A Fistful of Deliciousness at Cuarto de Kilo

“Our brand is very bold. ‘Cuarto de kilo’ means a quarter of a kilogram, bigger than half a pound!” says Alvaro Aguilar, co-founder of Mexican burger chain Cuarto de Kilo. “Our slogan is Fiesta para la Bestia, a Feast for a Beast — tame your inner beast with our massive burgers!”

Aguilar and Miguel Perez founded Cuarto de Kilo in their hometown of Guadalajara, Mexico, in 2010. They based their burgers on Aguilar’s mother’s recipe, and they’ve since expanded from a tiny shop in Guadalajara to over 30 Mexican locations. Aguilar opened the chain’s first U.S. outpost in June 2023, in the San Antonio suburb of Helotes, Texas.

“I used to live in Laredo. When I was 12 years old my father used to work at the border, so he took us to San Antonio every weekend,” Aguilar says. “For me, Texas and San Antonio are very special places, because like my mother’s [burger] recipe, they remind me of my childhood.”

In addition to the hefty patties, several features differentiate Cuarto de Kilo burgers from their American counterparts. The patties are made by hand and the ground beef is seasoned with salt, pepper, mustard and parsley to make it more flavorful. Aguilar explains that Mexican burger patties are typically seasoned with herbs and spices, with the specific ingredients varying by region.

Next, the burgers are cooked over mesquite charcoal on a circular grill that rotates over the flames. “As the patties spin, they pass through many different flames, low and high,” says Aguilar. “That cooks the burger consistently: it is juicy but not dry, and not pink.”

Finally, the restaurant’s dips are made in-house, with options including jalapeño, chipotle, and habanero-based Bestia dip, which Aguilar describes as “enjoyably spicy.”

“You cannot assume what works in Mexico would work in the U.S. – the taste of the patties, the taste of the bun, the menu. We made some changes. We’ve been changing the recipe to make it more like American-Mexican,” says Aguilar. “Now we have the perfect product to have the best of both worlds without losing our essence, but also getting closer to the American palate.”

Cuarto de Kilo has garnered a warm reception during its first year in the U.S., both from local media and from the community. “It’s good about the press and everything, but the most satisfying thing a restaurant owner can receive is the taste of the first bite that the customer makes. That’s when you can see whether the product is good,” says Aguilar. “They’re really liking it.”

Another sign of Cuarto de Kilo’s success is the Bestia Challenge: customers who can eat two burgers earn a free cap and a framed photo of themselves displayed on the restaurant wall. So far, 85 people have succeeded.

“We’re sending two messages with the Bestia Challenge and the Bestia Wall,” says Aguilar. “First of all, if two burgers is a challenge, one quarter-kilo burger will always be enough for your inner beast!  Secondly, normally when you go to restaurants you only see [photos of] famous people with the manager or the owner. Here, our photos are from our customers, our community. That sends a message that a feast is for everybody, without distinctions.”