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Haddaburger brings twist to the smash burger
If you think all smash burgers were created equal, think again. Haddaburger fires up the grill to bring a customized twist to a fast-food staple. FOX 13 photojournalist Jason Wright takes us inside the kitchen to see how they do things differently.
TEMPLE TERRACE, Fla - A new burger concept is officially welcoming diners as local owners look to redefine the traditional smash burger experience. Hassan Diab, one of three co-owners who launched Haddaburger, related how they wanted to provide a high-quality alternative to the fast-food options in the area.
The backstory:
The first question is normally, "Where did the name come from?"
"The concept of Haddaburger is, you've never actually had a burger until you ‘had a burger.’ It had to be better and you've never actually had a burger until you've tried ours," shared Diab.
He and his partners were looking for a way to create a better product than the chain restaurant options in the area, and they had a vision of what a proper burger should be like.
"This is one of the reasons we actually opened it in this area specifically is there's not a lot of smash burgers or, let's call it quality smash burgers, around the area," he said. "So, the way that I've created the menu for Haddaburger is completely different than traditional smash burgers. So, it's kind of a mix of Oklahoma burgers, smash burgers with my twist on it."
And the business was born.
Does Haddaburger do Smashburgers?
What we know:
Haddaburger blends elements of Oklahoma-style burgers and classic smash burgers while retaining enough thickness to keep the beef flavorful.
"Usually, smash burgers are paper thin. They're very, very thin. The way we do them is we don't smash them all the way. We keep a bit of thickness into it, so you can actually taste the beef, and at the same time, you're still getting that crust on your burger," explained Diab.
His creativity in the kitchen doesn’t stop there. Everything except for the bread is prepared in-house from scratch.
The restaurant features a variety of unique sauces crafted without a ketchup base, including a smoky special sauce, a lemony "Hadda Heat" utilizing Tunisian harissa, and a herb-heavy ranch.
"Now, the sauces, they are all very, very unique. We don't actually use ketchup in any of our sauces, which is usually the base for everyone. Our sauces are balanced out with the toppings that we use on our burgers," he said. "The special sauce is spicy and smoky, but with the sweet pickles that we have, it balances it out so you're not really getting that much of a spice."
They offer sides like fried pickles, onion rings, Nashville mozzarella logs and milk shakes too.
What you can do:
You can visit HaddaBurger in person in Temple Terrace at 8932 Bertha Palmer Boulevard.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from Hassan Diab, who explained how we got it during an interview detailing the restaurant's launch and menu development.