With 29 “core” burger options plus one burger of the month, 30 Burgers aims to please. And whether you’re looking for a vegan choice, a vegetarian choice, chicken, seafood, or just good old beef, you’ll find what you’re looking for here.
What to Eat
To be clear, the menu goes far beyond “just” 30 burgers, with panini, hot dogs, salads, and sides galore. And the beverage menu shines as well. The milkshake list includes classic choices like chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry, as well as off-the-beaten path flavors such as banana, almond-cherry, caramel, coconut, Oreo, and peanut butter.
“We get a mix of everybody,” explains co-owner Jay Patel. Patel owns the franchise with his partner, Raj Kumar. “We get people coming in for lunch meetings. We get friends and families with kids.”
And what about their personal favorites? “The Spicy Baja chicken burger,” says Patel. “It’s fresh grilled chicken breast, guacamole, diced jalapenos, and melted pepper jack cheese.”
Kumar adds, “And the Philly burger is great. There’s fresh angus beef and Philly steak on there with sauteed onions, and American cheese. I also add sauteed mushrooms.”
Around the World
Patel developed the 30 Burgers menu with an eye on both standard American favorites and internationally inspired choices.
“Traveling this country and around the world, we found out what goes well,” says Patel. “It took us years to see what people like. We probably tried 3,000 different creations all around the world before saying, ‘These are the 29 core burgers.’ [We traveled around] North America, Asia, Australia, and New Zealand.”
“In Australia, I tried a kangaroo burger which was our burger of the month later,” says Patel. “It’s so lean, it was melting in my mouth. I thought it was kind of in between chicken and beef.”
“We even had an ostrich burger when we went down to South Africa,” Patel continues. “Later we sourced it here and people loved it. We also did alligator meat. That was a big hit too.”
Patel and Kumar continue to carry an affinity toward exotic meats—attempting to show something new to 30 Burgers’ customers.
The 30 Burgers Promise
During our conversation, Patel also expressed his disposition toward fresh ingredients and the efforts that go into preparing those ingredients. What’s more, the 30 Burgers owner cited his inclusive menu as another differentiating factor from larger competitors like Five Guys or Smashburger.
“We came up with the concept back in 2014,” he says. “We have the best beef out there. But we expand on options like beef and chicken to do something for everyone’s palate,” he said. “Vegan and vegetarian have increased, and we’ve been ready for that wave. We have a turkey burger, black bean burger, plus we use some of these proteins in a unique way to elevate the taste.”
Fresh produce is also built into the restaurant’s concept. “Customers will see that we have in-store screens to promote our fresh ingredients,” Patel says. “Our sauces are not coming from back of a truck. Before you walk in, our cooks are prepping. It’s been like that since the beginning. Our fresh salsa has been made in-house for seven years. Our restaurants don’t even have freezers.”
With fresh ingredients and an ever-evolving menu, 30 Burgers leadership plans to pass these techniques down to each new location built. At the time of this interview, Patel expected the number of locations would grow to 15 around New Jersey and Pennsylvania by 2024.
