Discover the Smashburger Sensation Heavy Handed in Studio City

When Max Miller and Danny Gordon met as middle schoolers (A.C. Stelle Middle School and Sierra Canyon School, respectively), there was not even a hint that years later as adults, they’d collaborate on a fast-casual restaurant. The idea was sparked when they ran into each other after college and discussed a collaboration. Max had been hosting Sunday night dinners for friends featuring his smashburger and Danny had been running a barbecue pop-up. Before long the two were running a pop-up tent with a grill and two fryers in Danny’s driveway in West LA, relying on Instagram posts to attract customers. “We’d test recipes in the garage,” recalls Max.

A year later the duo had a food truck, and in 2022 they launched their first brick-and-mortar outpost in Santa Monica. “It went gangbusters, better than we could have possibly imagined,” says Max. 

“Look, at the end of the day, Heavy Handed is a fun house. Yes, we want people to come and eat and drink, but we want people to really enjoy themselves too.”

This past April the two “Valley boys” (Max’s term) opened a second location in Studio City at the former Mister O’s restaurant, which had a sleek, mid-century modern vibe. Today the space, which offers indoor seating and a wraparound covered patio, could not be more different. “We wanted to be loud,” is how Max explains the bright orange and red paint on the boxy structure and tall sign emblazoned with the eatery’s graffiti-style logo

So what makes Heavy Handed’s smashburger special? Available in single, double or triple size, it is made, as the name implies, by pushing down the meat on a hot grill. The move, as Max explains it, is designed to “create a Maillard reaction, which happens when amino acids and sugars combine. You get a crispy top and that great beefy taste. We use a high-quality short-rib blend and we make our own bread-and-butter pickles and Thousand Island-type sauce.” Max learned to make his smashburger “with a lot of YouTube, trial and error, and throwing things at a wall.” Danny, on the other hand, has a more formal culinary background; he’s a graduate of International Culinary Center in the Bay Area (the school closed in 2019). 

Rounding out the menu are soft-serve ice cream “piled really high” with dip options for kids, and a nice wine and beer selection for adults. The wines are biodynamic and organic. The eight beers on tap (and even more options in a can) range from LA-based Highland Park Brewery to wheat beers from Germany. Meatless options include a grilled cheese sandwich and lettuce wraps. 

“Look, at the end of the day, Heavy Handed is a fun house,” Max says. “Yes, we want people to come and eat and drink, but we want people to really enjoy themselves too.”