21 Jul The Habit Burger & Grill Launches Habit & Co. with Chef Jet Tila’s Korean Street Food Menu

For more than 50 years, The Habit Burger & Grill has been known for one thing: fresh, made-to-order chargrilled burgers. While those burgers remain at the heart of the brand, Habit has steadily expanded its menu with salads, wraps, sandwiches, and award-winning sides (tempura green beans), all while earning recognition as the #1 Fast Casual Restaurant in America. Beyond food, Habit established a partnership with the Los Angeles Dodgers and is now taking another step forward with the launch of Habit & Co. This new chef residency program brings celebrated culinary talent into the Habit kitchen.

This is not another celebrity chef collaboration but rather an eight-week culinary residency. Each chef brings their own perspective, influences, and creativity to the menu while staying true to what makes Habit unique. The program launches July 22 with its first resident chef, Jet Tila, and will continue with additional collaborators through January 2027.

A Very LA Collaboration

To kick off this new residency, Habit has collaborated with Chef Jet Tila. If there is one chef who embodies Los Angeles’ diverse food culture, it is Tila. A Food Network star, James Beard Award–recognized, and Emmy-nominated chef, Tila was born and raised in Los Angeles, growing up between Thai Town, Koreatown, Chinatown, and the many neighborhoods whose cuisines have shaped the city’s food scene.

His family opened the first Thai market and one of the first Thai restaurants in Los Angeles, just blocks from Koreatown on Melrose Avenue. Street food, bold flavors, and the blending of cultures became part of his culinary DNA. It is the combination of flavors that defines what he calls “LA food”.

To add to this, Tila grew up eating Habit Burger. He explained that creating this menu was both an honor and a chance to introduce guests to the flavors that helped shape his childhood.”I grew up eating Habit, so this felt personal,” Tila explained during the launch event I attended. “With this menu, we pulled from the Korean street food flavors I loved eating as a kid…then brought those flavors into Habit’s world.”  That is why this collaboration feels authentic.

Tila’s limited-time menu, which will be available at participating Habit Burger & Grill restaurants nationwide from July 22 through September 15, 2026, blends fresh ingredients and Habit’s signature chargrilled flavor with sweet spice.

Korean Fried Chicken Bites feature all-natural chicken that’s double-breaded in a seasoned coating before being tossed in a sweet-and-spicy gochujang-inspired glaze. Finished with everything bagel seasoning and served alongside Habit’s housemade buttermilk ranch, the bites deliver plenty of crunch with sweet spice and a creamy finish.

The Crispy Rice Korean Salad layers chargrilled chicken breast with romaine, cabbage slaw, tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, egg, crispy rice, and everything bagel seasoning, all tossed with a sweet-and-spicy dressing. The combination offers contrasting textures – cold lettuce, crunchy cabbage, crisp rice, tender chicken, and creamy egg – alongside sweet, spicy, savory, and umami flavors.

The Sweet & Spicy Korean Char with Bacon and Onion Tanglers starts with Habit’s signature chargrilled beef patty and adds white American cheese, hickory-smoked bacon, crispy onion tanglers, green leaf lettuce, tomato, garlic aioli, and a sweet-and-spicy sauce on a toasted brioche bun.

A Personal Reunion

One unexpected highlight of the event had nothing to do with the food. I first met Jet Tila more than twenty years ago, when we were both members of the American Wine Society and I was just starting out in the wine industry. Back then, we participated in wine events together, long before either of us knew where our careers would lead.

Since then, Tila has become one of the country’s most recognizable chefs and television personalities, while my own journey led me deeper into the worlds of wine, food, and travel. It was great to see him again after more than two decades. It was a small reminder that while careers evolve, good food still has a way of bringing people back together.