August 9, 2022 – The burger lineup at brand new Carmel Burger Bar packs some payload. With that comes intriguing options: Wagyu and bison, lamb and Impossible, poblanos and portobello, fried mushrooms and braised short rib, onion rolls and Texas toast.
Which is good, because 1) People can get a little bossy about their burgers; and 2) When the name of your game is “burger bar,” you gotta bring heft and depth.
As ambitious as the burger options are—peek the 100% grass fed blue-cheese-and-bacon burger with Point Reyes cheese, bacon jam, caramelized onions and horseradish mayonnaise on brioche—the menu surprises as it widens.
Most wouldn’t expect to also see short rib poutine, or bacon fat-sauteed wild Pacific prawns, or vegan chili, or local salmon tacos, or birthday cake milkshakes with cupcake garnish.
But there they are, flanked by some big salads, sparkling beet lemonades and more than 11 craft beers on tap. (There are also 16 wines, all available by glass or bottle, and wine-based cocktails.)
It all settles into a linchpin Carmel Plaza spot that was longtime Carmel restaurateur Firok Shield’s Bistro Beaujolais. Centrally located on the leafy Plaza ground floor, it enjoys a promising amount of outdoor seating.
CBB’s soft opening happened Monday.
Owner Janice Albright has operated restaurants since 2005, and currently runs Relish Kitchen and Drink in Gilroy and Big Basin Burger Bar in Saratoga, so she’s got a handle on her main attraction.
“Everybody loves burgers,” she says. “It’s been fun for me to serve those types of items in the past.”
The supporting players appear well-considered, as with the Wagyu burger’s applewood smoked bacon, caramelized onion jam, pickled red chili peppers, chimichurri and garlic aioli on a sesame roll.
But she seems to focus on fundamentals like 100% grass-fed beef, organic bison and lamb, all handpacked and cooked to order.
“There are hundreds of restaurants in this area, but I’ve gotten feedback that people wanted a quality burger bar here,” she says, “and I wanted to bring our unique idea to Carmel.”
Chef Diane Sturla—who serves as executive chef at sister spot Relish—imports a familiarity on conscious procurement of proteins.
“It’s challenging to source those things well,” she says. “We have a lot to choose from, but making those connections and building those relationships takes some time.”
She believes the primary draw will be their intuition for atypical elements and complementary combinations that grab your attention on the menu.
In other words, this isn’t a build-your-own burger bar.
“It’s about the type of cheese, the type of meat, the accoutrements we chose,” she says. “The main thing is doing something that’s a little bit different.”
More at carmelburgerbar.com.
About the author
Mark C. Anderson, Edible Monterey Bay's managing editor, appears on "Friday Found Treasures" via KRML 94.7 every week, a little after 12pm noon. Reach him via mark@ediblemontereybay.com.
