Origami Asian Grill is closed on Mondays. But every month or two, the East Sacramento restaurant begins the week with a lunchtime line of people clamoring for burgers.
Conceived as a pandemic pop-up in 2021, Gami Burger has now found its brick-and-mortar home. It’ll replace Willie’s Burgers’ Carmichael location at 5050 Arden Way this May, with an expanded menu and hours.
Gami Burger’s flagship item piles two smash burger patties, Asian-inspired secret sauce and sunomono pickles between grilled Truckee Sourdough Co. brioche buns, with add-ons such as bacon, avocado or a fried egg. Permanent digs will also allow for salads, barbecue, fried chicken sandwiches, and a kids menu, chef and co-owner Scott Ostrander said.
There will be specials as well, and items rarely seen in Sacramento such as beef on weck. The Buffalo, New York-invented sandwich features rare roast beef on a caraway seed-studded kummelweck roll, dipped in jus and slathered with horseradish.
In the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic, Ostrander saw one of his former kitchenmates from world-renowned Chicago fine dining restaurant Alinea, Justin Selk, was flipping burgers as the chef de cuisine at two-Michelin-starred Ever. With East Sacramento staples such as Cookie’s Drive In closed at the time, there was little burger competition nearby. If Ever could be that casual, Ostrander thought, why not Origami?
Ostrander and co-owner Paul DiPierro made a burger for a friend, who said it was good enough to sell. After initially adding burgers to Origami’s main menu, Ostrander and DiPierro instead gave Gami Burger pop-ups their own day, attracting a devoted group of fans willing to wait in 45-minute lines before the burgers inevitably sold out.
“You could just tell there was this trend of burgers and smash-style burgers so we just kind of threw it together and it sold well,” Ostrander said. “Every time we did it, we found we were selling out faster and faster ... it was like ‘OK, we’ve got something on our hands here.’”
Origami’s 2-foot flat-top grill filled up quickly with 4-inch buns and patties, but Willie’s will leave behind a 6-foot grill when it closes after 21 years on March 30. Owner Stephanie Taylor announced the closure in a Facebook post Wednesday and asked customers to support Gami Burger as it moved in. Willie’s Burgers locations in Old Sacramento and Land Park remain open.
Gami Burger is throwing a final pop-up from noon to 2 p.m. Monday outside Origami Asian Grill at 4801 Folsom Blvd. The Carmichael restaurant’s preliminary hours are 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday, 11 a.m.-midnight Friday-Sunday and closed Monday and Tuesday, though weekend breakfast and coffee options may eventually enter the fold, Ostrander said.