Hodad's ★ 4.4
Hodad's on Newport Avenue in Ocean Beach, San Diego, the 1969 surf-shack burger counter where the single Hodad runs under twelve and the bacon cheeseburger hits eighteen.
Try: Bacon cheeseburger, single Hodad burger under $12
History
Hodad's opened in 1969 in Ocean Beach as a counter-service burger stand and has run from a Newport Avenue location with surfboards on the walls since the early 1990s. The flagship's bacon cheeseburger was canonised by Guy Fieri's Diners Drive-Ins and Dives in 2007 and remains the OB burger benchmark. The 'mini-Hodad' single patty is the canonical small order; the double-double-bacon is the cardiac challenger. Hodad's now operates Ocean Beach plus a downtown Broadway location.
Common allergens: Gluten, Dairy
Make it at home
Ingredients
- 700g 80/20 ground chuck
- Salt, freshly cracked black pepper
- 8 slices American cheese
- 12 slices thick-cut bacon
- 4 large soft white buns (Kaiser or potato)
- 8 leaves iceberg lettuce, shredded
- 1 large beefsteak tomato, sliced 5mm thick
- Half a small white onion, sliced 3mm thick
- 8 dill pickle slices
- Mayonnaise, yellow mustard, ketchup
Method
- Cook the bacon in a heavy skillet over medium heat until very crisp. Drain on paper towels.
- Divide ground chuck into 8 loose 90g balls (for double patties). Heat the skillet over high heat until smoking.
- Press each ball into a thin patty (1cm thick, slightly larger than the bun) directly in the pan. Season the top with salt and pepper.
- Cook 90 seconds, flip, lay a slice of American on top, cook another 60 seconds until cheese melts.
- Toast the buns lightly in the bacon fat that remains in the pan, cut side down, 30 seconds.
- Build each burger: bottom bun, mayo, lettuce, tomato, two cheese-topped patties, 3 strips of bacon, pickles, onion, mustard and ketchup on the top bun. Serve immediately.
Tip from the editors. Don't smash the patty after the first sear. The first press locks crust on the underside; further squashing pushes the juices out and you end up with a sad, dry puck.
This is the TableJourney editorial recipe, modelled on the canonical bistro / counter version. The first place to try the dish in its city of origin is below.
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