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Union Square Donuts and Boston Burger Co. made a doughnut burger — is it worth it?
Union Square Donuts and Boston Burger Company join forces at Smashed Up in Brookline — where sweet and savory meet under one roof.
As if burgers and doughnuts couldn’t get any richer, two well-known Greater Boston restaurant chains known for their extreme creations teamed up to make the ultimate mashup: a doughnut burger.
When Boston Burger Company moved into the Union Square Donuts‘ Coolidge Corner location in January, they created Smashed Up, which serves the doughnut burger as featured specials, but also regular burgers, sandwiches, and doughnuts. Though the doughnut burger is not a new concept, to be clear.
The name for this sin of a food is the Luther Burger. Go on TikTok and you’ll see plenty of piled-high doughnut burgers being consumed in the front seat of cars by individuals capturing their first bite (there are over 1,000 videos with the tag “donutburger” of people doing just this).
Possibly more interesting, though, was how these two businesses were operating in the same space, with Boston Burger Company employees flipping patties just feet away from Union Square Donuts staff serving fried dough pastries and coffee. Part of that would require me to try the example of what this partnership looked like, a beef patty squeezed between two doughnut buns.
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So I put on my stretchiest pair of pants and headed to Coolidge Corner to see these two establishments in action, and if a doughnut burger would soon become part of my weekly dinner rotation.
What happens when two restaurants collaborate under one roof?
When Union Square Donuts moved their baking operations to one production kitchen for all six of their shops in 2020, co-founder Josh Danoff said it freed up a kitchen at their Coolidge Corner location. Separately, Boston Burger Company was looking into getting into the quick-service space, according to the restaurant’s founder and co-owner Paul Malvone.
The concept took a year of planning before opening Smashed Up at 409 Harvard St.
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What exactly does that kind of partnership look like?
For one, it means extended hours. Union Square Donuts will remain open until 2 p.m. on the weekdays and 6 p.m. on the weekends. But Smashed Up will stay open until 11 p.m. on the weekends (another late-night food option), and 10 p.m. on weekdays. That isn’t just good news for fans of its burgers, but they’ll also sell any leftover doughnuts from Union Square once it closes for the day.
Then there’s the food collaborations and inspirations, including the doughnut burger, which uses Union Square’s treats as the buns for the burger and chicken sandwich.
But there are future food ideas in the works. A top-seller at Union Square has been their trendy Dubai chocolate doughnut. Malvone began thinking of ways they could replicate that success on their end.
“It’s inspiring us to do a Dubai frappe,” Malvone said.
While a giant doughnut burger is not new, it does feel like a novel concept for two established food brands to share the same space. Sure, there are pop-ups that take over kitchen spaces in breweries, and restaurant incubators like CommonWealth Kitchen, which have increasingly become the way for restaurateurs to get their start or try something new.
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“It’s more collaborative,” Danoff said. “We’re starting to share resources in a way that I haven’t really done in a while, and it feels good.”
Is the doughnut burger worth it?
Now onto the food. I love burgers, chicken sandwiches, and doughnuts of all kinds (including at these two purveyors), but they typically aren’t part of my work lunch routine because 1) it’s messy and 2) I’d turn lethargic.
Not surprisingly, these sandwiches were sticky, and I desperately wished that it was acceptable to take a nap at work after consuming these sandwiches for lunch. But the fried chicken doughnut sandwich was a surprise hit, with the honey from the glazed doughnut complementing — not distracting — the perfectly crispy fried chicken, pickles, and sriracha.
This was a favorite of Danoff and Malvone, as well.
The smashed and seasoned beef between two maple bacon doughnut buns was fine, but overly sweet. Maybe it was the bacon jam as a condiment, but I blame the good-on-its-own maple icing for masking almost every savory flavor in the burger except the onions. Also, hold onto those bacon bits atop the donut because they will fall off repeatedly.
Something this gargantuan feels like an item for those in search of post-Saturday night remedies or the folks trying to make their Foodtok debute. But according to Malvone, the doughnut burgers are reaching an audience of curious eaters for weekend dinners, so much so that they’re keeping the featured item for the foreseeable future.
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He also told MassLive that the doughnut sandwiches were a later addition to the menu to connect their two businesses for some confused customers.
It’s hard to say if I’ll get a doughnut burger again. But it does make me consider coming in for a regular perfectly crispy chicken sandwich, or trying their best-selling OG smash burger, and grabbing a honey glazed for later, possibly after taking in a movie at the nearby theater. And that’s kind of the point of these extreme foods. They get you in the door.
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