THE UNDERGROUND BURGER CO. AT THE LEANING CASK. PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER.

After downing 32 burgers for March’s cover story, I vowed to reduce my meat-and-bun consumption. That’s pretty difficult in a town where the number of burger joints is rising faster than my cholesterol.

Here are a few new spots that lured me back into the grease trap.

The Underground Burger Co. at Leaning Cask Brewing Co.

Springdale’s The Leaning Cask Brewing Co., a pup-friendly pub that names their English-style ales after canine breeds, is celebrating its seventh anniversary. So, it is, in essence, their dog year.

To mark the milestone, owners Josh and Stefanie Lipke are starting a new food concept that’s sure to get tails and tongues a-waggin’.

The Underground Burger Co., named after London’s famed subway system, specializes in smash burgers, Belgian-inspired fries, authentic liege waffles and homemade lemonades. By late-summer, the eatery will operate several days a week from the lower-level of the brewery’s courtyard. The 2,000-square-foot, four-tiered space is literally below Pittsburgh Street-level, so the name’s quite right, innit?

In addition to wine, cider, beer and cask ale (a rare style in Pittsburgh), you can sip housemade cocktails by the firepits. play outdoor games and pet dogs.

Partners Justin Herko and Kailey Resnik handle the sizzling side of the pro-Brit business. They made me a jolly good burger on July 10 during the third and final pop-up of the summer.

Despite the kiln-like temperatures, it felt like the holidays inside the spacious taproom. The AC was on full-blast and a faux fireplace roared in the cozy lounge area. People were eating, drinking and being merry while watching a “football” game being played across the pond.

Excessive heat turns me into a real Scrooge, but I felt so dang festive I ordered a pint of Christmas Cur, a winter ale that’s made an off-season return to the draft list.

My burger, crafted from locally sourced ingredients including beef from Salem’s Market and an Allegro Bakery’s gluten-free bun that gives the sandwich a nice chew, arrived at my table in a little box. For a meat-lover, it was the perfect Christmas in July present.

All that was missing was a big, red bow.

Springdale Borough: 850 Pittsburgh St. Hours are Wednesday-Friday 4 to 10 p.m., Saturday noon to 10 and Sunday noon to 6 p.m.

Pepito’s Place

PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER

Jose Moreno’s culinary career has taken him from a cooking school in his native Venezuela to a Panamanian cocoa-processing plant, a chocolate company in Brazil, New York City kitchens and Florida, where he specialized in Japanese cuisine.

Now the globetrotter is slinging burgers in Brookline.

Pepito’s Place, which opened in March, fuses Venezuelan street food and American fare. The Mechada hot dog, for instance, is topped with shredded beef brisket, potato sticks, cheddar cheese, ranch and sweet plantain slices.

Pepito’s is named after a Spanish story about Don Pepe, a man who would go to small restaurants and bars and order a baguette filled with meat. He was definitely on to something.

Warning: You might want to bring Pepto-Bismol to Pepito’s Place.

The burgers and dogs are stacked high and the side dishes look more like a main course. The place is small, but you can sit at the counter, spin old 45 records, peruse the eclectic decor and sip a Venezuelan soft drink called Fress Kolita while you eat a deliciously sloppy sandwich.

The Big Boy pepito, accompanied by a side of cheese-bacon fries, is the shop’s biggest seller and the biggest item on the menu.

A 13-inch hoagie roll is stuffed with steak, chicken breast, bacon, corn, potato sticks, shredded cheddar cheese and traditional Venezuelan sauces, including bacon, garlic, cheese and a sweet corn condiment that I would happily drink by the gallon. Social media influencers will love the Smurf Sauce, which has a sweet, smoky flavor and a neon blue hue.

Brookline and the surrounding neighborhoods are filled with lots of great eateries, including The Kickstand Sandwich Shop, Oak Hill Post, Moonlit Burgers and Tim’s Corner Market. Pepito’s Place is a nice addition.

“I wanted to open this eatery because I’ve always had a passion for street food,” Moreno says. “I believe that street food is where a person can truly showcase a lot of their roots and culture through food. When I noticed that this style of food from my country wasn’t represented here, I decided to open this business featuring one of the most universal and popular dishes worldwide: burger.”

Brookline, 919 Brookline Blvd. Hours are 3 to 10 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday and 3 p.m. to midnight Friday and Saturday.

Super Smash Burgh

PHOTO BY KRISTY GRAVER

Super Smash Burgh is located in a former Penn Hills car wash. There’s no indoor seating, but the old bays make nice, little patios.

The new business hasn’t forgotten its property’s roots. On July 14 from noon to sunset, you can fill your belly and clean your ride when the eatery hosts a Bikini Car Wash Day Party with food, drinks, games and music.

Owner Marcus Porter opened the business in June to not only feed the community he loves, but to give his four children a hard-working hero to look up to.

His super power? Making the best kind of bad-for-you food.

The menu includes smash burgers, fries, wings, onion rings and deep-fried Oreos. In an attempt to appear semi-healthy, I opted for the vegan burger. It tasted like the real deal! Of course, I had to try a few bites of my daughter’s beef burger for comparison purposes. And her fries.

Forget my car, my body needs to undergo a cleanse.

Penn Hills, 6520 Saltsburg Road. Hours are 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Friday-Saturday and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday.

Franken-Fried Food Truck

Now that I’ve celebrated Christmas in July, it’s time to decorate for my favorite holiday: Halloween.

I can’t wait to sink my incisors into a burger from Franken-Fried. I’ve been catching glimpses of this frightening food truck around town, but have yet to meet the mad scientist behind it. The vehicle’s paint job, a combination of monsters and munchies, is to die for. I’d like the artist to recreate it in my kitchen – a horrifying place for all ye who enter.