Masood Madani: Owner, 9 Burger
Masood Madani named his biggest burger after himself. The rest he named after towns in the San Lorenzo Valley. His restaurant, 9 Burger, is on a windy mountain highway two miles past downtown Boulder Creek, and not far from the middle of nowhere. In addition to 9 Burger, Madani owns Masood’s Liquors in Ben Lomond. An immigrant from Iran, the businessman has been too busy here to visit for the past 35 years.
SCW: Why did you get into burgers?
MASOOD MADANI: I went and tried a couple of burgers—here, here, here and here. I didn’t like it. I had to open my own. I went to all the places: Burger in Santa Cruz, Betty’s Burger. I didn’t like any of them. I said, “OK, I have a spot in Boulder Creek.” I had it for four years, and nobody leased it. Finally, I went and opened it up myself. Have you had the burgers up there?
They’re very good.
They’re the best. My recipe came out really good—melted cheese. It’s just like when you watch Travel Channel—even better than those guys, I guarantee you that.
What’s the recipe?
I don’t mix my meats with anything. We do just salt and pepper. First we charbroil the burgers. Then it goes on the grill to add other stuff to it, like mushroom and everything else. We charbroil and then it goes to the grill. We don’t just grill like everyone else does.
What’s the best burger before a hike at Big Basin?
It depends what you like. We have nine different burgers. My wife likes the mushroom and Swiss [Lompico]. There’s Massod’s Burger. Massood’s burger is close to a pound of burger—almost because we don’t measure our meat. You get onion rings and cheddar cheese and everything else on it. Felton Burger: grilled portabella with mozzarella cheese and a green onion and eggplant—that’s the vegetarian. Boulder Creek burger: we do fried chicken. And the Ben Lomond Burger: we do pineapple, teriyaki, mozzarella and bacon. Brookdale: we do bleu cheese and a green onion.
What’s the best burger and beer pairing?
A Ben Lomond burger with a Lagunitas IPA.
What’s your favorite liquor?
Scotch. All kinds of them. Scotch is scotch to me. 18, 15-year-old, 12-year-old. Belvedere. Vodka. I drink all of them. Glen Fitch 15 and 18. McClelland 12. Those are the good ones.
