If big is bad and small is good, mini must be better, right?
From its earliest days, Cornichon has been peppered with dispatches from and about Cascadia, star of Belltown's First Avenue sidewalk and home to Seattle's best Happy Hour bar snack, the $1 miniburger.
Now Chef Kerry Sear has taken the mini to a whole new level. Where some restaurants might have bewailed the popularity of a time-consuming, how-can-we-possibly-make-money-on-this, we've-created-a-monster menu item, Cascadia's response is to turn lemonade into nectar: keep the basic burger, add options, and upsell like crazy.
To wit: the classic beef miniburger (still ground from hanger steak, still $1 during Happy Hour) is joined on Cascadia's new menu by wild king salmon and veggie versions ($2 during Happy Hour). All three basic burgers run $3 outside of Happy Hour, and there's a raft of new add-ons: grilled onions ($1), sauteed portobellos ($2), pancetta ($2), even a fried oyster ($3) and barbequed lobster ($4) Tomato, lettuce, pickles and ketchup remain part of the base price, but dijon mustard, homemade mayo, and other condiments cost will set you back four bits.
If you say Mini, a lot of people these days will think of the Mini Cooper. Fair enough. So Kerry found the one he wanted, had it shipped to Seattle, painted it bright yellow and parked it out front.
And he's making the Mini--not his award-winning, soul-gratifying, ego-satisfying gourmet cuisine, but his one dollar burgers--the focus of his catering business. Takes confidence, takes imagination.
Can you picture it? Yellow "Mini-van" shows up at your party with grill; kitchen crew in starched whites dispenses choice of burgers topped with Oregon blue cheese and bites of barbecued lobster drizzled with black truffle butter ...
There's even a new website for the project, www.miniburgers.com. Genius, I tell you. I'm in awe.
