A food truck that operates Wednesday through Sunday in the same Bonita parking lot

I spotted a pink alien over the skies of Bonita.

Which was weird, because food trucks don’t usually have signs 20-feet tall. The illustrated extra terrestrial is the logo for Smash and Stack, a mobile kitchen that’s been slinging burgers out of a vacated parking lot on Bonita Road. The Mexican restaurant that used to do business here, La Finca de Adobe, closed a couple years ago, and the building that housed it has been fenced off for some sort of remodel. So, for the time being at least, Smash and Stack has commandeered the tall signpost out front, to raise its pink alien banner high up where traffic can see it.

The former site of La Finca de Adobe

It worked on me, though it remained a mystery in which way a pink alien represents cheeseburgers. As its name suggests, Smash and Stack specializes in smashburgers. Its brightly-colored menu choices are few: you may order a $10 single patty or $13 double stack, served on a buttered brioche bun (or lettuce wrap for the carb-averse). And you may take your burger as-is (with house sauce and cheddar cheese only), or add lettuce, tomato, and grilled onions for no additional charge.

I put in my order and grabbed a table. Because this statoinary food truck also boasts a casual arrangement of outdoor dining furniture. Fortunately, I showed up to blue skies and fluffy clouds — cheeseburger weather.

The short time I waited on my food proved just long enough for me to discover a less-prominent, third way to dress your burger: by employing the small bin of pickled jalapeños beside the truck counter’s napkin dispenser. This would prove a game-changing discovery.

My burgers showed up with the style’s signature irregular patties, and cheddar so melted it practically coated the beef like a glaze. Judging by grill marks on the bun, these burgers get in one last smash on the griddle, before they’re served — and in the case of my second burger, before juicy tomato slices and a heap of shredded lettuce are added.

Single-patty smash burgers: one served as-is, one with lettuce, tomatoes, and grilled onions

At first blush, I liked the fully dressed burger better. The smashburger style usually favors bare toppings: cheese and a mild, savory sauce, maybe pickles or griddled onions. But to my gnashing teeth, added texture from the lettuce and tomatoes provided better balance with the chew of the tall top bun.

Though as it turns out, those jalapeños also work. They didn’t change the chew much, but they did shift my focus to the mutually beneficial marriage of smashburger and chili spice. Adding these to the second half of my regular order gave it a sky-high boost. Extra-terrestrials bearing spice are always welcome on my planet.