Burgers

Rob Levitt on The Man Behind Your Metal Burger

Photo: courtesy Jettison Quarterly

Mike Royko once cracked something about how we’d be better off as a society if a lot of guys with humanities degrees were slicing corned beef instead. But if the last few years have demonstrated anything, it’s that the proper contemplation of cold cuts is an act of a philosophical, even a literary bent. To wit: Rob Levitt, of The Butcher & Larder, in a local art and culture journal called Jettison Quarterly, on the subject of Kuma’s Corner:

The servers and bartenders are, for no particular reason, a band of tattooed, pierced, edgy-looking, badass women who really don’t care that you saw them on Check, Please! They could be, and some are, on a roller derby team. The menu is almost entirely burgers. Monster-sized burgers that are all named for metal bands. Someone who didn’t know might think this is a theme restaurant, a kind of Johnny Rockets in hell. But Kuma’s is no theme park and that sentiment is evident in the air of the place.

“Death Metal Hamburger,” as it’s called, is largely a profile of head chef Luke Tobias, and his metal-themed burgers, and it’s the kind that takes someone with intimate knowledge of life in kitchens to write. Levitt tells us he has another piece in the works for Jettison, but for now, read all about those crazy heavy metal burgers and the man behind them here.

Rob Levitt on The Man Behind Your Metal Burger