Best burger contest
MICHELLE BURGESS
Get Out
June 27, 2002
He won the culinary worlds top prize last year and has been on too many top 10 lists to count, but Roaring Fork owner/ executive chef Robert McGrath says no other recognition means much next to his Best Burger title from Get Out.
All the other recognition weve received pales in comparison, the 2001 James Beard Award- winner says.
All joking aside, McGrath points out that cooking a good burger is as praiseworthy as crafting other cuisines.
When you win something for making complex, fancy foods, you are talking about creations with so many ingredients that you can cover things up, he says. But with a burger, there is no room for error. Youve got to be dead-on.
McGraths burger, the 12-ounce Big Ass, has proven by its continuing popularity to be consistently dead-on. Topped with green chilies, longhorn colby cheddar and bacon, the Big Ass is enormous but doesnt stress size over substance.
Its the best of both worlds big in size and equally big in flavor and quality.
McGrath says it is especially gratifying to have been nominated by his customers for the contest. And he is proud that diners appreciate the contrast in the types of food Roaring Fork offers.
The fact that one restaurant can win awards for fine dining and an award for bar food speaks volumes, he says. Plus, the Roaring Fork is all about having fun, and this just personifies that spirit.
He adds, though, that he still considers his burger, like everything else on the menu, a work in progress.
Were still working on mastering the basics its ongoing, he says. The day you think youve mastered anything is the day you start moving backward instead of forward.
Try it yourself
To try the Roaring Forks award-winning burger at the site where it was created, you had better hurry.
The Roaring Fork is moving its Big Ass as well as everything else on the menu from its current location on Camelback Road just east of Scottsdale Road to 4800 N. Scottsdale Road, just around the corner in the Finova Building.
The restaurant will close its doors Friday and will reopen at the new location July 5.
One major reason for the move was the popularity of the restaurants signature burger and its happy hour. Because the burger is only available at the bar, diners are often left standing, two deep, at the current location. The new Roaring Fork, located in the space once occupied by the now-defunct Il Fornaio, will have a much larger bar.
The burger will still cost $6 during a new, expanded happy hour, 4 to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday. In the new location, though, it will be available, still only in the bar, until closing for $12.
Roaring Fork nominator raves about the winner
Dan Carlson hails from the home of the burger, a vast culinary playground for aficionados of juicy ground beef slapped into a bun.
Los Angeles, where Carlson lived before moving to the East Valley four years ago, is a paradox. On one hand, it is the land of the healthy, the home of granola girls, buff boys and legions of organically fixated vegetarians. On the other hand, Southern California gave birth to the fast-food hamburger and still inspires rabid allegiance in burger lovers loyal to places like In-N-Out and Fatburger.
Carlson thought he had left behind burger heaven when he moved to Cave Creek. For the first 3 1/2 years he lived here, he mourned his loss of contact with Los Angeles Tommys Burgers.
Then the media came to his rescue.
I heard (television personalities and radio DJs) Beth and Bill talk about the Roaring Fork, Carlson says, and at about the same time I read something in Get Out about the Big Ass Burger. (My wife and I) went to the restaurant specifically to try that burger.
He has been grateful ever since that they did.
This hamburger is absolutely amazing, he says. I have never, ever had a better hamburger.
Now Carlson, usually accompanied by his wife, eats a Big Ass Burger about once a month. Most of the time they enjoy their burgers with huckleberry margaritas, another Roaring Fork specialty.
One of several readers to nominate the Roaring Fork incidentally, the most-suggested restaurant in our contest Carlson was chosen as the winning nominator when his name was pulled out of a hat.
Judging is not all buns, burgers
Eating for free is harder than most people realize.
Sure, its fun to be chosen as a taste- tester for one of Get Outs contests. Its hard, too; in the five contests weve held so far, our calls for panelists have yielded 200 to 400 e-mails from tester hopefuls.
Many answer, few are called.
This time, the three who were selected were Sarah Crandall of Mesa, Dale Stovall of Scottsdale and Larry Kay of Chandler. Geography played a part in their selection, as did their brief and clever summaries about why they would like to participate.
All say they enjoyed the 10 weeks they spent traveling around the East Valley sampling burgers. Each received a reimbursement of $225, or $22.50 for each of the 10 restaurants they visited.
I did enjoy the experience, Kay says. It was interesting putting into words how a specific dining experience ranked. Before, if someone asked me how a joint was, or if the food was good, my answer would be yes or no. Now, I feel Id have to launch into an essay about the bun and the condiments to get my point across.
Crandall says she began her secret missions into unsuspecting burger joints feeling self-conscious and secretive. Writing got easier, she says, but the effort of visiting each place and putting the experience into words did not.
My biggest concern was being fair to the restaurant and yet making the comments interesting, she says. (I knew that) the results of the contest could mean a lot to the restaurants, especially the mom-and-pop operations.
Deadlines, too, were something our testers had to get used to. Some acclimated better than others.
Still, all three panelists say they would recommend the experience to others who like to eat, have 10 weeks in which to do so and dont mind traveling everywhere in the East Valley, from Gold Canyon to Carefree and Ahwatukee Foothills to Fountain Hills.
So, the big question is, when will that opportunity arise?
Until now, a new contest has begun as soon as the old one ends. This time, however, we are putting a little space between contests. Look for the next contest to be announced the first week of September.
And if eating and writing sound like an appetizing combination, maybe you can try your hand at restaurant reviewing.
We were on a mission to be serious and fair and yet have fun, Crandall says. I just really enjoyed my assignments.
Burger contest final standings
1. Roaring Fork: 136 points out of 150
At $6, the huge, well-topped Big Ass Burger is served with fries and was called a tremendous deal by our testers. All ranked this burger No. 1, with one tester promising that diners will spin on their bar stools in ecstasy.
2. Zipps: 123 points
Our panelists raved about the toppings and fries. The lettuce was crisp, the tomatoes ripe and the pickles were spilling out of the sides of this steaming-hot burger, said one.
3. Rock Bottom: 121 points
One taste-tester likened the Brew Burger to those made the way dad used to on the backyard grill. A few points were lost due to a dry bun and one panelists complaint of an overdone burger.
4. Giant Hamburgers: 118 points
Buns were praised by all, and near-perfect marks were given in all categories by one tester who said of Giant: This is an oh-so-personal, one-of-a-kind diner serving the true American hamburger of your dreams.
5. Pischkes Paradise: 112 points
Ho-hum scores for undercooked patties and questionable value were offset by high numbers in the Extras category. Though there are no fries on the menu, the spiced potatoes served instead were called delish by one taster.
6. The Chuck Box: 108 points
The ASU institution was lauded for its juicy, handmade burgers and tasty, fat fries. But while two testers were impressed, one was less so, and the Big Ones served at The Chuck Box faltered in the rankings.
7. Chops: 106 points
Our tasters were in agreement that their experiences at Chops were less than ideal, though their reasons differed. Still, all raved about the toasted, Italian-style bun. Said one: Chops makes bread like the mythical Italian grandmas of old.
8. Hangar Cafe: 103 points
Hangar Cafe caught a tough break by being scheduled first, but was also called on the carpet for fries and a burger that was undercooked. Testers liked the price, though: At $4.95 for an extra-large cheeseburger with fries, the value was good.
9. Marcias Long Wongs: 102 points
The value was universally praised, but Marcias score got hammered thanks to buns called both dry and soggy and other inconsistencies. One taster said his burger was loaded, while another lamented the dearth of toppings.
10. Johnny Rockets: 92 points
What went wrong? According to our panelists, everything: high price/low value, sogginess, poor preparation, greasy flavor and blandness. It was a step up from McDonalds, one tester said in a supremely backhanded compliment.
