4 BURGERS 4 CHEFS 4 WEEKS
LIL WOODY’S MARKS 11 YEARS OF BURGER COLLABORATIONS HIGHLIGHTING TALENTED CHEFS
Chefs Karuna Long, José Garzón, Lauren Thompson, and Eric Donnelly lend their Creativity to Culinary Collaboration from February 4- March 3, 2025
CHEF LINEUP
Paju Jr
Ingredients: 1/4lb Royal Ranch Beef Patty, American Cheese, Kalbi Sauce, Kimchi
Cucumber Coleslaw, Gochujang Aioli, Lil Woody’s Bun
Each year, Lil Woody’s brings back diner’s favorite sandwich from the previous year. Starting Tuesday, January 30, Lil Woody’s will feature the Korean-inspired burger from Paju Chef Bill Jeong. Bill was born in the countryside of South Korea and grew up in an environment where love and respect for food and healthy produce were pillars of family education. Throughout his childhood, he would spend many hours in the kitchen helping his mother prepare the nightly family dinner. This formative experience helped instill the foundation that led him to make a career of cooking.
Bill honed his cooking craft working for some of the best chefs on both coasts of the United States. His kitchen experience includes many Michelin star restaurants such as Fifth Floor, Jungsik NYC, and Gunter Seeger. Learn more about Bill at Paju.
Says Bill: “During the 2020 pandemic, we pivoted from in-restaurant dining to creating a Japanese sandwich pop-up for takeout. We needed to come up with food that could withstand traveling. We created many sandwich recipes, but the one that included kimchi coleslaw on our pork loin sandwich was a favorite. Our Paju Jr. burger for Lil Woody’s Burger Month is a play on that sandwich. The kimchi coleslaw counterbalances the richness and gives it texture. It is even more delicious with the umami built into it.”
Cambo-Diaspora Double Cheeseburger
Ingredients: Two 1/4lb Royal Ranch Grass-Fed Beef Patty Marinated in Kroeung Paste, Two slices of American Cheese, Kroeung Aioli, Tomato Relish, Pickled Carrots, on a Lil Woody’s Bun
Karuna Long opened his Cambodian restaurant in Phinney Ridge in February 2024 and in September 2024, Sophon was named one of Bon Appétit’s 20 best new restaurants. The restaurant is a deeply personal homage to Khmer and Khmer-Diaspora recipes, resilience, and extension of culture, intertwining his family recipes with contemporary inspiration and ingredients from the Pacific Northwest.
The restaurant is named for chef Karuna’s mother, who survived the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia and fled to the US in 1980. The food is authentically his great-grandmother’s and his family’s. His great-grandmother taught his mom, Sophon (eldest of 7 siblings), who in turn taught Karuna and his brothers.
Says Karuna: “The inspiration behind this burger comes from the Khmer-Diaspora beef sticks/skewers that are prevalent in most Cambodian households throughout the U.S. Beef sticks are traditionally marinated with Kreoung, a Khmer essential paste and usually grilled and served with J'ruk (pickled veggies). I put these flavors together because they embody this simplicity of the traditional American cheeseburgers most Khmer kids of my generation and younger fell in love with growing up in the U.S. as children of refugees while also being Happy Meal kids. The blend of Kreoung into an aioli while also marinating it in the beef allows me to stay true to the conventional roots of the Khmer flavor profiles while also honoring the joy we found as kids in your traditional American cheeseburger, usually made with American cheese.”
Burger 4 Burger: Mary's Place
Lago Burger
Ingredients: ¼lb Royal Ranch Grass-Fed Beef Patty, Oven Roasted Tomato, Pomodoro Con Aglio and Balsamic Salsa, Goat Cheese, Arugula, Shaved Red Cabbage, Pickled Red Onions, Parsley, on Lil Woody’s Bun
Lauren Thompson spent a combined 12 years as chef de cuisine with noted chef Holly Smith at her James Beard-winning restaurant, Cafe Juanita, and prior to that working at Lark with Beard-winner, chef John Sundstrom.
In 2024, Lauren came to help Café Lago owner, Carla Leonardi evolve her 34-year-old Montlake restaurant, honoring the signature dishes but looking at them with fresh eyes. Lauren and Carla share respect for the simplicity of Italian cuisine, keeping the pasta and pizza that their regular customers love, while simultaneously elevating the offerings.
Lauren says: “I have been at Café Lago for less than a year and I have fallen in love with its uniqueness, history, and its sense of community. I believe every restaurant has a specific terroir that can only be experienced in that place. I wanted to find a way to capture the flavors and uniqueness that are only found in the Café Lago kitchen and express that in a burger. For example, when I walk in to Lago, I am always greeted with the aromas of tomatoes roasting in the wood oven and I love the combination of balsamic and garlic in one of our marinades. I incorporated both of those classic Lago flavors into the burger that I believe represents the restaurant.”
Burger 4 Burger: Seattle Parks and Recreation Summer Meals
Catahoula Burger
Ingredients: 1/4 lb Royal Ranch Grass-Fed Beef Patty, Tillamook White Cheddar Cheese, Red Eye BBQ Sauce, Shaved Cabbage with Jalapeño Cider Vinaigrette, Bread and Butter Pickles, Worcestershire Tabasco Aioli, on a Lil Woody’s Bun
Eric Donnelly is the owner and executive chef of the award-winning CircleSpey Restaurant Group, which includes RockCreek Seafood & Spirits, FlintCreek Cattle Company, and Bar Sur Mer. He has over twenty-five years of experience in the Pacific American style cuisine restaurant Sazerac, where he worked with Jan Birnbaum, a well-known San Franciscan and Napa Valley chef. In 2004, he was recruited by Chef Kevin Davis to work at Oceanaire Seafood Room where he stayed for several cuiyears before opening Toulouse Petit, a French Quarter New Orleans
Says Eric: “The Catahoula is the Louisiana state dog and the name of the restaurant that Jan Birnbaum owned in Calistoga California. I started working for him in 1998 and I stayed for a decade; it is where I got all my kitchen chops as a young cook. The flavor, ingredients, and techniques I learned from Jan. He has since passed away and the restaurant has been closed for several years. A lot of my initial cooking background was in elevated southern food, such as jambalayas, etouffee, dark and rich roux’s and red eye gravy, which is featured on this burger. The honey jalapeno slaw plays well as a balance to the deep bbq flavor of the red eye gravy. Bread and butter pickles seemed appropriate here and a little sharp white cheddar to add more tang as well.”
Burger 4 Burger: Treehouse
Try all four!
Get the bag!
Diners who purchase each burger in stores can receive a limited-edition, Lil Woody’s woven totebag at the end of the event. Stamp cards are available at any location.
