We used to camp at Jalama as kids. Strangely, I never knew there was a burger shack there until a few years ago. I imagine it was because the adults didn’t want the kids to be stationed at the camp shop and french fry fryer when we were supposed to be experiencing the great outdoors on a camp stove with packets of oatmeal and trail mix.

It just so happens that Jalama Beach Camp Site is very windy. It is hard to keep a fire going and a camp stove lit, if you are even allowed to do either when the gusts are blowing a gale across the sand scape. The sand hits so hard it’s like thousands of needles pin pricking your skin. If we had known about the shop, I am sure we would have taken cover there instead of inside our tents. This is perhaps why the Jalama Beach Store and Grill exists. The burger shack as sanctuary. The walls packed with camping supplies and the roadhouse country music station keeping you company as you peruse. You can buy wood, charcoal, wine, postcards, medicine, canned goods, ice, candy, t shirts, flashlights, batteries, cooking utensils, a campfire toaster, kites, ice cream sandwiches, pack of playing cards, sunscreen, smores makings, bumperstickers, and a gambit of fried food delights from the counter grill. I am sure you can get a lotto ticket too and some toilet paper. One stop shop and dining experience on the sea side of the train tracks miles from anything else.

It is home to The Famous Jalama Hamburger. Cheese burger in paradise, I suppose. The shop was founded in 1978 by Kathy and Don Eittreim.

Jalama beach has a deep history originating as a Chumash village named Shilimaqshtush, which translates to “village of the wharf”. The Jalama creek was a busy area for fishing and hunting, with a population of roughly 150 people living in reed huts along the creek. In 1769, a Spanish expedition, led by Captain Gaspar de Portola, made contact with the community. Years and years later, access to the beach, which had previously been rather difficult, became easier with the passage of the railroad along the coastline and a new trestle bridge that they had constructed over the Jalama creek. In 1943, the Atlanta Richfield Oil Company gave Santa Barbara county 23.5 acres of land to make into a public park. Since then, the beach has been a haven for surfers, campers and beach dwellers, along with the odd few in search of the best burger around.

Frances and I took a quick road trip to Jalama a couple of weeks ago. I went for the burger and onion rings. She went for the fries. It was windy as usual but we choose to sit outside because the sun was out. We ate and hung out with a lot of confident birds looking for a taste. They may as well have been little dinosaurs, the way they intimidated Frances, sitting just above her head and watching her every move. I rather liked them. It was a high fried collection of shack snacks and although, I wouldn’t call it the best burger I have ever eaten, it sure was delightful. Perhaps a beach burger doesn’t have to taste the best to be the best. After a day in the wind and water and sun, or maybe after a few days cooking on the camp stove, it might just taste like the best thing you’ve ever had.

I am not sure hamburgers are seasonal. I think you can make them anytime of the year. Maybe the style with which you make them shifts throughout the months. Spring and early summer we might see a smash burger. Thin and stacked. Quick to cook, American melty cheese. Mid to late summer burgers hit the grills. A fall burger might be thick and juicier, with caramalized onions and a deep aged cheddar. A winter burger is the ski slope burger. I’m not sure why they are different than other burgers but for some reason you know a ski slope burger when you smell it. Pair all of them with some onion rings, on the side or straight on top of the burger and you have a satisfying American meal.

Below, I thought I would offer inspiration and a couple of quick recipes to make your own delectable hamburger and side of onion rings. We will go over a quick burger bun formula, a simple burger sauce, a fat burger and a smash burger and finally a simple recipe for the best onion rings I’ve ever eaten, Buttermilk Onion Rings. This is all very easy. You can make it all or substitute homemade buns for store bought, change up your cheeses, add more toppings, strip back for bare essetials. But definitely make the onion rings!

MAKING YOUR HAMBURGER BUNS: WITH OR WITHOUT SESAME SEEDS

INGREDIENTS:

3 1/2 CUPS ARTISAN ALL PURPOSE FLOUR, 3/4 PLUS 1 TABLESPOON WARM WATER, 2 TABLESPOONS ROOM TEMPERATURE BUTTER, 1 EGG, 1/4 SUGAR, 1 1/4-1/2 TEASPOON SALT, 1 TABLESPOON QUICK YEAST, EXTRA BUTTER TO MELT FOR BRUSHING BUNS, EGG WASH (1 EGG WHITE, 2 TABLESPOONS WATER), SESAME SEEDS

PROCESS:

1. Mix together your dries and wets in a mixing bowl or kitchen mixer. Add more flour or water as needed to create a supple, none sticky dough. Knead for 5-10 minutes for gluten development. Place in a greased bowl and cover to rise for two hours in a warm spot.

2. Once risen: drop dough onto table. Cut dough into 8 equal pieces at 100 grams each. Shape into small balls (follow video tutorial below). Place on parchment covered sheet tray and cover. Let rise for 1-1 1/2 hour.

3. After final rise: press the rolls down lightly with your hand to make a disc like shape, roughly 3 inches in diameter. Brush with melted butter. If seeding your buns, egg wash them on top of the melted butter and sprinkle on sesame seeds. Maybe add a bit of coarse sea salt too if you’d like.

4. Bake at 375 degrees for roughly 15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and brush more melted butter over the tops. Let cool.

FOR YOUR ONION RINGS YOU WILL NEED:

1 YELLOW ONION PEELED AND SLICED, BUTTERMILK, FLOUR, PEANUT OIL, A WOK OR POT FOR FRYING

Put the oil in your wok or pot. Peel and cut your onion. Dip onion rings into the buttermilk. Dredge in flour. Drop into hot peanut oil and fry until golden. Remove and drain on paper towel. Sprinkle liberally with flaky salt.

A SHORT ON MAKING YOUR HAMBURGERS AND ONION RINGS

A QUICK BURGER SAUCE

To make the sauce mix together ketchup, mayonnaise and relish. That’s it!

A friend mentioned to me once how he wanted to travel the country in search of the best onion ring. Road trip to every burger joint or diner from coast to coast. I imagine this would be a delightful trip.