Restaurant Review: Off-Site Kitchen

This shabby little shack on Irving Boulevard is a sanctuary for sandwich worshippers. Nick Badovinus and his sidekick manager, Dan Riley, spent a year hunkered down like mad culinary scientists to develop Badovinus’ original vision of “light industrial food.” Eventually the concept morphed into a “vintage roadside burger place,” with a menu filled with a mixed bag of quality meats, cheeses, and bread combinations. Heavily peppered brisket is slow cooked for 48 hours before it is placed on a long roll slathered with mayonnaise spiked with cherry peppers, and smothered with caramelized onions and melted Swiss cheese. I had to use a knife and fork to eat it. I should have done the same with the Brough Ham Fleetwood, a sloppy, 19-napkin concoction of tender ham, roasted pork, hot Swiss, and jalapeño and bacon relish, topped with a loosey-goosey cabbage slaw tossed with Thousand Island dressing. It is a marvelous mess. Burritos are works of culinary art. It’s tough to choose between roasted pork in a green chile sauce and sous-vide brisket hash. I chose to eat both, along with a crispy Sloppy Joe taco, a barbecue-glazed Spam melt, and a cheeseburger. Why choose a cheeseburger over the glorious other choices? Because the Do It Murph-Style is one of the better new burgers in town. The quarter-pound patty of Angus chuck and shoulder is ground on-site, seasoned with salt and pepper, slapped on a griddle with a handful of onions, topped with American cheese, and served on a toasted bun made by Village Baking Co. (The individual pecan pies should not be missed.) “It’s the kind of food you want to eat before you go solder something,” Badovinus says. I’ll drink another Schlitz to that.

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