My son took about two bites of his cheeseburger. Then he kissed it.
It was a gentle kiss atop the bun, only half-serious. But this middle-schooler knows a good burger. He meant it.
We were having a quick dinner at TwansBurger, a small trailer that’s parked most evenings at Finn’s Manor, an indoor-outdoor cocktail, wine and beer bar at 2927 Larimer St. in RiNo. Twan’s serves precisely one main course: A lacy-edged, double-patty smashburger with American cheese and a tightly edited selection of fresh toppings.
A side of piping hot fries is the only other menu item. The eternal goal is to build the perfect cheeseburger, order after order. For chef Antoine “Twan” Villaume, the cheeseburger is a practice.
Actually, don’t call him “chef.”
“I really enjoy cooking, it’s something that I love to do,” Villaume said. “But I think people are way too comfortable with calling themselves chefs. To me, it’s something that requires way more than being able to cook a cheeseburger properly.”
This is Twan’s way: A meltingly soft Martin’s potato bun. House-made sauce and pickles.
”A few diced white onions to give it that pop, that crunch, that sort of lively energy,” said Villaume. “Some really thinly shredded lettuce, not too much. Two or three slices of pickles, depending on how big they are. Then double-stacked patty meat.”
Cheese goes between the two meat patties, with another slice on top to seal the deal.
“To me, it needs to have American cheese,” Villaume said. “It melts perfectly and becomes one with the meat patty.”
“I’ve had cheeseburgers with really high-end French cheeses and I was like, ‘dude, you (expletive) the burger and the cheese,’” he said. “We’re in America, do what you want, [but] I happen to entirely disagree with that culinary inclination.”
The finished TwansBurger is rich with cheese and sauce, balanced by cool, crisp lettuce and pickles. Tendrils of the smashed beef patties extend delicately out of the toasted bun.
The flavor is pure, nostalgic comfort, like drowsily watching an episode of “Cheers” at bedtime.
“[I try to] hit that note: childhood, summertime, cooking burgers with your family in the backyard,” said Villaume. “If I can somehow recreate that emotion, I want to.”
Villaume started his restaurant career in wine and cocktails, first in Paris, then in Los Angeles. Cooking was a hobby on the side.
“People ask me all the time, ‘How did you learn how to cook?’” said Villaume. “My answer is always, ‘By drinking wine.’ I was in the wine biz for a while, and you spend your time breaking down wine, analyzing it, and that mindset starts to apply to everything that you ingest.”
He began his cheeseburger project while still in LA, experimenting with friends in his home kitchen.
For Villaume, the ideal cheeseburger sits somewhere between the quick-and-dirty fast-food burger — he cites In-N-Out as a favorite — and the pricier versions dished up at high-end spots.
“By that point, you’re not really having an American cheeseburger,” Villaume said of the more luxurious sandwiches. “You’re having some sort of hybrid — like, sauce Mornay, Gruyère cheese, brioche bun. In my book, it’s not what the classic American cheeseburger is.”
The quest continued after Villaume’s move to Denver in 2020. He worked stints at acclaimed hotspots like The Wolf’s Tailor and Uncle, then started TwansBurger in 2021.
“Being in Colorado, which is, like, the land of cattle, we have access to amazing beef here,” Villaume said. “I just started popping up here and there. Next thing I know I had a line around the block and people were demanding more.”
In the city that birthed the SmashBurger chain, Villaume hopes to stand out with a sharp focus on ingredients, like sourcing the perfect mix of beef for the burgers.
“We grind our beef twice a week, which is taking all my time, all my life,” he said. “But it’s worth it. Keep it simple, keep it real. Try not to reinvent the wheel. It never works.”
Expansion is on the horizon. Villaume started offering TwansBurger on DoorDash in early September. Eventually, he’d like to open a brick-and-mortar location with a larger selection of food and drink.
The burger, however, will remain the same.
“Every single part of that burger is extremely important,” Villaume said. “It’s a perfect equation, don’t (expletive) with it. I did not invent this burger. It was made long before me. It’s a song I’m trying to play correctly.”
Twan’s tips for making your best smashburger at home.
1. Use beef with a high fat content. “You need, bare minimum, 25 percent fat,” Villaume said. Cuts like brisket, ribeye or prime rib can get you there.
2. Pound the patties thin. Do not fear the salt. “Spend some time learning how to season your food properly,” said Villaume. “That’s probably the best tip I can give anybody.”
3. Don’t use a nonstick pan. Villaume recommends a hot, well-seasoned cast iron. “Your meat has to sear,” he said. “It has to stick to the pan.”
4. No butter on the buns. “I don’t think butter has a place here, as much as I love butter,” Villaume said. “Toast dry, get a nice, toasty, firm crust, not too dark. Get it a nice brown.”
5. Make your own pickles. “I think most commercial pickles are trash,” said Villaume. “They have no nuance. It’ll cost you $4 in cucumbers [to make your own].”
6. Keep it light and enjoy yourself. “Don’t forget the most important part of eating is it’s supposed to be a pleasurable thing,” he said. “One day at a time, one (expletive) at a time, you’ll get there.”
Originally Published: