By Kathy Chouteau
Taste of Richmond’s “Restaurant Week” stopped by new restaurant phenom Johnny Boi Smash Burger in Point Richmond Thursday, Oct. 10—and so did everyone else in town, including the Standard. DJ Juice kept the party going for a packed house, amid graffiti-chic, mural-lined walls, vibrant tables and animated Halloween decorations like Chucky and the girl from the Exorcist.
Owner Johnathan Bermudez, or the eponymous “Johnny Boi,” was on hand and told us that the newly opened smash burger joint’s most popular burger is the—wait for it—Johnny Boi, a single grass-fed beef patty, American cheese, smash sauce, bacon jam, pickles and caramelized onions for $9. My husband and I shared the Fat Boi, which is basically a Johnny Boi burger with a double patty and fries for $12. Simply put, it was seriously tasty and the fries were perfect too. I took the TROMPO home for our son, made with fire roasted pork, a patty, white American Swiss cheese, grilled pineapple, shredduce, caramelized onions, tomatoes, fried leaks and chipotle sauce. My son devoured it and said he loved it.
Bermudez knows a thing or two about running successful restaurants: He also runs Masa in the Point and a smaller, drive-through Masa on the El Cerrito border. Johnny Boi is his latest venture.
Find Johnny Boi at 201 Tewksbury Ave. in Point Richmond and learn more here.
