The Downtown Abilene Burger Brawl began Jan. 15 and will last through Feb. 17 at 5 p.m.
This competition features nine different Abilene eateries, each tasked with coming up with their own burger creation. The winner of the competition is decided by locals and visitors, all sampling the burgers and submitting votes for the eatery that they feel should be given the title of Burger Brawl winner. Winners will be announced on the official Downtown Abilene social media pages.
To be eligible to vote, first pick up a stamp card from any of the nine participating locations; the Abilene Chamber of Commerce, located at 400 Pine St Ste. 500; or the Convention & Visitors Bureau, 1101 N 1st St. Next, go to any of the eatery’s and order the Burger Brawl creation and the location will stamp your card once you order.
One burger is equivalent to one stamp on your card, and you must have at least two stamps to be eligible to vote. The number of stamps does not need to come from the same place. You can visit one location for your first stamp, a second location for the next one and you will be eligible to vote for your favorite burger. The number of stamps you receive on your card is also the same as the number of points that the restaurant you vote for gets.
To submit your vote, simply turn in your stamp card at any participating location, or at the same areas listed above that are handing out stamp cards. For more information about locations, their burger creations, or more about the competition as a whole, be sure to visit the official Downtown Abilene website, or use this link: https://www.downtownabi.com/burger-brawl/
I had the opportunity to personally try three of the burger creations. The first creation I tried was the Green Chili and Bacon Cheeseburger Hand Pie at Caitie Pies. Going into this restaurant, I did not know what to expect, especially since I have never participated in something like this before. The first thing I noticed was the obvious; the burger was a meat pie. While skeptical at first, I decided to give it the good old-fashioned college try, and I am glad that I did. The flavor of the filling was phenomenal, reminding me of a traditional burger with grilled onion, pepper jack cheese, ground beef and bacon. The crust was a crispy golden brown, with a satisfying crunch. The pie is served with a chipotle-avocado aioli dipping sauce, which elevated the pie and made it taste even better than it did before.
The second creation that I sampled was The Luther from The Local. This creation follows much closer to what is classified as a traditional burger, having buns, meat and cheese. However, the key aspect that caught my eye was the buns being donuts. The burger had one six oz. patty, white American cheese and a fabulous bacon jam, served with a side of crinkle fries. The burger felt like it was melting in my mouth, with the sweetness of the donuts, the savoriness of the burger and the bacon jam all melding together perfectly. Before I tried the burger, I was skeptical about the donut bun, not knowing whether it would work, but I was happily surprised with the burger tasting even better because of the donut bun.
The third and final creation I tried was the BBQ Brewhouse Burger at Grain Theory. This was the most traditional of the burgers, having a normal grilled bun, crispy onion, smoked cheddar, pickles, BBQ sauce and a half-pound beef patty. This burger was also served with fries and came with a tangy dipping sauce. This creation, just like the others, was fantastic. The perfect amount of juiciness in the patty, a good ratio of BBQ sauce on the burger and a good amount of onions and pickles made this burger amazing. As this burger was closest to the norm, I did not have as many concerns about eating one
All three of these burgers were fantastic and I enjoyed being able to sample them and see for myself whether the hype behind this competition was valid. I was happily surprised by these burgers and will definitely continue to participate by trying more of the creations before the contest ends. Out of these three, the one that stood out to me the most and the one I enjoyed the most had to be The Luther from The Local. Caitie Pies and Grain Theory both provided strong contenders in this competition.
However, my main critique for them would be that Caitie Pies made a phenomenal pie, but I would not classify it as a burger and that Grain Theory did not take much risk with their creation, providing a run-of-the-mill BBQ burger. The Luther simply blew me away, having the taste, the presentation and a good amount of risk associated with its creation. I personally, out of these three, rank The Luther at number one, Grain Theory’s BBQ Brewhouse Burger at number two and Caitie Pies Green Chili and Bacon Cheeseburger Hand Pie at number three.
I highly recommend that anyone who is able to should try to go to some of the Burger Brawl locations and partake in tasting these fantastic burger creations.
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