Northern Boulder Creek has been a bustling area of development and activity so far in 2011. In just a few months, the area near the Mountain Store has gained two new neighbors: a revamped Garrahan Park and the new 9 Burger restaurant.
Since opening its doors April 26, 9 Burger has enticed burger lovers with nine different offerings, each named for a landmark or community of the San Lorenzo Valley.
A couple of examples include the Bonny Doon Burger (Barbecue sauce, jalapeños and cheese) and the Lompico Burger (Mushrooms, cheese and green onions) .
Devising the menu has been a pet project of owner Masood Madani, who boasts more than 20 years in the restaurant biz.
The unusual menu is a mural of the San Lorenzo Valley, painted by local artists including Gypsy Darwin, upon which each dish appears on its own piece of redwood burl, courtesy of Cliff Short.
“No one’s done this before,” Madani said. “I used a mural for everything.”
Madani, who also owns Masood’s Liquor and Deli in Ben Lomond, runs the restaurant with his son, Jayson.
Jayson Madani, a real estate agent, said that after they acquired the property in 2007, the building needed four years of extensive upgrades.
“It was basically a shell when we bought it,” he said. “We’ve had to get about 40 permits.”
It is a shell no longer. The building now is a bright and modern kitchen and dining area, complete with a custom grill — designed for Masood Madani’s method of burger preparation.
The star of the place, though, is most assuredly the burgers, hand-pressed and grilled in metal molds with Masood’s special sauce.
He said all nine members of the kitchen staff are under orders to make sure that each time they make a patty, they fill up the mold all the way — which means most of the burgers end up bigger than the menu suggests.
“We go through 300 pounds of beef every other day,” Masood Madani said.
The ingredients are never frozen, Jayson Madani said, and “pretty much local everything.”
The restaurant also serves garlic fries, onion rings and a wide variety of sodas, beers and wines.
Word of mouth has been the main draw for customers, Masood Madani said, many of whom caught talk of the place at his deli.
“It was packed the first night,” he said. “They said, ‘Masood is cooking at the burger place,’ and they all came.”
At a glance:
What: 9 Burger
Where: 15520 Highway 9, in Boulder Creek
Hours: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily
