It’s easy to sneer at high-end burgers as unnecessary and expensive. But don’t give in to cynicism until you’ve taken a bite of the Fondue Burger at chef Brittanny Anderson’s Brenner Pass, which is less about making a familiar thing fancy than about delivering fine dining in an approachable package. How is a simple thing made sublime? Let us count the ways:
The Fondue Burger from Brenner Pass (Photo by Justin Vaughan)
BUN
To get just the right combination of structure and squish — a bun that presses down into the meat, but not so much that it becomes soft or sodden — Anderson knew she would have to bake her own. It just so happens that she has a highly accomplished baker on staff — Olivia Wilson, part-owner and head baker and pastry chef, who contributes this sesame seed brioche.
PATTY
No ground chuck here — the mix is half brisket and half short rib, both ground in-house from hand-butchered cuts.
No mustard, ketchup, or steak sauce? No, and you don’t need them. The patty, as it cooks on the flattop, is basted with the renderings of house-smoked sirloin, which delivers some of the richness and intensity of a wine reduction.
CHEESE
Nothing wrong with a slice of cheese, but because the menu includes fondue (essential, given the Alpine theme) it was only natural to cross-utilize the same silken mix of melted Emmenthal and gruyere. The result? A more enrobing, more complex taste of cheese.
LETTUCE
A burger that eats more like a pot roast than a sandwich needs something other than watery iceberg. Frisee, with its light bitterness and crunch, plays smartly against the sweetness and sauciness. Why no tomato? Because 11 months out of the year, a tomato is simply a mealy, red-colored potato.
TOPPINGS
Speck is Italian bacon; cornichons are French pickles. In winemakers terms, these are “varietally correct” choices: toppings that reflect the regional culture the burger is meant to honor. But for Anderson, taste trumps all, and the deciding factor was that they happen to be more intensely flavorful than their American counterparts.
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Photo by Chenla Ou
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Kelly's Jet Burger
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Bill's Barbecue (Photo courtesy The Valentine)
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Steak 'n Egg Kitchen menu (Photo courtesy The Valentine)
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Photo by Charles Allen Sugg
History: Burgers in Richmond
1941: At the downtown Miller & Rhoads Department Store, a Special Grilled Hamburg Steak Sandwich with Saratoga chips and a dill pickle slice costs 15 cents.
1956: Roy’s Big Burger at 5200 Lakeside Ave. opens.
1958: Kelly’s Jet Burger System on North Boulevard touts 15 cent burgers. Restored retro-style, today the restaurant is known as Boulevard Burger & Brew.
1960: Bill’s Barbecue at 927 Myers St. offered in-car service where a server would carry Bill Burgers on trays to motorists parked in the lot.
1980: The circa 1980 $1.75 Double Steakburger with Cheese at Steak ‘n Egg Kitchen jumped on the double-patty trend made popular by chains.
1984: Johnson’s Burger Barr, near Virginia Commonwealth University on Cary Street met its demise on March 27 when VCU’s new building projects meant the end of the beloved restaurant.
