Ginsberg’s New Food Truck is in Wild Heaven
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Ginsberg’s New Food Truck is in Wild Heaven

The gleaming new 20-foot food truck complements the award-winning offerings of the Wild Heaven Brewery in Decatur.

Occasionally, chef Todd Ginsberg brings his young son along to soak up some of finer points of his food philosophy.
Occasionally, chef Todd Ginsberg brings his young son along to soak up some of finer points of his food philosophy.

If you were creating a burger Hall of Fame, chef Todd Ginsberg’s creations would be right up there with the late and lamented Annie’s Ghetto Burger, Holeman and Finch Late Night Cheeseburger and the Classic Double at NFA in the Chevron Station at Dunwoody Village.

Ginsberg’s Bocato Burger, created for the Atlanta restaurant, helped launch him years ago as a chef to be followed. It was a role he perfected at The General Muir where his Double Stack joined his beef brisket as standouts in the heady competition for the best beef on a bun.

The Double Stack, which was created from a custom grind of chuck, short rib and brisket debuted at the popular Emory restaurant. It was later added to Fred’s Meat and Bread, the Summerhill BBQ spot named after Fred Johnson who, with his wife, Jennifer, who in addition to the General Muir’s two locations, have also created such Atlanta successes as Yalla, the West Egg Cafe and TGM Bread.

Todd Ginsberg smokes his own salmon for his salmon dip appetizer.

Now Ginsberg has gone into business for himself, taking his finely honed craft of burger making to a new food truck in Decatur. The sleek, 20-foot-long trailer is parked just outside the front door of Wild Heaven Beer in Avondale Estates, which, this year is celebrating its 10th anniversary.

The co-owners of the restaurant, Nick Purdy and Eric Johnson, were looking to upgrade their food offerings. Their Civilization Barleywine and Emergency Drinking Beer were standouts in an award-winning brewery and barrel aging program. Ginsberg’s new truck, called his Refresher at Wild Heaven, became a joint venture. Ginsberg says he has made the new operation more than just a burger joint.

“I don’t want to have just burgers. I want to have several things that people can snack on, that are shareable, right? So, I told them about the menu concept that was very burger-centric, but also focused around the experience of being at Wild Heaven Brewery and being with friends and family. And that’s what Ginsberg’s Refresher is right now.”

It’s similar to the arrangement Wild Heaven has with the El Tesoro Mexican restaurant in the West End and Fox Brothers Bar-B-Q in Toco Hills.

When this writer recently visited, the veteran chef was tending to a smoker, just beside the truck, turning a watchful eye on several sides of salmon for his smoked fish dip. The creation blends the fish with chipotle cream cheese, red onion, and capers to make a satisfying appetizer served on a crudité platter of chips and fresh veggies. That day, his young son, wrapped in an oversized apron, was at his elbow picking up a few of the finer points of fish smoking from the old pro.

Ginsberg’s Refresher Food Truck is located just outside the entrance to Wild Heaven Brewery, which also has a spacious outdoor patio.

Five more small plates round out the starters, including crispy oyster sliders served with Vietnamese slaw, Fresno peppers and caramel aioli. There’s an Asian-influenced glass noodle salad with a tamarind dressing and crispy and spicy hot chicken wings.

Beside the cheeseburger, the food truck star that is served smashed on a sesame seed bun with pickle chips and mayo, there is also a Good Burger. For the health conscious, it’s an Impossible plant-based burger sandwich. There’s also a quarter pound hot dog smothered in brisket burnt ends, marinated onions, pickles and barbeque sauce, a chicken Philly sandwich on a hoagie bun and a fried fish sandwich. It’s a simple menu that Ginsberg hopes will carry you back to a time when sandwich making was more of a homegrown art form.

“I want the fish sandwich and I want the burger to remind you of all the fish sandwiches and burgers that you had growing up, but even better than you remember them. These are sandwiches which are an ode to the best that I can create. And something that I want people to remember. I want them saying, oh, my G-d, it reminds me of when I was kid, but this adult version is just so much better, it makes me happy eating it.”

Paired with one of a dozen or so freshly brewed beers, and seated at one of the generously sized, well-spaced tables on the outdoor patio, almost any of the nearly dozen or so items are a good choice. Although much of the ambiance here is built around the brews, Ginsberg is quick to point out that this new venture is more than just about snacking and drinking.

I want the fish sandwich and I want the burger to remind you of all the fish sandwiches and burgers that you had growing up, but even better than you remember them. These are sandwiches which are an ode to the best that I can create. And something that I want people to remember. I want them saying, oh, my G-d, it reminds me of when I was kid, but this adult version is just so much better, it makes me happy eating it.

“This is not a bar. This is a brewery. It’s a much different experience. People are coming here, specifically, to be part of the community. It’s such a unique place.”

What Ginsberg hopes is that on a breezy and balmy summer night, an evening spent outdoors in this quiet corner of the city beside his new Refresher Food Truck can be truly refreshing.

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