If Spaniards had invented the hamburger
Meet the Txule Burger
Hello my friends!
Today I want to talk to you about something I don’t talk about very often: the hamburger. Because I think you need to know that I have a new favorite burger, the one Chef Nicolás López created at Leña, the Spanish asador restaurant in Hudson Yards’ Mercado Little Spain.
If you’re thinking to yourself, “José, burgers aren’t very Spanish,” well, yes, you have a point! But we made one anyway because Leña is dedicated to open-fire cooking—and because New York City is home to so many great burgers, we decided we needed to create one of our own.
The burger is named for the Basque word for ribeye (the Txuleton), the cut Chef Nicolás thought would bring out the best taste of the Basque country, and I agree completely. It is the perfect proportion between lean and fat. And it’s not just any ribeye, it’s Pat LaFrieda’s 60-day-aged ribeye, which makes the burger tender, juicy, and fatty.
After we make the patty, it gets seasoned and grilled in Leña’s special charcoal-fired oven. It’s an oven made in Catalonia that uses open fire embers, so everything we make gets this charred crust and amazing smoky flavor.
To give this burger a real taste of our homeland it’s served on a brioche bun from a bakery in Spain, which we butter and then grill in the charcoal oven so it gets golden and toasty. Then we top it with two slices of classic American cheese—the best burger cheese because it doesn’t provide too much flavor, but gives the right creamy texture; our Non Secret Sauce—olive oil mayonnaise, brava sauce, mustard, and hot sauce; and some chopped piparra peppers—these are small pickled green peppers grown in the Basque Country that add a crunch and punch of peppery tangy flavor. BOOM!
Now if you are thinking to yourself, “José, you are biased, this is your restaurant and Chef Nico works for you.” Okay, fair enough. So don’t take my word for it. The burger is getting a lot of love on this Instagram Reel and TikTok posted by burger expert @jeremyjacobowitz, featuring the Txule Burger as one of his Top NYC Burgers.
But the best judge is going to be you! So come to Leña at Mercado Little Spain, get a Txule Burger, and say hello to Chef Nico. And now we have the Txule Burger on the West Coast! It’s on the menu at Agua Viva, one of my new restaurants in the Conrad Hotel in Downtown LA.
I think you will agree it’s one of the best burgers you’ve ever had. Let me know what you think…!
Por favor - bring this burger to Washington DC or Bethesda MD !!
I had the most fantastic pizza in Barcelona this past May - it was covered in Jamon Iberico and was just fantastic. In my mind either blending some Jamon Iberico into the grind or having some on top would send any burger over the top!