When word spread across the blogosphere that Nancy Silverton was planning to open a hamburger stand in the original Farmers Market, my reaction was: well, of course she is. Nancy made her bones by redefining (and refining) bread in Los Angeles at her iconic La Brea Bakery. After that, she changed the way we perceive pizza at Pizzeria Mozza. Then, she opted to fool around with mozzarella in its myriad forms at the adjacent Osteria Mozza. That she would focus her seemingly faultless sense of taste on the Great American Burger is natural. Indeed, if anything, she's a bit behind the curve – more than a few boldface names have foie grased and short-ribbed their creations already.
But there's no way that Nancy won't do something unique – it's not in her DNA to do the same old, same old. And so, we called her to find out where the process stands. But since chef Silverton would (famously) rather spend her time in the kitchen pounding bread dough, spinning pizzas and playing with soft cheese than actually talking about what she's doing, she had her partner in the burger project, Amy Pressman, call us back.
Amy, it should be added, may be the most famous chef in Los Angeles that you've never heard of. She's a diminutive sprite of a woman, who was one of Wolfgang Puck's original line cooks at Spago. In the years since, she's created the menu for the much-loved Parkway Grill in Pasadena (along with many of the other restaurants owned by the Smith brothers). For a decade, she ran the outlandishly indulgent Old Town Bakery. She's had her hand in a multitude of other restaurants, always behind the scenes. But when it comes to Nancy Silverton's burger joint, she's the designated spokes-chef. She's also having the time of her life – reinventing the burger is a lot more fun than reinventing the wheel.
Merrill Shindler: Amy! You and Nancy! All these years after you worked together at Spago – you're back together again!
Amy Pressman: Nancy is a partner in the burger place. She's intimately involved with the food. But she's not going to be behind the counter every night, like she is at the Mozzarella Bar at Osteria Mozza. Our arrangement is she'll be there as much as she can, and I'm happy to have her there as much as she can be. But right now, she's deep into it – we're figuring out every aspect of the burger. The meat, the bun, the toppings, the cheese – there are lots of parts.
MS: Where in the market will it be?
AP: It's in the old Du-par's Bakery. It's a two-story building – a stand downstairs, sit-down upstairs. The upstairs will open up, so it's sort of a crow's nest. You'll be able to look over the market, not just into it. At the moment, we call it Market Burger. We were thinking of Grass Burger, but Market Burger is what we're calling it right now.
MS: How did you and Nancy come together on burgers?
AP: We did a burger night at a small restaurant called Canelé. It was really fun. And we both share the same passion, always searching for the best of everything, and making it ourselves if we can't find it.
MS: Have you had fun researching burgers?
AP: I'll tell you, I've probably eaten more in the past six months than in the five years before it. It never ends. We've tried every component we could get our hands on. I'm extremely passionate about the possibilities of using grass-fed beef from Sonoma Direct. And Nancy has come up with a blend of Harris Ranch beef that's fabulous. We're dealing with some really juicy, delicious hamburgers.
MS: Where have you been going to taste burgers? You've got to do research after all...
AP: I grew up in Pennsylvania, eating at a place called Charlie's. It doesn't exist anymore. But I can still remember what it tasted like. It was the best. I've gone to every place that people recommended – and especially to taste the Daniel Boulud burger in New York. He started the upscale burger trend. It's an amazing thing – foie gras and rib-eye in a burger. You'd be hard-pressed to finish it, and feel good afterward.
MS: What's feeling good afterward got to do with it?
AP: I'm much more into feeling good after you eat something than Nancy is. That's been a point of disagreement for us. But then, Nancy never finishes what's on her plate. She's a taster, just eating a bite. So, it's not an issue for her. It is for me – I finish everything. I used to eat the double cheeseburger with chili, bacon and a fried egg at Fatburger after a night of working at Spago. The whole burger.
MS: What makes a great burger?
AP: It's all about the proportions. The meat, the cheese, the bun, the crunchiness of the bun, the toppings – everything has to work together. Get one element out of whack, and it falls apart. I was at a place the other day, the burger was really good. But the bun was so over-toasted it cracked when you bit into it. That ruined the experience. It's all got to work.
MS: And when do you open?
AP: Not till next summer. The building is a tear-down. We're building it like a burger – from the ground up.
– Merrill Shindler