Photo: Habit Burger & GrillSanta Barbara Char
The chain’s hometown burger, and the heaviest on the menu at 1,210 calories. Two chargrilled patties with melted cheese and sliced avocado on grilled sourdough instead of a bun. It eats like a Californian patty melt: crisp bread, creamy avocado, lots of beef. Order it knowing it is a meal and a half.
The story
The Habit started in 1969 as a burger stand in Goleta, a few miles from Santa Barbara, and this is the burger named after home. Santa Barbara County is one of California’s main avocado-growing areas, which is why avocado on a burger reads as local produce there rather than as a trend. Put it on a patty cooked over an open flame and you have the Central Coast version of a cheeseburger: the grill from the ranch country inland, the avocado from the groves along the coast.
What’s inside
- 2 chargrilled beef patties
- cheese
- avocado
- grilled sourdough bread
Make it at home
There is no copycat of the Santa Barbara Char yet. Until there is, these recipes on the site come closest to it, judged by what goes into the bun.
- Shares beef, avocado and a double stack
Triple Seared Whiskey Burger - Shares beef, avocado and a double stack
Bang Bang Burgers - Shares beef, avocado and cheese
Peter’s Fuddruckers Burger - Shares beef, avocado and cheese
Seven Layer Sliders
Similar burgers at other chains
Built around the same things as the Santa Barbara Char.- Farmer Boys · beef, avocado, cheese and a double stack
SignatureFarmer’s Burger - Freshness Burger · beef, avocado and cheese
Classic Avocado Cheese Burger - Ruby's Diner · beef, avocado, cheese and a double stack
Super Burger - Jackson Hole Burgers · beef, avocado and cheese
Sante Fe
More from Habit Burger & Grill
About Habit Burger & Grill
The Habit started in 1969 as The Hamburger Habit, a small family burger stand in Goleta, near Santa Barbara, California. Brothers Brent and Bruce Reichard bought it in 1980 and grew it slowly, keeping the thing that made it work: burgers cooked over an open flame, which the chain calls Charburgers.
Around 370 locations, mostly in California and the western US, plus a handful abroad.
Not affiliated with Habit Burger & Grill. Trademarks belong to their owners. The photo is credited under it and is used to illustrate this menu item; it comes down on request.