Juicy burgers on fluffy brioche buns enclose the inspired handmade preparations of the Kokkalis brothers, who decided to leave Zakynthos three years ago to strengthen the Athenian street food map.
Behind the funky sign of Big Nick, the popular burger joint, in the shadow of the church of Agios Ioannis (on Vouliagmenis Avenue), are Nikolas and Dionysis.
The two brothers, with a talent for cooking and a dedication to business, complete an important phase of their lives by leaving Kalamaki, where they were born, even before they entered adolescence, to follow the dream of their parents (father a cook and mother a restaurateur) to open their own Italian restaurant in their place of origin, Zakynthos.
Years later, counting strong experiences, knowledge, and experiences in the world of Zakynthos catering, they returned to the capital to make a new, completely different effort than they were used to.
With very hard work, which still often exceeds 18 hours a day, they prove today that the burgers they liked to make for their friends are now considered one of the best to be found.
Handmade sauces and slow-cooked pancetta
The menu started with just four burgers but has now grown to 20 more.
Among them, there are four chicken burgers and two vegan ones (one with falafel, pickle, onion, tomato, iceberg, and vegan burger sauce and one with vegan fried chicken, avocado, spinach pesto with cashews, spicy vegan mayo, iceberg, tomato, and onion).
However, the most in demand, as I learn, is the Double Smoker Sumōkā.
A burger with handmade smoked in-house pancetta (slow-cooked for three whole days, which are then caramelised), hand-cut black Angus burgers (they also have smoked elements), BBQ sauce and pickles that give a pleasant acidity.
The in-house desserts are also a pleasant surprise: Churros with chocolate or salty caramel, Banoffee with bitter chocolate, and a cool dessert with Ferrero Roche chocolate and Snickers.
But what gives Big Nick such an interesting dynamic in the Athens burger scene?
“From the beginning, we wanted to make burgers with a restaurant identity so that when you try them, you can equate them – in terms of quality – with dishes served in a restaurant,” explains Nikolas. “And how do we achieve this? With the careful, handmade preparations that make up each burger individually and which result from our personal passion and love for what we do.”
So everything that goes into Big Nick’s burgers passes through the hands of the two brothers.
“We make all the pickles, the black Angus burgers, we make our own cheese—we make our own Philadelphia-style cream cheese—we prepare ketchup, mayonnaise, and our own BBQ sauce, smoked entirely in the chamber. We mature cabbage and chilli peppers to make chilli mayonnaise,” Nikolas informs me.
“With the same appetite and inspiration that we choose Greek products, we also choose Korean, Japanese and even Italian,” he adds.
“We also found,” Nikolas continues, “a very delicious Korean pepper paste that is slightly sweet and spicy. It suited us, we managed it appropriately and incorporated it into our burger. We did the same with the Florina pepper and the Naxos gruyere. The burger is the canvas, and from there, we create according to the ingredients that intrigue us.”
With an emphasis on the Greekness of the raw materials
Nevertheless, Greek products clearly prevail in the two brothers’ kitchen.
“Not only for their quality and taste but also because we are interested in the carbon footprint of their transportation,” explains Nikolas.
So, from Olympus, they bring the pork, which they use to make smoked pancetta and some bacon preparations; from Achaia, the chickens; from Megara, the eggs; from Attica, the vegetables; from Crete, the tomatoes; and from Serres, the cattle.
Also, the butters are P.D.O. and 100% Greek and the gruyere is from Naxos.
“We don’t just make bread yet,” Nikolas says jokingly, “but that will change too, as we are preparing to move our workshop to a larger space in Daphne, so all preparations will be made there, including the bread, since besides being a cook, I am also a baker.”
As for the customers? They are not only Athenians but also foreign tourists, mainly Americans, French, Brazilians and several Israelis.
“Many of them,” admits Nikolas, “return here every time they travel to Athens again and again. What makes them come back here? Our black Angus and thin-sliced French fries that we import from the USA are very tasty, as they are crispy on the outside and soft, like mashed potatoes, on the inside.”
Info: 145 Vouliagmenis Ave., Agios Ioannis, tel. 21 1418 6170. Instagram: bignick_ath
Loukia Chrisovitsanou is a columnist for Cantina. Translated by Paul Antonopoulos.
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