Denver Burger battle is in its second year as Denver’s premier battle of the best burger. I was there at the first battle (see my article here) and I was invited to attend this year’s battle courtesy of Jeremy Kossler, the founder of the Battle. Of course I was unable to say no to that so I was excited to find that the number of contestants was increased from ten to twelve restaurants. That also meant that I had to eat my way through at least 12 quarters or burgers or the equivalent of three full size burgers.

Here are some images from the battle:

 

The two winners from last year (people’s vote and judge’s vote) HBurger and Park Burger were here again to win this year.

I was invited as a VIP, which meant that I was able to get in one hour before most others and that allowed me to go through all burgers in the very first hour.

I am not going into a lot of details on each burger but her is my overall opinion of each one.

Lohi Steakbar

This was a beef burger with blue cheese, sautéed onions, bacon and lettuce. The burger looked very nice and was served with superb homemade fries.

The burger was very good but I was not a big fan of the bacon. It was a little dull and not very crisp. My overall rate: 7 out of 10

Elway’s

This burger was super juicy and had some kick to it. The presentation was very good and the burger was overall excellent. My overall rate: 8 out of 10

Root Down

When I tried this burger my first thought was: What the heck is wrong with this burger? The taste was just very unusual. Seconds later I figured it out. It was a veggie burger and for a burger made entirely out of veggies it was pretty good. That being said, it was competing head to head with meat burgers and as such it had no chance. It was tasty but no way near a burger with meat. Overall rate: 5 out of 10.

Cherry Cricket (also attended in 2010)

This was essentially a burger with a spicy cheese ball on top that is melted. The burger was very good and spicy. My rate: 7 out of 10.

Euclid Hall

This was a Kobe short rib burger topped with housemade kielbasa accompanied with Kimchi and Foie Gras mousse served on an English muffin. The burger was beautiful and the concept sounded very good. The muffin was cold and the overall burger ended up being cold. Overall very disappointing when the expectations were set so high. My rate: 6.5 out of 10.

Crave

This burger was made with roasted duck, ginger garlic cream cheese, red pepper, avocado, lettuce, hoisin and onion. The burger was excellent and the duck really added a lot of taste to this burger. My rate: 8.5 out of 10.

HBurger (People’s winner in 2010)

This was a cheese burger with bacon and was the same burger as was served last year. It was one of my favorites last year and this year the burger still didn’t disappoint. Overall an excellent burger. My rate: 9 out of 10.

Park Burger (Judge’s winner in 2010)

This burger was made with 1/3 lbs Harris Ranch beef, potato bun, and topped with fried egg, baby swiss, rosemary ham and signature burger sauce. I never understood how they could win last year and I was still not a big fan of the burger this year either. I rated it above average with 6 out of 10.

Argyl (also attended in 2010)

Argyl was one of my favorites last year and this year they also knocked one burger out of the park. This burger was a 60% beef and 40% lamb burger with lettuce tomatoes, cheese and bacon. Topped with fresh made onion rings. The onion rings were just so incredibly crisp and tasty and the meat was soft, tender and super juicy. It was a burger to die for and my favorite of all the burgers in the battle. My rate: 9 out of 10.

TAG

They served a kangaroo burger. It was very simple with cheese and lettuce and was actually quite good. I rated it 8 out of 10.

Highland Tap and Burger

They served a cheeseburger with mushrooms and it was a very good burger. The cheese was just not my cup of tea. My overall rate: 7 out of 10.

Birkshire

This was a Kobe burger with short ribs, bacon, cheese and served on a ciabatta bun. The burger was truly beautiful and well composed but ciabatta doesn’t belong on a burger in my opinion. It makes it to difficult to handle the burger and the bread has too much taste for a burger. But the burger was just so excellent and was my first runner up in this competition. My rate: 9 out of 10.

After tasting 12 burgers and going through 1.5 lbs of meat I was in no mood for more to eat. Even the Burger Doctor can have enough burgers in one sitting. So no more burgers for me (until tomorrow )

The competition at the top was very close. All winners got a 9 out of 10 and really had not competition from the other nine contestants.

Official Winners:

1^st place: Highland Tap and Burger (people’s winner) and Park Burger (judge’s winner)

2^nd place: TAG (people’s and judge’s winner)

3rd place: Crave (people’s winner) and Highland Tap and Burger (judge’s winner)

Burger Doctor’s Winners:

1^st place: Argyll

2^nd place: Birkshire

3^rd place: HBurger