Crispy, thin, delicious — smashburgers have taken San Francisco by storm, and their popularity shows no sign of slowing. The Marina’s perennially packed Causwells sells as many as 200 smashed patties on a busy night. Divisadero Street’s new Hamburger Project gilds the lily by offering a half-ounce Tsar Nicoulai caviar supplement for $30. Maillards made a name for itself at a Sunday-only farmers market in the Sunset. And on Balboa Street, The Laundromat’s “smashburger Wednesday” is inevitably mobbed.
They’ve become so popular, they’ve even breached the walls of a vegan castle. Smish Smash, a 5-year-old burger pop-up, this month opened a brick-and-mortar location on the ground floor of Saluhall, a mostly plant-based food hall adjacent to Ikea. Lines are already long for offerings like the Cheeseboiga, a single ($13) or double ($18) patty with American cheese, pickles, caramelized onions, and “Vic Mac” sauce. What distinguishes Smish Smash from the competition is the patty, which extends almost aggressively outside the buns. “Ours are the laciest,” crows COO Amy Han, who is married to chef Victor Dorado.
Is the smashburger craze just a flash in the pan? Not according to Adam Rosenblum, chef-owner of Causwells. “Trends come and go so quickly, but smashburgers have stuck around,” he said.
But how is anyone supposed to discern what’s best among the city’s saturated smash-scape? You need an expert to explain the ins and outs. And there’s no one better than Wes Rowe, owner of the Mission’s retro-fab Wes Burger ’N’ More (tagline: “Because burgers are fun”).
Widely credited with popularizing smashburgers in San Francisco, Rowe knows that making one is harder than people may think. Though the beef is on the heat for less than a minute, it’s a labor-intensive minute: The cook has to press it firmly against the grill with a heavy-duty spatula to get the texture just right.
Burgers are fun, but they have their serious side. To achieve the perfect synthesis of patty, toppings, and bun, Rowe has rules. For one, buns should be squishy. While nothing melts better than American cheese, he’s open to a second type if it’s placed between the two patties of a double. “If you have a real delicious, sharp cheddar in the middle, you can get it really creamy,” he said.
A native Texan, he considers the holy trinity of condiments to be pickles, paper-thin onions, and some variation of a special sauce. (He adds fermented, pickled chiles to his, for acid and heat.) He is wary of — even hostile to — lettuce, because it wilts upon contact with hot meat. Tomatoes are also verboten, outside the season’s peak. And don’t even think about using A5 wagyu beef. “There’s too much fat in that,” Rowe said. “It gets weird and mushy, and you can’t get the crust you want.”
Using these standards, Rowe took us on a weeklong burger rampage. We tested 12 burgers and came up with five winners.
Wes Rowe’s favorite smashburgers in SF right now (other than his)
Causwells: Americana with onion strings, $21.99
“This the fanciest place for a smashburger that also does it well,” Rowe said of the 15-year-old Chestnut Street mainstay, where every table seemed to have at least one burger on it. “And it comes with a nest of fried onions. It’s just an awesome, well-rounded restaurant.” 2346 Chestnut St., the Marina
Beep’s Burgers: Half-pound burger with American cheese, $13.70
Most patties for smashburgers are 3 ounces, but the ones at this City College-adjacent stand, open since 1962, clock in at 4. “It’s good, and the bun is squishy,” Rowe said. “The browning is good.” 1051 Ocean Ave., Ingleside
Smish Smash: Single Cheeseboiga, $13
“This is a 4-ounce patty,” Rowe said of the burger at the former pop-up, now a “residency” at Saluhall. “They used all the right ingredients, and the single has a way better balance [than the double]. This is one of the best smashburgers in the city.” Inside Saluhall, 945 Market St., SoMa
Shmash’d Burgers: Double Usual, $13
“The middle layer of cheese sticks to your teeth in a good way. It’s really gooey,” Rowe said on a busy Friday at Olfactory Brewing in Dogpatch, where the Shmash’d staff was operating the grill. “While the lettuce is a distraction, they do the smear method for smashing it. So you get the crunch corner, but you still have juice toward the middle.” Traveling pop-up
Kiss My Seoul: Double kimcheese smashburger, $12
“The bun is really soft, like Japanese milkbread. It’s cheese-heavy, and you can taste that sesame oil in that kimchi sauce,” Rowe said at the weekday spot on a SoMa side street, which does a brisk business but serves smashburgers only between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. “The edges aren’t crispy, but they did every single other thing right. This might be one of my favorites.” 15 Boardman Place, SoMa