Austin’s first In-N-Out Burger is set to open on Airport Boulevard early next week, but motorists driving that stretch of the street this week caught another new sign: This one for the legendary Big Kahuna Burger, centerpiece of one of the more famous scenes in Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction.
The facade of the Stallion Grill, the venerable fast-food barbecue joint (famous for its “porn chops“), is currently adorned with tiki torches and a big sign that bears an updated version of the logo that appears on the to-go cup in the Pulp Fiction scene. The parking lot, meanwhile, is full of expensive film equipment, including two trailers and a crane.
Given the presence of the equipment, the otherwise-believable notion that someone is just opening a Tarantino-themed burger place in Austin seems unlikely. Somebody is filming something at the location.
The 24-hour security guard outside the restaurant last night explained that they were filming a commercial, but that’s probably not the case—launching a one-off burger joint with a ridiculously expensive commercial before it’s even open is not really a sound business practice. But Quentin Tarantino has no currently announced projects, and as much as we’d love to run with a headline that says “Is Quentin Tarantino filming Pulp Fiction 2 in Austin Right Now?,” that would be reckless speculation.
If we’re going to recklessly speculate, though, the odds are much better that the signage and the equipment are for the From Dusk Till Dawn TV series, which is currently filming in Austin, and which is directed and produced by Tarantino BFF Robert Rodriguez. Tarantino both wrote and starred in the original film, and the idea that Rodriguez is tossing in a Pulp Fiction reference as an Easter egg for fans and to get some nerd juices flowing seems pretty likely.
Publicists for Rodriguez and the From Dusk Till Dawn series weren’t immediately able to confirm that that’s what the Big Kahuna Burger is all about, so if you’re desperate to cling to the Pulp Fiction 2 theory (or if you live in Austin and are hoping to order a “Mahalo Burger”), you can still dream, for now.
In the meantime, let’s revisit the Big Kahuna Burger scene from Pulp Fiction and marvel at how menacing Samuel L. Jackson is capable of being when he is enjoying a tasty burger:
UPDATE: Robert Rodriguez confirms via Twitter that this is for From Dusk Till Dawn. Also, sharp-eyed reader Kevin Sheath reminded us of this clip from the original From Dusk Till Dawn, where George Clooney and Quentin Tarantino’s characters enjoy sandwiches whose wrappers appear to bear the same logo.
