Gold Nugget Tavern Serves Up A Unique Burger Every Week

Putting a twist on the “weekly special,” the serves up something new to satisfy the cravings of every burger lover.

Featuring 52 burgers– a different one every week, and endless ingredient options– executive chef Eli Renn creates interesting concoctions with something for every flavor palate at this signature Minnetonka restaurant.

With toppings that range from roasted pears and brie cheese to this week’s Breakfast Burger which uses waffles as the bun, Renn said each burger-special concept is carefully crafted by experimenting with help from his two sous chefs.

“We are just trying to find ways to make a unique and really delicious burger,” Renn said. “We have to gain people’s trust so we want to do things that will get people wanting to try the special each week.” Their inspiration comes from people like Kare11’s Belinda Jensen to events like the Minnesota State Fair and seasonal ingredients; almost everything is fair game. But Renn said the rule of thumb “less is more,” does apply.

“If you go too crazy and there are just too many items on there, it doesn’t work,” he said. “If people aren’t sold on it, they don’t want to spend their money and risk not fully enjoying their meal.”

The Gold Nugget is locally known for their burgers and fries since it first opened in the 1970s. While they are in a new, renovated location now, Renn said they still make their classic burgers and fries the same.

A few years ago, Renn turned the game-day stadium experience into a weekly special burger that grew quite the fan following. The award-winning Stadium Burger, with a fresh pretzel roll bun and nacho dipping sauce, started as a weekly special and now has a permanent place on the menu.

Last month, Gold Nugget was the 2011 "Battle of the Burgers" champion at the Kare11 Metromix cook-off against other finalists: Smashburger, the 5-8 Club and Victory 44. Now that same burger is up for a Charlie Award, a start-up food award made to honor the now closed Minneapolis Charlie’s Café. The winning restaurants will be recognized at an awards event and food celebration Nov. 20 in Minneapolis.

“There are people who come in every week just to try the special,” said Kris Newcomer, who is a partner of Gold Nugget along with owner Tom Warton. “So many people want to be challenged with interesting ideas that we come up with. They may not always order it, but it always gets their creative juices flowing.”

But Gold Nugget has much more to offer beyond burgers. Renn just came out with a new menu and said more than 80 percent of the items are handcrafted and made from scratch. Something he is really excited about? Beef stroganoff.

“It is a good, hearty dish for the winter,” Renn said. “We had it on the menu last year made with tenderloin, and now it is short rib. It’s really good and the change brought the price down a bit.”

As a neighborhood gathering place, Newcomer said they keep prices in mind so local families will keep coming back.

“As a restaurant, we really see ourselves as an integral part of the Glen Lake and Minnetonka community,” Newcomer said. “We support a lot of athletic groups, non-profit organizations and school teams and in turn, they come see us. We think they support us because we support them.”

Renn is always looking for new inspiration for the menu, and when it comes to the weekly burger special, he always has a few ideas up his sleeve.

“I’m still working on a peanut butter burger,” he said. “That’s one that I personally like, but I’m still working on. I want to call it The Elvis, maybe with fried bananas.”

Around Thanksgiving, people can expect to see a green bean casserole burger, but don’t expect to see the same special twice. Renn keeps a running list of all the burgers they have done so they don’t repeat them.

“It would be easy to forget what we did 50 burgers ago,” Renn said. “But we don’t want to have any of the same … ever.” 

To see the burger special every week, check out the Golden Nugget Facebook fan page.