ORLANDO, Fla. — If you're about to grill up a storm (on a non-stormy summer day), hopefully you'll get into good habits.
That's why we visited the new Habit Burger Grill in Orlando's SoDo district. District Manager Dave Gneckow took us behind the counter and put his team to work.
"The secret to getting patties perfect is also perfect seasoning," he demoed, searing up the restaurant chain's beef patty. "So you've gotta get it totally covered with the seasoning — salt, pepper, and a little garlic."
He says all of their patties are, essentially, poked.
"We call that 'scoring it,'" he said. "It lets the heat come out from underneath it and give it a better cooking process going there."
Gneckow transfers the burgers and flips them onto a grate-less grill, adds American cheese, then squirts some water onto the hot surface.
"So this is called the steam method," he said, putting a lid over the patties. "So we steam them up, count to about 10 (and remove the lid)."
Soggy buns aren't allowed.
"Nice and toasted," he showed us. "If you squeezed it, it would go crunch."
If you prefer ahi tuna, the Habit Burger Grill has a sandwich for it, too.
"Because it's a red fish, it will always be a little red inside," he said. "(Go) a little bit lighter on the seasoning than we did the burgers."
After they thin patty is flipped, he puts a little lemon on top of it, then teriyaki sauce. It's served on a wheat bun smothered with tarter sauce and more teriyaki.
If you want to go even lighter, nix the bread and toss your protein in with some berries, avocados and greens. Here's a bonus recipe for that:
Fresh Berry and Toasted Almond Salad — Habit Burger Grill
Ingredients:
- Garden Salad Mix — 6 oz.
- Strawberry Balsamic Vinaigrette — 2 oz.
- Blueberries — 2 TBS
- Feta Cheese — 2 TBS
- Almonds — 2 TBS
- Whole Strawberries — 2 sliced
- Chicken Breast — 1 each
- Strawberry Balsamic Vinaigrette — 1 oz.
Directions:
Just toss 'em up!