Every month we try our hardest to find you great burgers, pizza, drinks, tacos for both the meat-eater and Vegan crowd; this month is no different. While doing our research we found some interesting combinations, and we’re all for it. July’s menu includes some awesome offerings from our friends Evil Cooks, Kuma’s Corner, Sizzle Pie, Grill Em’ All, Terror Tacos, and a newcomer brewery not too far from the Happiest Place on Earth. We hope you dig this month’s menu as much as we do. Cheers!
Our friends at Evil Cooks are no strangers to thinking outside of the box. Pobre Diablo and La Bruja have been in business for over a decade but in the past few years have decided to focus on food production on a smaller scale to give more attention to their costumers. Los Angeles has some some of the best taquerias outside of Mexico, but their concepts stand out because of their ingenuity and imagination. They specialize in street gourmet tacos and are notorious for their black al pastor and black octopus trompo (meat spit).We mentioned this month was full of interesting combinations, and what better way to way to wrap everything up than with a tortilla. The Evil Cooks are truly diabolical for this massive burro. The Double Fist Burrito wraps up two cheeseburger patties, fried eggs, tater tots, caramelized onions, their signature black al pastor, bacon, onions & cilantro, a drizzle of their house made monster sauce in a cheese crusted flour tortilla. No more needs to be said, just look at the picture.
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. This month we’re featuring a bonus Kuma’s burger. We usually showcase their Burger of the Month, but they posted a picture of another burger on their IG and we knew it had to be included on this month’s menu.
This month’s BOTM is the very vegetarian friendly, Better Lovers Burger. Kuma stacks their house-made black bean burger patty, peanut butter, spicy eggplant, pineapple and BBQ sauce. If you’re asking, Where’s the beef? You can switch out the black bean patty for your choice of protein. Kuma’s Corner has partnered with Cat Nip from the Heart, $1 from every Better Lovers Burger will go to this special organization. Cat Nip from the Heart is a small non-profit animal shelter finding homes for cats and small animals.
The bonus Kuma’s Corner burger is the very picturesque Sourvein. This beauty stacks a piece of fried chicken, a Belgian waffle, bacon, maple syrup, raspberry aioli, cheddar cheese on thir signature 10oz burger patty.
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.
For this month’s Pizza of the Month, Sizzle Pie partnered with the Lords of Portland, Portugal. The Man and their PTM Foundation. Their collaborative efforts brings us the creamiest and most dreamy pizza of the month. The pizza uses a base of spinach artichoke spread, and pile on a generous amount of their signature cheese blend, topped with artichoke, feta cheese and fresh parsley.
Grill Em’ All has cemented themselves as a Los Angeles burger institution. Chef Ryan Harkins and former professional wrestler Matt Chernus started by serving 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.
This month’s burger gets their name from the the stoner rock band from New Jersey and 5-time WCW world tag team champion, Buff Bagwell. The burger stacks Buffalo cauliflower, Buffalo garlic aioli, bacon, pepper jack, and field greens on a 1/2 lb burger.
Terror Taco was started by two brothers that grew up in the 80’s, who watched too many horror films, played in hardcore and metal bands together, and ate the best Mexican food the Southwest and West Coast had to offer. They created this brand and space to make the food they wanted to eat, to listen to death metal, and to give anyone willing to walk through our doors a completely different experience. Terror Taco offers an all vegan menu of classic Mexican food including tacos, burritos and nachos. VEGAN. METAL. HORROR. TACOS.
This idea may sound familiar and it should, the Terror Taco’s cheeseburger burrito is the midwest Vegan answer to the Evil Cooks Double Fist. The St. Louis gem takes two Beyond Meat patties grilled with cheese and stuffed in an oversized burrito and topped with lettuce, pickles, onions, fries and more cheese. ˇHe burrito is then grilled with fried cheese on the outside.
Villains Brewing Company is a new player in the vast landscape of Southern California breweries. The Villains celebrated their grand opening last month and already have some buzz. Just a quick six minute ride from Disneyland, this brewery/restaurant/pop-up kitchen is disrupting mainstream dining by providing a unique experience in the hospitality world. When it comes to their beer, their mission is to continually craft beers of distinct quality, flavor and variety, for beer lovers and beer novices alike. All in all, their goal is to develop and create extraordinary experiences through craft beer and California craft food.
Their beer menu boasts a good selection of craft beers; they have different IPAs, a couple pale ales, an Irish red and Mexican lager and even seltzers. Not even a month in and they have added three more beers, check out them out below:
Nowhere Island – A west coast IPA featuring Nelson, Amarillo and Citra hops. Crisp and bright that finishes dry but not bitter with an awesome mash-up of tropical New Zealand and citrusy American hop aroma and flavor.
Rainbow Sure Bet – This hazy IPA’s aroma starts with the orange flavor then you get the green one and then the pink. The mouthfeel is pillowy and bright. The voluminous dry-hopping includes Citra, Mosaic, Amarillo and Cashmere.
Way Better – This hazy DDH DIPA is loaded with hops, from Citra, Amarillo, Cashmere, Mosaic, Strata and Nelson. Each sip starts with tropical punchy dankness and follows through to the palate with straight cherry fruit-rollups and pavlova fruit salad.
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