Jason Triail is always looking for the recipe for success.
As executive chef for The Habit Burger & Grill, he creates new items for the Irvine-based chain but also tweaks core menu items.
“It’s like, what can we create that no one’s expecting?” he said at a recent tasting event for the chain’s current menu.
It has three new, limited time items, two “new and improved classics” and two “reimagined favorites.”
New items include a Baja Crispy Fish Sandwich, which Triail said was in development for a year and a half. It’s made with beer-battered wild cod, cilantro lime slaw and pickled red onions. During Lent on Fish Fridays through March 27 it will come with a free side of fries.
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Also available for a limited time are Cheesy Street Corn Tots filled with corn, peppers and cilantro, and a Blue Wave Shake, a light blue beverage with coconut and pineapple flavors topped with whipped cream.
The new and improved classics are a BBQ Bacon Char, a chargrilled beef patty topped with crispy onion, and a BBQ Chicken Salad that Triail described as loaded with goodies. It includes bacon, crispy onion, corn, grape tomatoes as well as shaved white cheddar and barbecue sauce drizzle.
Triail said people should be able to see as well as taste what they’re paying for.
“As you’re eating it, by the time you get to the bottom you’ll still be getting corn and bits of bacon and all that cheese.”
Reimagined favorites include the re-relaunch of a steak sandwich. The Habit had a Tenderloin Steak Sandwich on its menu but discontinued it in 2023.
Triail added a different Sirloin Steak Sandwich to the core menu last summer but then further tweaked the recipe, replacing ciabatta bread with toasted sourdough, which Triail said is a little bit lighter.
Finally, the Grilled Chicken Sandwich on the core menu has gotten a makeover with marinated chicken, melted cheese and caramelized onions on a wheat bun.
The Habit’s $10 Gotta Habit meal deal remains on the menu. It includes a half Santa Barbara Char, five-piece Crispy Chicken Bites, a side Garden Ranch Salad and a soft drink
The Habit was founded in 1969 in Santa Barbara and is known for its chargrilled burgers, sides such as Tempura Green Beans and shakes.
It is opening a new location at 1305 Sepulveda Ave., Torrance, on March 3. There will be two previews on Saturday, Feb. 28 for the first 200 people to sign up online at habitburger.com/nro/torrance-sepulveda
Information: habitburger.com