Sometimes a name tells it all, sometimes it hints. 8oz. Burger Bar* falls in between—the burgers are indeed 8 ounces, the bar is a real drinking bar (not a burger bar). Chef/owner Kevin Chung has done some serious burger research and applied his love of comfort food to create some pretty interesting burgers.

At the moment, Kevin has eight house blend (sirloin, tri-tip, chuck and short-rib) burgers and eight more (grass fed, Wagyu, lamb, fillet of fish, turkey, wild boar, veggie, pork sausage) to entice you to return again and again. They use humanely-raised, natural, corn-fed beef with no hormones or antibiotics. Toppings and sauces are house made daily. "I believe in using quality ingredients," explains Kevin. "We're ingredient-driven and look for diversity. Whenever possible, the products we use are local. We're in at 8 a.m. each morning making toppings and sauces; we have about 20 different sauces. We create flavor-balanced combinations, so people can just come in and enjoy. And we've added more items recently to give a broader choice." There's also a burger of the month, like the recent Caprese Burger with a blueberry balsamic vinaigrette, posted on the chalkboard near the bar. Even so, guests are welcome to take a basic burger and make it their own. There are nine cheeses to choose from, many sauces, and toppings like ale roasted mushrooms, watercress, arugula, fried shallots, charred onions; the list goes on. They use bread from Grateful Bread and Essential Baking.

8oz also offers some really interesting sides and small snacks: sautéed bacon Brussels sprouts, IPA-battered onion rings, grilled asparagus, fries made from Kennebec potatoes, honey-glazed carrots, artichokes, spicy hummus, fried green tomatoes, mac and cheese, short rib poutine, as well as several salads. Desserts? Of course, along with shakes, malts and floats.

Along with full service and cloth napkins, maybe the most unusual part of this burger hangout is the fact that they have a full bar. The back bar itself is a 1920s Art Deco bar from Dayton, Ohio. "We have some fun cocktails, primarily Northwest taps and a wide array of whiskeys. We're looking at expanding our whiskey offerings. Because of the bar, 8oz has a livelier aspect at night. We get a diverse crowd at lunch, but our demographic is really people who love food and appreciate the quality and diversity of what we offer. I love to play with ingredients, so the menu will always be changing as I bring in new elements."

8oz has a decidedly Western look, with rough wood walls, wood tables and a few whitewashed skulls here and there. It's a comfortable spot to stake a claim and hang out for awhile.

Kevin started working in restaurants when he was 15, bussing, serving, bartending, always in the front of the house. "I've worked at a lot of places, working hard is what I know. I worked a lot when I was in school. I'm very analytical and I love food. A family friend owns Flo in Bellevue, so I learned to cut fish there. During that time, I decided I wanted to open my own place. I wasn't sure how to go about it, so I took my savings and spent a year researching. I gave up on sushi—it takes so much money to start that up; fish is very expensive." Ultimately, he bought the Magnolia Village Pub and, with his fiancée Sujin, learned how to be an owner. "It was a great learning curve. I learned a lot from the employees. I worked the front of the house and hired a number of chefs, but none really worked out, so I developed the menu of upper-scale pub food. About a year and a half into it (we owned it for three years), I took over the back of the house. We took it from a sports bar to a homier, more comfortable place, jazzing up the menu and décor." After three years, his general manager approached him about buying the pub. "It was still climbing and I hated to let it go. I knew every customer. But I also wanted to do a gourmet burger concept, so I sold it."

Five or six years ago, Kevin met Govind Armstrong through friends in LA. "We hit it off and kept in contact. At the time, I knew he was a chef, but didn't really know where he worked. I had no idea he'd been on Top Chef. He became a mentor; if I had questions at the pub, I'd call or email and he'd get back to me. After I sold the pub, I went to LA and we got together. He was telling me about this concept he'd started, 8oz Burger Bar. I knew this was what I'd wanted to do, so we talked about it and decided to do it in Seattle. A year later, we settled on the current location. We liked the spot—it had a kitchen. We didn't want to develop our own kitchen. We opened with his recipes and I tweaked a few things early on. Now with the June changes, the menu is all mine."

Kevin's short-term vision is to make 8oz the place to be for great burgers and beverages. His longer-term vision is about taking the many concepts in his head and bringing his comfort foods with a twist to Seattle. "You have to serve things you enjoy," he says. "It could be a different kind of burger place or something entirely different."

* Renamed to 8 oz. Burger and Co. A Ballard location opened in 2014.

Connie Adams--August/September 2012