This is an archival story that predates current editorial management.
This archival content was written, edited, and published prior to LAist's acquisition by its current owner, Southern California Public Radio ("SCPR"). Content, such as language choice and subject matter, in archival articles therefore may not align with SCPR's current editorial standards. To learn more about those standards and why we make this distinction, please click here.
If you're looking for proof that good things come from unexpected places, head down to the Lock & Key Social Drinkery and Kitchen in Downey. Their secret menu (packing items like a brown butter quesadilla-topped ribeye and a black bun pastrami burger) currently features an Elote Burger—and it's not something you'll want to miss.
"There was an elote bowl that we had on the menu," Marc Shelton, owner and founder of Lock & Key SDK, told LAist. "And I love mash-ups and one-upping things, so, I said, let's put it on a burger and see what happens. And it caught fire."
The burger is topped with fire-roasted corn, chipotle adobo, cream cheese, cotija cheese, scallions, mayo, and hot cheetos.
"Flamin' Hot Cheetos are a very nostalgic thing," Shelton said. "We have a Hot Cheetos Pie [also on the secret menu]. It's what girls used to eat in high school."
Can't say we remember that, but we're intrigued, as we are by the Manimal(a burger smothered with applewood smoked bacon candy, American cheese, and "secret sauce") and the Cheese Boner (a burger topped with mac 'n cheese).
"We take everything seriously, but ourselves," Shelton told LAist. "The biggest thing to us is the guest experience."
The Elote Burger is still on the secret menu, but Shelton expects to put it on the restaurant's regular menu by mid-July. The burger is $14.
Lock & Key Social Drinkery and Kitchen is located at 11033 Downey Avenue in Downey. Hours are 11:30 a.m. to midnight, Tuesday and Wednesdays and Sundays, with extended 1 a.m. closing on Thursday, and 2 a.m. closing on Friday. On Saturdays, hours are 2 p.m. to 2 a.m. The restaurant is closed on Mondays. (562) 822-8281
