Restaurant Review: Epic Hawaiian Burgers at Seven Brothers 

• Courtesy Photo
• Shez’s Paniolo burger

Utah has been fortunate to net more than a few Hawaiian-born restaurants over the years. I'd even go as far as saying that Hawaiian cuisine has a solid sub-genre of its own along the Wasatch Front. Among the more recent arrivals to our local food scene is the burger joint known as Seven Brothers Burgers, which has exploded with seven locations sprinkled throughout the northern and southern parts of the valley. I recently checked out the Farmington location, and if their other spots are even half as busy as this one was, those seven brothers may just have a local hit on their hands.

The moniker of Seven Brothers comes from the familial origins of the franchise, which was born when Art and Peggy Hanneman opened their first restaurant in Kahuku, Oahu. Named after the seven sons that carry the Hanneman name, Seven Brothers is all about serving up gigantic burgers inspired by the coastal flavors of Hawaii. My interest was piqued when I saw Instagram pics of the small onion ring tower drizzled with barbecue sauce that comes on their signature Shez's Paniolo ($11) burger, so that's where I dug in.

For starters, the cheeseburger with barbecue sauce and onion rings is a Utah original that saw a messy trademark battle when Carl's Jr. co-opted the idea and then copyrighted the name Western Bacon Cheeseburger. You can find variations of this burger most everywhere–legend has it that Apollo Burger's Texas Bacon Cheeseburger is the original–but the fact that Seven Brothers has a Hawaiian riff on this legendary local burger makes it a particularly interesting addition to our food scene.

Shez's Paniolo is named for one of the seven Hanneman brothers–most of their burgers follow this pattern–and it hits all the notes of the classic recipe. I'd argue that their quality of execution is in a league of its own. The onion rings are culled from the thickest part of the onion and then deep fried to a bread-crumb coated perfection. When the burger comes to your table, the two enormous onion rings hold the top bun up like a cowboy hat on a pencil, so a bit of creative ingenuity is required to eat this sucker.

I'm not saying my way is the best way, but I pulled off the larger of the two onion rings and ate it separately while smushing the top bun down on the smaller one. I could see smashing both onion rings down in retrospect, but I thought it still nailed that salty, crunchy onion ring experience with just one. In addition to barbecue sauce, the Paniolo gets a liberal dose of house sauce–a creamy affair akin to a smoky fry sauce. With plenty of sauce and a thick slice of juicy grilled pineapple, the dryness of the onion rings is appropriately balanced.

About halfway through the burger, I realized that this burger is a near-perfect encapsulation of the beachy vibes of Hawaii and Utah's rustic resourcefulness. It's a summer burger of epic proportions, and it's perfect for diners who like to get their hands and fingers sticky with a deluge of saucy goodness. My one gripe about the burger would be that the patty and bacon get a little lost in the waves of pineapple, barbecue and onion rings, but nothing to torpedo this monster.

On the side dish front, there are a few standouts that could very much be meals unto themselves. The Paniolo Fry ($8), for example, takes the Seven Brothers signature home fries–they're more like thicker fried potato chips and they're awesome–and gives them the Paniolo treatment. Like the Paniolo burger, they get cheese, barbecue sauce, grilled pineapple, chopped bacon and caramelized onions topped with two giant onion rings. I'd say it's a little redundant to get these fries along with a Paniolo burger, but it's also a pretty sizable portion of deliciously fried food.

I was pleasantly surprised by the banana bread sundae ($12) as desserts are usually a throwaway at fast casual burger spots unless we're talking milkshakes. This luscious bad boy, however, is an absolute banger. It starts with a mini loaf of banana bread–complete with melty chocolate chips–and serves it with some vanilla ice cream, chocolate sauce and toasted coconut. The banana bread is also served solo, but you just can't beat how warm banana bread gets the ice cream nice and melty–this should definitely be ordered if your belly capacity permits.

Seven Brothers Burgers is definitely a welcome sight in Utah's food scene for fast-casual fans that are looking for a bit more quality in their menu. I also appreciate this new chapter in the Western Bacon Cheese burger history–it's fun to know that this classic of Utah culinary history can still get a glow-up from time to time.