding cheese, lacy edges, and golden buns are allover.
Just as the 2010s saw a increase in chefs remixing and reimagining juicy, timeless, distinctly un-smashed hamburgers, a wave of chefs hasactually discovered methods to put their spin on the crowd-pleasing smash hamburger. In San Francisco, the Filipino smash hamburger at Bundok’s Burgers includes zippy longanisa patties sandwiched inbetween 2 cutsinhalf of a purple ube bun. Little Grenjai in Brooklyn made headings with a Thai