Welcome to Beyond the Plating! This will be a series of blogs that takes my love of food photography and combines it with the stories, passion, and knowledge from great restaurants and restaurateurs. The idea behind this series is to showcase unique cuisines, matched with unique stories on how restaurants get started, how they interact with their community, and what drives them into the future.
Our fourth stop on this journey…
Farmburguesa
Space. Not only is it the final frontier, it is something that we have become very aware of in recent months. To be clear, I’m not talking about NASA space, but the space we occupy: where we work, where we relax, where we live. When we first move into a household, we cater the space to what works best for us and what we do. Just recently I changed my office space and it has dramatically changed the feel of my office and what I do there! Our office spaces are often tailored to our jobs and its functions.
But with Farmburguesa, the space inspired the work.
Jimmy Delgado
Kat Pascal - Photo by Amy Pearman
Jimmy Delgado and Kat Pascal are the inspiring owners behind (and frankly in front of) Farmburguesa. If you live in the Roanoke Valley and have not heard of Farmburguesa, I would be shocked. Before Farmburguesa, Jimmy and Kat were already successful business owners with Spotless America Commercial Cleaning. Yet Jimmy has ALWAYS wanted to open a restaurant. Well as luck would have it, one of their clients who knew about this dream, offered one of their properties to Jimmy. They started with a space, and created a community staple.
But why burgers? With so many burger joints in the world, what would inspire a foodie to make burgers? The short answer, is: space. They looked at the space and visualized what they could do in this spot, what does this space tell us to do? The space is cozy, intimate, in the middle of the tight-knit community of Vinton, Virginia. They wanted to use this small space to make a big impact on their community. That's where the farm in Farmburguesa comes in. With both Jimmy and Kat being foodies, they wanted to up the burger game with a farm-to-table concept that would locally source as many ingredients as possible.
Not only does the farm-to-table concept help local farmers.. The larger part of farm-to-table is to put the emphasis on sustainability, so that we can have fresh, nutritious food for generations. As an example, some cuts of meat are harder for farmers to sell. So Farmburguesa teamed up with their beef providers to use more of their product and started offering Philly style burgers which feature those hard to sell cuts! Farm-to-table is a great way to protect our space, that is our local farms and the environment, our planet as a whole.
Another inspiration for the food is the Colombian roots that Jimmy and Kat share. You can see it in some of their offerings like the plantains and, with zero exaggeration, one of the best burgers I have ever had, period: The Colombiana. This burger is a master class in sweet and salty, featuring the amazing crunch of potato chips and a pineapple sauce that offers a sweet tang. Jimmy says that these are typical ingredients that you would find on the burgers and hot dogs in Colombia.
I swear I heard an immaculate chorus when I had it. You can ask my wife, I would not shut up about this burger for days. While The Colombiana is my favorite, the rest of the menu is just as creative and diverse! Jimmy started with over 20 burgers, inspired by his experience in restaurants and the food shows he watches on TV. Then they narrowed it down to their current selection by thinking about their restaurant space as far as storage, prep, and the customers, and also their community space: the farms, and what they could source locally.
Their Vinton location opened in July of 2018, and quickly established a large fan base and booming enterprise. With their Vinton space bursting at the seams, consistently at capacity, they knew they would need a new space. Instead of looking for one, they decided to create one, and I mean create! Instead of hiring a company, Jimmy and his family created and learned, sometimes the hard way, how to build a space that would serve their community. After delays upon delays, Farmburguesa opened in the Grandin neighborhood in January of 2020.
Both Jimmy and Kat are such a staple of the community, it's hard to miss their impact. While Jimmy was the driving source behind their beginnings, Kat is the rocket fuel propelling them into the future. She is a member and leader in many community associations and you may recognize her from being on the cover of the Roanoker Magazine’s recent Women’s Issue. Together Kat and Jimmy were awarded a community award from the Roanker Magazine for Local Company on the Grow. Farmburguesa has been a leader in the restaurant industry in both business and community. They have been very active on social media presenting their processes and products. Recently, they helped local farms start selling ground beef to consumers through their storefront when meat shortages became a concern. You can also see Farmburguesa provide meals for first responders, teachers, operation #TakeOutHunger and many more.
Family is very important to Kat and Jimmy. Family is who they have always gone into business with, from the cleaning business to Farmburguesa, and business has continued to bring their family together. One farmer recently told Kat that they can start a family of their own now that Farmburguesa is using them to source ingredients. Sometimes space is all about who you share it with
From creating a restaurant with a space given to them, to creating a space to give to the community, Farmburguesa is a unique leader in our community who is a shining example of how we can live within our space, and what we can do to give back to it.
I want to thank EVERYONE at Farmburguesa! Jimmy, Kat, and the star of our shoot, Issac! They are all fantastic people and have been very supportive of me. I encourage you to not only support these fine people, but try the Colombiana at least once! So good! When Farmburguesa sold beef, I got some and made a video making my favorite Asian dish, Pad Kaprow! Look forward to that coming soon! Also here is a couple of goofy pictures of Issac!
I would also like to give a big shout out to my wife Steph Reschka, for being an amazing editor and helping me organize my thoughts!
Thanks for all the likes, loves and shares!
-TR