The Office Burger
Photo: Kazuhisa OTSUBO from Tokyo, Japan · CC BY 2.0

History

Father's Office opened on Montana Avenue in 1953, and after Sang Yoon took over in 2000 he rebuilt it around one burger: dry-aged beef, a bacon-onion compote, Gruyere and Maytag blue on a soft roll, arugula instead of lettuce and no ketchup in the building. The no-substitutions rule became as famous as the burger itself.

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Common allergens: Gluten, Dairy

Make it at home

Yield Serves 4Hands-on 40 minTotal 1 hrDifficulty Intermediate

Ingredients

  • 700g coarsely ground dry-aged beef chuck
  • 2 large onions, thinly sliced
  • 80g smoked bacon, finely chopped
  • 1 tsp sherry vinegar
  • 80g Gruyere, grated
  • 60g blue cheese, crumbled
  • 2 handfuls arugula
  • 4 soft oval rolls
  • Salt, black pepper, neutral oil

Method

  1. Cook the bacon slowly until the fat renders, add the onions and cook 30 minutes to a deep brown compote. Finish with sherry vinegar and set aside.
  2. Form the beef into 4 loose oval patties and season heavily with salt.
  3. Sear in a ripping-hot pan 3 minutes per side for medium rare, topping with both cheeses for the last minute under a lid.
  4. Toast the rolls, spread with the bacon-onion compote, add the patties and finish with arugula. Serve without ketchup.

Tip from the editors. Resist the urge to add tomato or ketchup; the bacon-onion compote is the condiment and sweetens the blue cheese on its own.

Where to eat the office burger

The Office Burger in Santa Monica

Father's Office ★ 4.6

$$ Brewery36 curated craft taps with the Office BurgerMontana Avenue

Father's Office on Montana Avenue is the Santa Monica gastropub where Sang Yoon's no-substitutions Office Burger was born, backed by 36 craft taps.

TipNo ketchup, no substitutions, 21-plus only; the burger comes one way and the bar means it.

Directions

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