Every month Fierce Bites goes out in search of great burgers, pizza, drinks, and tacos for both the meat-eater and Vegan crowd. As we dive into the festive season, October always brings some creatively spooky menu items. October’s menu is full of some monthly specials from some of our favorite restaurants, including Kuma’s Corner, Sizzle Pie, and Grill Em’ All. We also included some new friends who have added some Halloween themed items to their menus, so let us introduce you to Rad Coffee, Bari Pasta & Pizza, and 4th Horseman Pizza.
KUMA’S CORNER – BOTCH
Kuma’s started in 2005 with its flagship location at the corner of Belmont and Francisco avenues in Chicago’s Avondale neighborhood. From their origins as a corner bar with solid American bistro fare, they’ve grown to five locations that offer the finest burgers available on this planet or any other. Earlier this year, Kuma’s was named one of the 26 best burgers in Chicago by Timeout Chicago. With Chicago being a major foodie city with tons of great food, it’s a huge honor.
In honor of their tour stop at the Metro in Chicago, this month’s BOTM is named after the recently reunited metalcore band, Botch. Kuma’s always stacks their burgers of the month, and the Botch burger is no different. Kuma’s takes their signature angus beef patty or your choice of protein, caramelized onions, bacon, open face hot dog, roasted jalapeño cream cheese, and sriracha honey mustard. This month, Kuma’s Corner has partnered One Warm Coat. $1 from every Botch Burger will support this awesome nonprofit that donates coats to those in need.
SIZZLE PIE – THE LOST BOYS
Founders Matt Jacobson and Mikey McKennedy came together and envisioned an independent pizzeria that would serve up the perfect slice. In 2011, they opened up their first location on East Burnside Street in Portland, Oregon. Since then, they have consistently ranked in the top 10 independent pizzerias in the country. They serve East Coast-style slices and pies with a healthy blend of West Coast flair by turning the freshest, highest-quality ingredients into tried and true classics with bold new pizza visions in a variety of meat, veggie, and vegan options.
It should be obvious, but this month’s Sizzle Pie is named after the 80’s cult classic movie, The Lost Boys. This specialty pie uses a creamy garlic spread base, thier signature cheese blend, dollops of Ricotta, with a light dusting of herbs and spices. When you order through the Sizzle Pie app and add a sauce heart, you will be making a contribution to Movie Madness, Portland’s iconic independent video store, and the Hollywood Theatre, Portland’s historic nonprofit theater.
GRILL ‘EM ALL – BLACK SABBATH
Grill Em’ All has cemented themselves as a Los Angeles burger institution. Chef Ryan Harkins and former professional wrestler Matt Chernus started by serving gourmet burgers out of a food truck back in 2009. Before opening up their heavy metal-themed brick-and-mortar they won the first ‘Great Food Truck Race’ and were featured on the ‘Best Thing I Ever Ate.’ Their popularity led them to lay their food trucks to rest and serve burgers and fries at their restaurant in Alhambra, California.
Another obvious namesake, this month’s burger gets its name from the heavy metal legends, Black Sabbath. About a year ago, Grill Em’ All blessed us with the deliciously spooky Prince of Darkness burger. Well they’re back with another black bunned masterpiece. The Black Sabbath stacks their signature ½ pound buger, Gruyere cheese, white truffle aioli, “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath” caramelized onions, crispy bread sticks, arugula, all on a black bun. And It’s only right that you pair this burger with the matching fries.
THE 4TH HORSEMAN - THE SLAUGHTERHOUSE SUPREME
The 4th Horseman was started by Ryan Hughes and Martin Svab formerly of the craft brewery Phantom Carriage, Chef Adam Schmalz and Dark Art Emporium owner Jeremy Schott in the heart of Downtown Long Beach, CA back in 2018. The apocalyptic pizzeria is an ode to horror films and all things macabre. The decor includes shrunken heads, vintage monster posters and probably the creepiest thing of all... old TV sets blasting static (thanks Poltergeist). You can't have a horror themed pizzeria without the appropriately named pizzas. Some of the names include 'Rosemary's Baby,' 'Pastrami Dearest' and 'Momento More.'
As their Instagram so beautifully states, the Slaughterhouse Supreme is a “fever-dream homage to the classic supreme.” This pizza is piled high with pepperoni, salami, house-made Italian sausage, green bell peppers, onions, mushrooms, black olives, and extra cheese.
RAD COFFEE - OCTOBER MENU
This is the first time we have featured Rad Coffee on the Fierce Bites Menu, however Knotfest did feature their signature coffee in our 2022 Knotfest Holiday Gift Guide. Rad Coffee is owned by Rusty and Jade Valore. They first opened back in Upland, California in 2015 and have since expanded to three store in Southern California. Not only does Rad Coffee create awesome coffee, their punk rock and horror aesthetic makes for some really cool merch. Rad Coffee says of themselves, “Our concept is heavily marketed around quirky names, creative concoctions, and Instagram-worthy aesthetics, making us stand out from any other coffee company.” But don’t let that attention to the aesthetic take away from their coffee, because IT IS GOOD!
The evil genius baristas at Rad Coffee have created an October menu that will only be available until the end of the month. Check out the six themed drinks before they are laid down to rest.
BARI PASTA & PIZZA - PIZZA SKULLS
Bari Pasta & Pizza is a family owned restaurant that opened up in Santa Ana, California back in 2002. Their mission is provide great tasting, homemade Italian food at a reasonable price. Judging by the love they get on social media, they are definitely achieving that. They were recently featured in the LA Taco, where writer Janette Villafana featured the beautiful family history behind Bari’s Tik Tok famous Pizza Skulls.
Bari introduced Pizza Skulls to their menu 8 years ago and they’ve been a community staple ever since. The fan favorite appetizer is a skull-shaped pizza dough stuffed with mozzarella cheese and pepperoni, served with marinara sauce.
TERROR TACOS – JACKFRUIT RIPPER
Terror Taco was started by two brothers that grew up in the 80’s, who watched too many horror films, played in hardcore and metal bands together, and ate the best Mexican food the Southwest and West Coast had to offer. They created this brand and space to make the food they wanted to eat, to listen to death metal, and to give anyone willing to walk through our doors a completely different experience. Terror Taco offers an all vegan menu of classic Mexican food including tacos, burritos and nachos. VEGAN. METAL. HORROR. TACOS.
This Terror Taco-tober, Terror Tacos is featuring a different taco every week. One of their specialty tacos is the Jackfruit Ripper. It’s grilled tequila-lime jackfruit on a double corn tortilla dipped in their housemade consume and topped off with cilantro-avocado cream, diced onions, cilantro and chile de arbol flakes.
