First Look: Smashed N Sauced

Smashed N Sauced, the popular family-owned smashburger and fried chicken spot from two of the owners of Almarah Mediterranean, recently expanded to a second location on 4751 E. Parmer. Palestinian brothers Hamed and Mohammad Ibrahim put their spin on American comfort food with a menu that includes loaded mac and cheese and halal hot dogs. 

“Burgers are famous worldwide now and we love to eat!” proclaims Hamed. He and Mohammad have co-owned Almarah, located off 620 in Northwest Austin, for over a decade and opened the first Smashed N Sauced location next door to their Mediterranean restaurant late last year. Mohammad explains, “Growing up in New Jersey, I saw firsthand how popular smashburgers and hot chicken had become. When I came to Austin, I felt there was room for a concept that combined fresh smashburgers, hot chicken tenders, wings, loaded fries, desserts, and a large variety of homemade sauces all while serving the halal community.”

That vision eventually became Smashed N Sauced. “Family has always been part of our businesses,” says Mohammad, and in fact, their recipes involve a blend of family traditions and extensive kitchen research. “We made some burgers in our place over three months until we were like, ‘Yeah, this is good,’” Hamed says. “For the chicken, we have a recipe from our mothers.” 

The brothers’ new concept blew up to the point that in just a few months, they have now opened up a second location across town, near Manor. The fire-red logo and branding of the restaurant is apt for a business that’s taken off like wildfire.

“To be honest, we did not expect this crazy feedback from the customer reviews or the sales. It’s been nothing but good,” says Hamed, who along with his brother moved here from New Jersey in 2010. “We have customers that come every day. We have a guy that comes four times a week just for a burger with beef bacon. Some of them come back twice a day.” 

You might ask yourself, “beef bacon?” Given that the owners are Muslim, naturally they would use all halal products (the Quran forbids pork consumption). Ibrahim explains he prefers beef bacon to turkey bacon as the latter tends to be more processed. 

To no surprise, the burgers are great here at Smashed N Sauced, but the chicken is an equal star. The mac and cheese topped with chicken tenders was one of my favorites, but you can’t go wrong with a chicken sandwich or an order of wings. I liked the boom boom sauce as well as the spicy peach, but there are a variety of flavors and sauces to choose from if you select the wings.

With an aggressive growth strategy – the Ibrahims plan to open a location in San Antonio soon, along with more stores in the Central Texas area – and a product that has already proven locally popular, the brothers welcome the expanding population in Austin that has helped their family’s business. 

“We grew from having diverse customers. Being Palestinian, we love business. We’re workaholics. We just never stop. We’re blessed in Austin,” Hamed says. In the era of the smashburger renaissance, it certainly wouldn’t surprise me to see Smashed N Sauced become a name known across the state within the next five years.

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