“Wimpy: “I’d gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today.”
There are a lot of juicy burgers in San Miguel. Fat Boy’s. Don Lupe. Bovine. Birdie’s. Hank’s. Berlin. But that’s only six. There are seven days in a week. And a lot of people lately have been telling me about a fairly new burger joint that I should run not walk to.
I’ve never done a top ten list of my favorite things to eat. Maybe I’m afraid of hurting some dish’s feelings. But I am, absolutely, 100% sure, no doubt about it, that a hamburger would be on that list. It’s such a simple dish. Just a piece of ground meat between two slices of bread. So simple but so good.
John Ledsome hails from Asheville, North Carolina. Big John is what they call him but, after losing 65 pounds, these days he’s more of a Long Tall John. John is an almost lifelong burger maker. In Asheville, he ran a place called AJ’s. In San Miguel, he runs a place called Big John’s Munch Box and, except for a small nod to barbecued pork, Big John’s is almost all about hamburgers and hot dogs.
Mark Tamiso and I checked out the restaurant last week.
AJ’s was a big restaurant. It sat about 100 people. Big John’s seats less than a quarter of that. It’s a comfy, cozy, warm and friendly place and John Ledsome is a warm and friendly guy. Who loves talking burgers.
“They’re all sirloin”, said John, “I have it ground to order at a butcher around the corner. The butcher adds the appropriate amount of fat. It’s about an 80/20 ratio when it’s finished.”
John Ledsome makes his patties to order as well. They come in two sizes, 4 ounces and 8 ounces. Now the perfect burger for me has a 6 ounce patty and, after I did my Goldilocks and Three Bears spiel, John had no problem customizing one that was just right for me.
“You’re the customer”, said John.
As he shapes the patty, John spices it with some dry seasonings and one secret ingredient. I took a guess at what it was. I guessed very wrong. Despite my more pronounced proboscis, ex-chef Mark took a deep sniff and guessed it right on. Let me know if you win the challenge.
The burger patty and a generous amount of pregrilled onions go into a conventional, non-stick frypan on a four burner propane stove and, at John’s suggestion, the meat is cooked to medium well.
“I’d like a big grill…and a smoker…but you’ve got to walk before you run”, said John about his restaurant’s humble beginnings in Colonia San Antonio.
The bun is a very conventional white sesame seed that the restaurant sources from Panaderia La Buena Vida. John lightly toasts it before wrapping it around the goodies in what Mark Tamiso called “a perfect meat to bun ratio”.
In addition to onions, the burger is served with a choice of cheese, tomatoes, pickles, ketchup, mayonnaise and mustard and I asked John to make our decision for us based upon what he thought showed off his burger best.
“That would be everything”, said John and the quantity he chose was appropriate, with all of the condiments taking second place to the meat.
And how was the burger? Beefy and juicy, the kind that requires at least a couple of pauses for finger licking.
“It’s a sloppy burger but most people want a sloppy burger. Though it does cost me a pile in napkins”, said John.
So is Big John’s the best burger in town? Well that depends on a few things: where you live, how formal or friendly you want your surroundings and how much you want to pay. Big John’s prices their four ounce burger at $75 and their eight ounce at $125 which I think is very fair.
I mentioned six good San Miguel burgers earlier. Let me change that to seven.
Big John’s Munch Box is located at Refugio Sur #2, in Colonia San Antonio, San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. They are open from Monday to Friday, Noon to 8:00 pm; Saturday: Noon to 4:00 pm.
Yum
Hold the pickle. John
Boy was a character in the tv show The Waltons nothing to do with Laura Ingall’s books or the TV show based on
Them.
https://www.google.com/search? q=john.boy&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-us&client=safari
Ouch. You’re right. I had John Boy moving from Virginia to Minnesota. It’s now deleted.
Love Big John’s! Great burgers and hot dogs served up by a congenial host.
But another great burger is served at the Sierra tire service place on the Salida de Celaya. 65pesos with fries and fruit water beverage. That’s right, I said the tire place. On Friday, Sat, Sun, and Mon, nights, they close up the tire shop and open up the grills. Great burger with all the fixin’s. An “only in Mexico” kind of experience. Put this place on your list, Glenn! Especially when you want a great burger after 7pm, and don’t want to pay the prices at Fat Boy’s or Bovine.
The first time I went to John’s I ordered the burger. I could only eat half of it….not because it was too big! but because it was too DRY!! I could´ve sworn it was a frozen patty from Costco or some Big Box store! I never wanted to go back again, and didn´t!!!
If the burger is anything like Burger Priest’s, then we’d def need to go!
Big John needs to go to Luna de Queso on S a Celaya…they are selling a grill he might like a lot.
The best Veggie Burger in SMA
Really? When we went it was undercooked on the inside so it was mushy.
Great piece! So here’s a question: I like my burgers rare. Any place you feel OK about eating ’em that way, or is that insane?
I might trust Bovine but the burger’s pricey.
We had a great rare burger last night at Berlin. Delish!
I will try it!
Is parking available near there? I cannot walk long distances anymore. Thanks.
Good review. I LOVE “hole in the wall” places………
Often not too difficult to get a spot right on Refugio.