FEATURES
regular fries costs $10. Add some cheddar,
or truffle oil to the fries, and customers
pay a buck or two more.
Burger No. 7 will be launched later this
year, Kornick says. “We’ll add new burgers
as customers demand new flavors. We
might kill burgers off if they don’t sell, and
we’ll change ingredients with the current
lineup if that’s called for. The menu will
always be evolving.”
Thirteen of Kornick’s hamburgers are listed
by number. “So many restaurants name
their sandwiches after actors, politicians,
the chef or other famous people because
that person ordered it—once,” he says. “I
considered names like ‘The Mayor Daley’
or ‘The Chicago Cop Burger,’ but in the
end, those names really didn’t say much
about the food. Then I thought about
how McDonald’s markets its menu—it’s
basically broken down into numbers. So,
all the burgers at DMK are chef Kornick’s
burgers with no names and a number,
instead. It’s easy for guests to remember
and order, it’s easy for the waitstaff to
take orders and it’s easy for the kitchen
to get orders out. The idea of numbers
streamlines the menu and stays in line with
the casual approach of a burger joint.”
The Larkburger burger bar came about
from the Larkburger burger, which is
served at Larkspur in Vail, Colo. Larkspur
is owned by chef Thomas Salamunovich,
who also owns Restaurant Avondale
in Avon, Colo., and is Baker’s business
partner. They opened the first Larkburger
unit in Edwards in fall 2006, a second one
opened in March 2009 in Boulder and a
third in February of this year in Denver. A
fourth venue is scheduled to open in the
summer in Fort Collins, Colo.
At Larkspur, the Larkburger is made
from ½ pound all-natural angus beef and
served with a cup of fries for $14.50.
Add Swiss, Tillamook cheddar or bacon,
and tack on an additional $1.50, and if
you want to top the burger with foie gras,
total cost is $34. But at Larkburger, the
Larkburger is scaled down to ¹⁄
3 pound
black angus. All burgers are served with
sliced tomatoes, leaf lettuce, sliced onions
and housemade sauce. Any burger can be
wrapped in lettuce instead of a bun.
“The menu is simple, and a guest doesn’t
have to think that hard about what to
order,” says Baker. “The meat is 100%
chuck black angus from Cattleman’s
Select, all the sauces we use are
