John Stephenson’s Legendary Local Burger Returns for One Night Only at Hathorne

Thanks to John Stephenson's success as a restaurateur at his West Nashville favorite Hathorne, there may be some Bites readers who don’t remember what a fantastic chef he is. His last kitchen stint — at the final incarnation of Family Wash — provided an exciting update to the menu there, and Stephenson’s time at Fido elevated the food offerings past more than just coffee and breakfast snacks.

In fact, while at Bongo Java, Stephenson came up with what he called The Local Burger, a burger we loved so much that we awarded it a special Best of Nashville prize in a category we made up just for the occasion! The fabulous Nancy Floyd (editor of our sister publication Nfocus) described the epic burger this way: “It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what sets this one apart from the competition — the blend of grass-fed lamb and beef, the gooey Tennessee white cheddar, the caramelized fennel-and-fig aioli, or the fact that it’s all served on a lightly grilled bun that gives it a little crunch.”

When Hathorne first opened, I wrote about how the restaurant’s fantastic meatball dish seemed like an homage to The Local Burger with its custom grind of lamb and beef — an assertion Stephenson begrudgingly confirmed, although he clearly wanted to leave that particular burger behind at his former employer. So when I heard rumors of a return of The Local Burger, I reached out to him for confirmation. Here’s his reply to me:

Yes, the rumor is true. The Local Burger will make a triumphant return for one night only next Thursday the 14th! We have been doing a burger night once a week (usually Thursday) for a few weeks now. We will continue this series indefinitely with different burgers and also some collaborations like the Red Headed Stranger Brisket Burger mash up we did. The deal is $15 for the burger and it comes with a draft beer as well. We are also making Thursdays our ‘Joyful Thursday,’ with our happy hour running all night, as well as burger night. Our Happy hour is $10 off bottles of wine, $2 Off Glasses of wine, $8 Classic Cocktails, $10 Signature cocktails, $1 off Drafts.

That’s all I needed to hear to make new plans for this Thursday, and I strongly suggest you do as well!