Jovick Brothers Burgers delivers the authentic burger experience

Casey Jovick elevates south city burger game.

There aren’t many burgers you’d ride a Vespa in 40-degree weather in the rain to pick up. Casey Jovick’s spot at the intersection of Macklind Avenue and Loughborough Avenue does carry the advantage of being five minutes from my home. Still, the end product justifies the risky means.

Jovick Brothers Burgers, Casey’s second spot after Westport’s deli, won’t disappoint any weather-challenged customers. Once you’re there, the burgers make it all matter. That’s the point, right? You walk into a place with “burgers” in its title, and the end result must deliver.

Jovick’s Burgers run on taste and size, as in the quality of their meat and how each bite stacks up to the last. Just crispy enough to be smashed but carrying a girth that assures you of being filled up. The French fries and tater tots pair well with the burger, giving the customer the classic duo in a fresh variety that seems like a new kid in town instead of a replica.

Every week, the menu features a special burger that’s not for the mildly hungry soul. This past week featured one called Mushroom Burger, two patties overflown by a pile of sauteed mushrooms and two slices of Swiss cheese. The daily burger specials include a Carolina Burger featured onion rings and BBQ sauce, or the Beso Del Diablo, which comes with pepper jack cheese and “hot-as-fuck” sauce.

If you happen to walk into a burger spot looking for different proteins, or perhaps another thing to pair with a simple double cheeseburger, Jovick Brothers Burgers offers six-ounce chicken filet options and Vegan meals as well, including one with plant-based meatballs.

For residents living in the area, the new spot is a great addition to the eat local spots like Russell’s On Macklind and J.J. Twigs. The service, called-in or dining inside their nice and quaint location, is prompt and courteous. If your stomach hasn’t been stuffed by tasty burgers and hot dogs, there are chocolate chip cookies and slices of gooey butter cake at the counter.

Being only a few months old, J.B.B. is just getting started and will be coming up with inventive menu specials for the establishment as the chilly weather brings on a mad desire for naughty comfort food. I love the fact that there isn’t a salad option on the menu, as if customers needed a reason to feel guilty about pounding a triple cheeseburger.

Thursday night, under a decent drizzle, that was the quest behind my Vespa ride. With the wife hanging with a best friend and dinner on the heads of my son and me, a couple burgers were the answer to our stomach rambling. My 12-year-old son took down a double, but I upgraded to a triple. To me, it was another sheet of protein to stack on top of my most important meal of the day.

Three patties, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle, mustard, and American cheese piled onto a stoic bun. Wrapped in the classic silver burgers-to-go wrapping paper and that much needed internal parchment paper, it was like opening an atom bomb of guilty pleasure. A burger so good, you could leave the bun if carbs were being collected.

Suffice to say, the burger didn’t live a long life inside the Buffa Estate.

Here’s the thing. Burger joints are as important as delis, and Casey Jovick has both covered--offering the city and county residents and visitors authentic and inventive takes on culinary classics. Quick yet tasty menu options that don’t leave you thinking the order was too light.

Bring your appetite and desires over to Macklind and Loughborough the next time you’re really hungry. One bite in, you’ll understand why one could push out a 600-word article about a burger.

Thank me later and please, EAT LOCAL.