We here at Knotfest have scoured the country to find some of the best metal-themed restaurants, bars, and cafes. Fierce Bites spotlights a monthly menu highlighting some hard-core menu items that will definitely have fans drooling.
Let’s kick off Spring the right way! We have some returning features for April because if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. We introduced you to the LA’s Evil Cooks back in January, well they’re back with a some killer loaded tots. Kuma’s Corner and Grill Em’All are coming strong with their burgers of the month. Sizzle Pie is featuring a new pizza of the month and we are introducing a new pizzeria, The 4th Horseman out of Long Beach, CA. No menu is complete without desert, so we’re bring Totally Baked Gourmet Cookies along for the ride. Enjoy this month’s menu!
The Evil Cooks are based out of Los Angeles, California. They have been in business over a decade but in the past few years they decided to focus on food production on a smaller scale to give more attention to our customers. LA has some of the best taquerias outside of Mexico but their concept is a little different than most which makes us unique. They specialize in street gourmet tacos such and are notorious for their Black Al Pastor and Black Octopus. After taking down a few tacos you can’t walk away without one of their dessert tacos such as their famous Flan Taco.
To put it simply, these killer tots are topped with, you guessed it, chilaquiles. The Evil Cooks craft their ‘chilakilles’ with house made salsa verde and garnish them with queso fresco, onions, cilantro, guacamole, salsa roja and a fried egg. As if that isn’t a meal in of itself, they take that and lay them over a bed of crispy crunchy tater tots. You also have the option to add any of their signature meats. You can choose from their black al pastor, black asada or octopus.
Kuma’s started in 2005 with its flagship location at the corner of Belmont and Francisco avenues in Chicago’s Avondale neighborhood. From their origins as a corner bar with solid American bistro fare, they’ve grown to five locations that offer the finest burgers available on this planet or any other.
If you’ve been following Fierce Bites, you know Kuma’s Corner comes correct with a crazy burger of the month inspired by their favorite metal bands. This month they pay tribute to Code Orange with their self titled burger. The Code Orange takes Kuma’s 10oz burger and dresses it with chorizo cheese, pico de Gallo, tortilla strips and a cilantro aioli. Kuma’s Corner and Code Orange did not only team up to bring you a dope burger, but they are also supporting a really great cause to bring music into more people’s lives. They partnered with Guitars Over Guns and will be donating $1 of every Code Orange burger purchase to the non-profit.
Grill Em’All was started by Chef Ryan Harkins and former professional wrestler Matt Chernus. They served gourmet burgers out of a food truck back in 2009. Before opening up their heavy metal themed brick and mortar they won the first ‘Great Food Truck Race’ and were featured on the ‘Best Thing I Ever Ate.’ Their popularity led them to lay their food trucks to rest and serve burgers and fries out their restaurant in Alhambra, California.
Another Fierce Bites staple, Grill Em’ All also has an awesome burger of the month to go along with already stacked burger menu. This month they are serving us the ‘I Wanna Be Your Dog’ aka ‘Motor City Machine Gun.’ This burger takes house made coney chili, a hot dog, diced onion, American cheese, yellow mustard and of course their signature half pound burger patty. Be sure to grab a ton of napkins!
Founders Matt Jacobson and Mikey McKennedy came together and envisioned an independent pizzeria that would serve up the perfect slice. In 2011, they opened up their first location on East Burnside Street in Portland, Oregon. Since then, they have consistently ranked in the top 10 independent pizzerias in the country. They serve East Coast style slices and pies with a healthy blend of West Coast flair by turning the freshest, highest-quality ingredients into tried and true classics with bold new pizza visions in a variety of meat, veggie, and vegan options.
Like the previous two burger stands, Sizzle Pie also offers a monthly offering along with their eclectic pizza menu. This month’s ‘Killa Bees’ pizza is topped with a signature cheese blend, olive oil, pancetta, goat cheese, Jacobson Salt’s Hot Honey, green onion and pepper flakes.
The 4th Horseman was started by Ryan Hughes and Martin Svab formerly of the craft brewery Phantom Carriage, Chef Adam Schmalz and Dark Art Emporium owner Jeremy Schott in the heart of Downtown Long Beach, CA back in 2018. The apocalyptic pizzeria is an ode to horror films and all things macabre. The decor includes shrunken heads, vintage monster posters and probably the creepiest thing of all… old TV sets blasting static (thanks Poltergeist). You can’t have a horror themed pizzeria without the appropriately named pizzas. Some of the names include ‘Death to Piggy,’ ‘Pastrami Dearest’ and ‘Momento More.’
There was one pizza that resides on their menu that really touched our souls, the Jalapeño Popper Pizza. The deconstructed jalapeño pizza is topped with cream cheese, mozzarella, jalapeños, caramelized onions, garlic and bacon.
Like the Knotfest Roadshow, we’re taking Fierce Bites international. This home bakery located in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. They bake soft and chewy drop cookies in fun, new flavors and beautiful decorated seasonal/custom sugar cookies. They also serve giant 9 inch cinnamon bun and chocolate chip cookies.
We had to show some love to Totally Baked because they are celebrating Knotfest Roadshow’s stop at the Brandt Center in their hometown of Regina, SK. To celebrate they did what they do best, they baked some damn cookies.
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