The story below is a preview from our March/April 2023 issue. For more stories like it, Subscribe Today. Thank you!
Lazy Bulldog builds on its food truck’s billing of “savory hand-crafted deliciousness” with creative burgers, loaded fries, melts, nachos and more at their new bistro.
John Park
John Park
Chef-owner Brandon Stinnett tends to burgers and melts sizzling on the flattop grill.
Whether you sit at a low-slung two top, a high-top or the kitchen counter, you’ll feel right at home at Lazy Bulldog Bistro. Partly because chef-owner Brandon Stinnett greets both regulars and first timers with an easy smile and quippy greeting. And partly due to the restaurant’s intimate size where you can hear burger patties hissing on the flattop and fries burbling in hot oil. Even if you didn’t grow up frequenting diners, the experience at Lazy Bulldog evokes a certain kind of Americana nostalgia, complete with a menu that reads like a comfort food dream. There are the creative burgers and loaded fries on which Stinnett first built his reputation with the Lazy Bulldog Food Truck, plus an expanded menu that includes melts, nachos, wings, tacos and more. With Lazy Bulldog Bistro, Stinnett is making good on upholding his brand’s billing of “savory hand-crafted deliciousness.”
Besides Stinnett’s enthusiasm and genuine warmth, there’s a reason Lazy Bulldog Bistro has the feel of a roadside café or neighborhood diner. Although he attended culinary school in North Carolina, Stinnett didn’t work in a kitchen until he launched Lazy Bulldog Food Truck in 2019. Instead, to support his family and save up for his someday restaurant, he followed in his father’s footsteps driving tractor trailers up and down the east coast. Stinnett frequently stopped for meals at diners, which inspired the on-the-road meals he cooked for himself using a propane camping grill. He started writing down recipes for his spins on traditional diner fare like burgers and sandwiches, while dreaming of opening a fine dining restaurant.
After nearly seven years on the road, Stinnett was ready for a change of scenery and picked Roanoke, where his father lives. Although Stinnett hoped to first open a brick-and-mortar, his finances pointed to a lower risk investment, like a food truck. Although Roanoke had a burgeoning food truck scene leading up to 2019, Stinnett saw a need for a burger/sandwich truck. He launched Lazy Bulldog Food Truck in March of that year with a roster of creative burgers—many of which were gleaned from the recipe book he wrote back in his truck-driving days—and the business took off.
John Park
Lazy Bulldog's interior exudes a cool, fun vibe with painted bulldog portraits and party lights.
The Lazy Bulldog Food Truck’s following grew so much, that Stinnett decided it was time to open a brick-and-mortar location. In January 2022, he opened Lazy Bulldog Bistro; due to staffing issues, it didn’t get up and running until June 2022. Stinnett expresses immense gratitude for two key employees, Jordan Holland, head chef and catering manager, and Brittany Nelson, general manager. Not only have their experiences and contributions streamlined operations across the bistro, catering and food truck businesses, but the dynamic has remedied the burnout Stinnett experienced after three years of running the food truck as a single dad of two.
John Park
The Dirty Burger features a cheddar-topped beef patty piled with BBQ pulled pork, thick cut hickory bacon and fried onion rings.
Although Stinnett has put down restaurant roots with his bistro, the scrappy food truck ethos remains a backbone of his work ethic and hospitality philosophy. The small kitchen replicates the food truck set-up to maximize the modest space and simplify workflow, while the open layout mimics the food truck window. “It’s kind of like working in a food truck in the bistro kitchen where everyone can see. I can talk to everybody. It’s a real cool atmosphere,” Stinnett says. The food truck vibes extend to other facets of the dining experience, including bottled drinks and plastic ware. But make no mistake, this is not fast food—everything is handmade and made to order.
Let’s start with burgers. There’s a dozen or so options, each anchored by a hand-ground beef patty seasoned with Stinnett’s signature seven-spice rub. Stinnett cooks all burgers until medium, so once they arrive at your table, they’ll have reached his platonic ideal of doneness (though he’s happy to oblige diners’ doneness preferences). Burgers come with a small basket of fries, craggy-crisp outside and fluffy within, as well as a stack of napkins, which hints at the ensuing juicy, messy deliciousness that’s paramount to a satisfying burger experience.
Want to learn more about the delicious comfort foods Lazy Bulldog's dishing up? Check out the latest issue, now on newsstands, or see it for free in our digital guide linked below!
The story above is a preview from our March/April 2023 issue. For more stories like it, Subscribe Today. Thank you!