Unless you *really* pay attention to food focused organizations and publications, or in this case, Charro Steak’s Facebook feed, it’s likely you haven’t heard of the Blended Burger Project™.
The James Beard Foundation, in partnership with the Mushroom Council, is hosting the third annual iteration of the project, which JBF calls, “a movement that strives to make burgers better by blending ground meat with chopped mushrooms, creating an incredibly delicious patty that’s healthier for your guests and more sustainable for the planet.”
The end result of the Blended Burger Project™ is a nationwide competition in which restaurants across the U.S. sign up and enter their own unique version of a blended burger (see video below). The restaurants encourage voting from the community, guests, and such, in hopes of – in addition to bragging rights and national recognition – a trip for the chef to the historic James Beard House in New York City to showcase the winning burger.
Why am I telling you all of this? Because if you haven’t already heard, downtown Tucson’s Charro Steak is a participant.
And get this – they named a version of a blended burger after yours truly. Adam’s Wake Up Call features “deconstructed chile relleno” with over easy egg, Arizona grass fed beef chorizo, and cheddar cheese on a corn meal bun.
I’m not the only one with a burger namesake, however. The Arizona Daily Star’s Andi Berlin, Edible Baja Arizona’s Doug Biggers, local food photographer and author Jackie Alpers, and On The Menu Live’s Matt Russell have also been granted this food-fame honor. You can check out the full menu descriptions of each burger here.
Charro Steak has been pushing the voting pretty hard since the competition started (Memorial Day) and it runs through July 31, 2017. So there’s still plenty of time to vote. And you can vote daily. Currently, Charro is holding steady at fifth place, which is a solid placement at this stage. It’s especially impressive with the endless list of participants nationwide. But the leader at the time of this article is holding first place with over 12,000 votes while Charro’s a couple hundred shy of 6,000. They need your vote. You can vote for Charro Steak’s Blended Burger here.
Lastly, voting could win you a trip, too. Anyone who votes is entered to win an all-expense paid trip for two to the same event in which the chef will showcase the winning burger at the James Beard House in 2018.
There’s a ton of additional information at jamesbeard.org/blendedburgerproject.
Oh, and if you need a reminder to vote, just like Charro Steak on Facebook. They’ll remind you.
Charro Steak is located at 188 E. Broadway Blvd. For more information, visit charrosteak.com. For more information regarding the James Beard Foundation and the Blended Burger Project™, visit jamesbeard.org (Programs>Partnerships).
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