To quote the great MC Hammer, Indy Burger Battle was "2 Legit 2 Quit."
Yeah, I know. I apologize for that. Should I mention I'm also wearing those MC Hammer parachute pants, too? For those of you who know me, that should frighten you.
In all seriousness, I was so grateful to receive a pair of tickets from Yelp to attend this event that was held in the Georgia Street area of downtown Indy on what proved to be an absolutely beautiful day for an outdoor burger battle between about a dozen of Indy's better known burger joints.
Sadly, Between the Bun and Bent Rail Brewery had bowed out before the battle. Between the Bun had actually won the Critics' prize in 2015.
If you can't tell, I'm having a lot of fun with the whole "B" thing.
I arrived about 20 minutes before the 1pm start time for "Regular" Burger Battle tasters - the VIP's started at Noon. The Battle consisted of a celebrity judging for "Critics' Choice" and a "Peoples' Choice" prize. I will confess I bowed out before winners were announced - mostly because I wanted to observe the processional for Lt. Allan.
Restaurants included Binkley's Kitchen & Bar, Burger Study, Flamme Burger (the defending Critics' Choice winner), Four Day Ray Brewing, High 5 Lunch, Hops & Fire Craft Tap House, Kilroy's Bar n' Grill, Red Lion Grog House, Rush on Main, Stacked Pickle, Teddy's Burger Joint, and Weber Grill. You received a free slider from each of the restaurants. Really.
The event benefits Building Tomorrow, a non-profit that builds schools and supports educational opportunities in Uganda.
You also received a ticket for one free brew from one of the present brewers including Four Day Ray, Tow Yard, and Sun King. They also had water available and soft drinks.
As much as I'm a huge burger fan, these battles are tough for me as I tend to keep things rather simple and, quite often, even plain. So, these sort of fancy schmantzy burgers aren't really my thing and, in fact, my vote for the Peoples' Choice did actually go to one of the simpler concoctions. No, I'm not saying. I don't want hate mail from the other 11.
While the initial line was a bit confusing and chaotic, as people really started to line up the folks working the event came out and really got things going well. I was impressed with the overall planning throughout, though I'll admit that it's kind of a tough event if you're alone in a wheelchair just in terms of carrying things and wheeling from tent to tent. It ultimately worked and the vast majority of those attending were remarkably friendly and accommodating.
There was music playing throughout the event and, in an appropriate touch, the music was silenced as Lt. Allan's processional passed by. The security folks were firm yet friendly, especially around iD for drinks, and even the folks cleaning up things were fantastic. At one point, I accidentally dropped something on the ground and someone who was cleaning was almost immediately over to get it - I apologized and he was "No worries. It's why they have me here."
As always, the Yelp crew was here and super friendly and you got your usual Yelp-branded perk for showing up and checking in.
Had I paid, the event would have been in the $30-35 range - which seems expensive until you consider that includes a dozen sliders plus a beer and/or sodas or water. It's easily worth it as many of these restaurants have burger prices in the $8-15 range anyway.
I came away from the event with a couple restaurants I want to try, most specifically Burger Study and Four Day Ray, and awful grateful for the ongoing downtown improvement that gives us such delightful spaces for social events such as Indy Burger Battle. I did hear post-event that Flamme Burger picked up the Critics' prize for the second year in a row. Hops on Fire picked up the Peoples' Choice prize. So, what are you waiting for? Go grab dinner!
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