Will North Park's Hubcap Do The Best Burgers in SoCal?

After El Take It Easy's last dinner service on Monday, April 22; the space will shutter for a quick redo.

No big structural shifts are planned, but expect design elements from vintage racing culture, including lots of Wimbledon white, the color of many classic '60's Mustangs; they'll also replace existing wood with metal and change the front of the restaurant. It'll all have to be done at lightning speed; they intend to open this new restaurant, Hubcap, to the public for previews starting April 24.

Eater's got the full menu for your perusal; it may not be available right out of the gate, but it'll definitely be in place by their scheduled grand opening on Thursday, May 9.

If the name of the new restaurant is a head-scratcher, here's more context: its namesake is a dog owned by the company's director of operations, Michael McGuan; the pooch's profile is also featured in Hubcap's logo. McGuan helps owner Jay Porter run The Linkery too, and the team has some other in-the-works projects in San Francisco and Mexico. Though El Take It Easy's chef, Max Bonacci, has moved on for the moment, he remains the company's culinary director and crafted all the recipes for Hubcap, whose menu has a succinct list of main plates, just a beef burger, a veggie version, and spicy grilled cheese sandwich (there's also chicken wings, a wedge salad and gravy-smothered fries).

The starring burger is modeled after Porter's all-time favorite burger, served at The Beef Shoppe in Del Mar; in the '80's, he and his friends would play hooky from high school just to be able to properly savor their lunch. Hubcap's homage will be a 7 oz grass fed beef patty on a sesame seed bun with cheese, shredded iceberg lettuce, tomato, onion, house made pickles and house made mayo; Porter hopes it'll be "the best burger in Southern California."

The concept is partially inspired by the new and popular grass fed burger joints cropping up in places like San Francisco. Kronnerburger, a pop-up housed in a Mission club, tops their burgers with bone marrow and sells house-carbonated margaritas by the pitcher-full. Hupcap will offer local uni pâté as an optional topping (plus fried ham or Fritos) and cocktails by the single-serving or sharable pitcher. There will also be an all-local craft beer selection and a handful of wine varietals; during their nightly 5 to 7 p.m. happy hour, all drinks will be $5.

And for those who were already missing El Take It Easy's pop-ups with guest chefs from Mexico, take heart. Hubcap will be closed on Mondays, allowing the restaurant to still host the occasional pop-up for local chefs from San Diego, Tijuana and Ensenada.
· Hubcap Takes The Wheel At El Take It Easy [~ESD~]
· Hubcap [Official Site]

Hubcap Menu