Double smash burger with fried onions, cremini mushrooms, gruyere cheese, and Draft Room sauce on a pretzel bun.
Mushroom Swiss has been on American bar menus since at least the 1970s and for good reason: earthy umami against mild, nutty Swiss cheese is one of the most satisfying flavor combinations you can put on a beef patty. The mushrooms provide depth that amplifies the beef rather than competing with it. The key that most versions miss is the mushroom preparation. Raw or barely-sauteed mushrooms release water when they hit the hot burger, turning the bun soggy and diluting the flavor. At The Draft Room, mushrooms are cooked down properly -- sauteed in butter until they shed all their moisture and concentrate into something almost meaty and intensely savory. Two smash patties, Swiss cheese melted over both, sauteed mushrooms piled generously, a smear of garlic aioli in place of our standard burger sauce, shredded lettuce, brioche bun. The garlic aioli swap is intentional -- it echoes the earthiness of the mushroom without the ketchup sweetness that would fight it. Understated. Excellent.