Casey Jovick cut his teeth as a butcher. You understand the significance of this background upon taking your first bite of a classic double cheeseburger at his Princeton Heights restaurant, Jovick Brothers Burgers (4993 Loughborough Avenue, 314-390-2899), and marveling at the masterpiece of a smashburger he's created. Made from freshly ground chuck, the resulting patty hits all the notes you'd want from a great burger: fatty enough to add richness but not overwhelmingly so, juicy and deeply beefy — balancing a subtle iron tang with umami. There's a heft to the patty that's more substantial than most smashburgers, which gives the diner the satisfaction of a thicker-style patty toward its center as well as edges that form little meat crispies that practically melt on the tongue. In other words, it's the sort of burger artistry you'd expect from someone dedicated to the meat trade — and exactly what you picture when you dream of meaty magic between two buns.
Because of his substantial background in the meat business — a union meat-cutter at Schnucks who would regularly make 500 pounds of sausage a day, a cook at the revered Pappy's Smokehouse, a pitmaster at Sugarfire Smokehouse — one might be tempted to think this is where Jovick's culinary story begins. However, the spark was lit many years earlier, when he was a little kid growing up on the south side of St. Louis. Food was always at the center of his life, but instead of gourmet meals it involved Corningware casseroles wrapped in kitchen towels and stuffed into old cardboard boxes dug out of the basement so you wouldn't burn yourself while transporting them to family get-togethers. It was simple, soul-satisfying food he'd watch his mom make while sitting at the kitchen table doing his homework, and it was the sort of food he'd make when he was old enough to do so and eager to give her a break.
Jovick's upbringing instilled in him a passion for food, so he gravitated toward that world when he was old enough to bring in a paycheck. He worked himself through college at various front-of-house jobs and eventually landed in the meat department at the Schnucks on the Hill, where he learned the art of butchery over a few years. Studies in English literature and poetry followed. Then came stints in restaurant management and running a meat counter at a small grocery store in Caseyville, Illinois, before he scored his big restaurant break as a cook at Pappy's Smokehouse, eventually becoming pitmaster at Sugarfire Smoke House.
Following Sugarfire, Jovick worked at various places before becoming a partner in the rebranded Macklind Avenue Deli. It seemed like his chance at finally owning a restaurant, but the deli burned to the ground four months into the arrangement, leaving him wondering what came next. LeGrand's, the St. Louis Hills mainstay grocer and butcher counter, offered him the perfect place to gather his wits and dive back into the meat business, and he worked there for three years, learning all he could about running a business in the hopes that one day he'd get his chance to do so again.
That opportunity came in the form of Jovick Brothers Deli, the daytime sandwich shop he opened in Westport Plaza in 2022. There, he developed a following of area office workers and sandwich aficionados who'd regularly pack the spot in search of well-executed, daytime comfort. Though he knew he'd want to expand his brand, the opportunity came quicker than anticipated when he was contacted by the landlord of the building previously home to CC's Vegan Spot, who was looking for a new tenant and thought Jovick would be a perfect fit. He agreed, deciding the neighborhood needed a burger joint. With that vision, he opened his sophomore effort, Jovick Brothers Burgers, in August.
You understand their enthusiasm for the restaurant upon trying its outstanding burgers. Though a classic, straightforward cheeseburger is the best way to experience the substantive glory of what Jovick has created, his composed concoctions demonstrate the whimsical possibilities that can be piled atop his outstanding foundation. The wickedly large and aptly named Destroyer has three burger patties — alone, a borderline pornographic proposition that becomes positively criminal when piled with its shocking accoutrements. These accents include too many strips of bacon to count, sliced cheese, fried cheese curds, lettuce, tomato, sliced raw onions, pickles and a generous drizzle of chipotle mayonnaise. As much of a spectacle as it is, the fact that it is surprisingly non-greasy and you can taste all of the individual components shows that Jovick understands composition.
The Macklind reads like a regular bacon double cheeseburger, save for one ingredient: peanut butter. Though admittedly skeptical, I was surprised at how well the creamy spread worked with the other ingredients, particularly the bacon; Jovick uses it sparingly so that it's not an in-your-face flavor but is instead a subtle nutty backbeat that enhances the bacon's smoke and wraps the components together.
Jovick Brothers succeeds beyond its burgers. The Beso Chicken is a delightful grilled chicken sandwich, served on a roll that is soft on the inside but crispy on the outside like an Italian hoagie loaf. The well-seasoned chicken breast is juicy and accented with pepperjack cheese and an accurately named Hot As F*ck sauce that sneaks up on you, gives your palate a nice wallop and then lingers. A vegan meatball sandwich is delightful thanks to the tender, plant-based meat and mouth-watering homemade marinara with the deep, umami richness of tomato paste. The Hoosier Glizzie — one of several hot dogs — is covered in bacon, pulled chicken, cheddar cheese, raw red onions and barbecue sauce for a smokehouse vibe, though its success comes from the damn fine, plump, garlicky, all-beef hot dog Jovick sourced.
Sides at Jovick Brothers are well-executed versions of exactly what you'd want with such main dishes. Fries are battered and accented with a generous amount of black-pepper-forward seasoning. Tots are crisp on the outside and fluffy in the middle, and onion rings are a shockingly good version of the battered style; while most o-rings have the problem of the onion separating from the breading, these cling to each other, creating a texture and flavor greater than the sum of either component.
I found myself splitting one of those rings in half and using it to scoop up the little burger crunchies that had crumbled from the edges of my cheeseburger onto my tray — a simple joy, perhaps, but one only possible thanks to someone who seriously knows his meat.
Jovick Brothers Burgers is open Mon.-Sat. 4-9 p.m. (Closed Sun.)
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