Celebrate National Burger Month with Beef Graffiti and Off The Press

Chef Mark Mammone gives a devil horns salute to those about to rock a smash burger.

Before the May 8th AC/DC concert at Acrisure Stadium, hungry fans mobbed his new kitchen concept at Federal Galley on the North Side, bumping Beef Graffiti’s inaugural week burger total to 666.

Mammone was excited to share this news with me because he knows my love for burgers and aesthetically evil pop culture. I was already sold on the name of the eatery because Beef Graffiti sounds like a band that would open for AC/DC.

I’m happy he’s back in the black and not on a highway to hell.

Elevating burgers to an art form is Mammone’s main focus at Federal Galley, which also houses Sokah, Mijo and Given To Fly. Beef Graffiti moved into a spot previously occupied by Driven, an excellent Detroit-style pizza purveyor that could soon be driving foodies wild at a suburban location.

Mammone plans to unleash Beef Graffiti on another food hall opening in Moon next year.

“I loved the food truck, but it’s a grind. I wanted a fresh start, a rebrand and a bigger menu,” he says. “I have all of these burger ideas swimming in my head.”

Dive into a Fast n’ Furikake, two patties topped with Japanese BBQ sauce, seaweed salad, a fried egg and furikake Kewpie mayo or make it an Italian night by ordering a Graffiato, a seasoned double-meatball smash with tomato-basil pomodoro sauce, smoked provolone and garlic bread bites.

The Jucy Lucy, based on a Twin Cities-style stuffed burger, has a core of liquid-hot American cheese that is cooled by signature Graffiti Sauce and sour pickles.

About those pickles — during the Covid-19 pandemic, when Mammone and fellow chef Joe Bardakos worked at Piccolo Forno in Lawrenceville, they began fermenting pickles in the kitchen. That pastime launched a professional pickle gig called Bridge City Brinery.

The company specializes in cold-packed Kirby cucumbers fermented in a homemade brine of fresh dill, onion and garlic. In 2021, Mammone and Bardakos formulated a sandwich menu and put the business on wheels, much to my delight!

Last year, the pair parted ways and sold The Smashery food truck, a smash burger off-shoot of Bridge City Brinery. Bardakos and his family opened The Brinery, a brick-and-mortar eatery in Sharpsburg that killed it at Pittsburgh Magazine’s Best Restaurants Party last week.

Mammone, who is truckless now, runs the Bridge City Brinery pickle operation (jars are available at Beef Graffiti and will be on Giant Eagle Market District shelves starting in June.

A native of Industry in Beaver County, he formed an interest in fermentation while watching his Croatian grandmother work her magic in the kitchen. Mammone is a French-trained chef who spent seven years on the Los Angeles restaurant scene, but he still uses the time-honored techniques she taught him. (Speaking of Croatian heritage, have you seen the beautiful new mural on the side of the Croatian National Hall on the North Side?)

Although she died before Mammone launched his culinary career, her spirit shines through in the form of the cheesy haluski topped with vinegar-based slaw on his menu. I think she’d be proud of his accomplishments and the name Beef Graffiti.

I know I was bursting with pride (and calories) when tagged my check.

Beef Graffiti is at Federal Galley in Nova Place, 200 Children’s Way on the North Side.

Off The Press Burgers

On Mother’s Day Weekend, Tyler Pearce and Gabby Gruszkowski got a welcome surprise in the form of a 3-pound, 11-ounce daughter named Nora.

Their other new baby is a 5-ton food truck dubbed Off The Press Burgers.

When do these people sleep?

Gruszkowski grew up in Shaler across the street from aforementioned chef Joe Bardakos. In 2022, Pearce, a veteran of corporate food service, got a job on the Bridge City Brinery truck. Last year, the couple bought a different Bridge City Brinery mobile off-shot, The Smashery, to put their own spin on beef patties.

When Pearce was 6 years old, he ate a burger from a food truck parked at the Indiana State Fair and has been laser-focused on opening his own rolling restaurant ever since. Now that he has one, he invited his friend and fellow chef Matt Weiss to come along for the ride.

Gruszkowski’s background is in veterinary medicine. She met their family dog, Pumpkin Spice, when she was the live-in caretaker for Hello Bully, a local organization that rescues and rehabilitates canine survivors of dogfighting, cruelty, neglect, and natural and man-made disasters.

“It took a lot of patience and kindness to gain her trust,” she says. “She was my foster for a little over a year before I decided to keep her. She’s now about 15 years old and just the sweetest senior lady.”

So, of course, dogs can expect treats when their owners order from Off the Press. The truck is on a local brewery rotation. I ran into them at Allegheny City Brewing on the North Side, where I tend to find a lot of great eats such as ‘77 Club’s panuozzo and Mun’s Pizza.

“The name Off the Press came to us because we wanted to lean into the action of physically making a smash burger,” Gruszkowski says. “You really have to press hard to get the delicious crispy edges or the ‘meat skirt.’”

Meat Skirt — yet another awesome band name.

Off the Press makes a great Oklahoma Onion, a menu staple at burger joints across the country, but they hope their creations, such as The Iron City Inferno, will be known nationwide. Two beef patties, bacon, pepper jack cheese, sweet and spicy pineapple and jalapeño relish, Chipotle mayo, lettuce, tomato on a Breadworks bun sounds good to me.

The Butterbean also has the potential to overthrow Oklahoma Onion with its hotel butter stuffed beef patty, confit garlic, lettuce, tomato and white American cheese on Texas toast. I packed on a few pounds just typing that.

Speaking of weight gains, Baby Nora is home and doing well after a 12-day stint in the NICU.

“Being parents is our best adventure yet and we love her so much,” Gruszkowski says. “It really changes your perspective on what matters in life.”

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