A Burger A Week – Let’s Wrap This Up!
Boy, that seemed like a LONG burger road! 🍔
🍔 Well, That Was Fun! I’m not exactly sure what I was thinking back in July of ’22. It probably isn’t the best idea that I’ve ever come up with (but it may be one of the strangest!). Attempting to eat (and write about) a new burger each and every week for an entire year IS NOT normal! But here we are.
In reality, that beefy little adventure took twice the time to complete. I’m not going to say that it wasn’t a good time (because it was!) It was a lot to bite off. That much is now perfectly clear.
❓ There Were Questions Along the Way. Thanks so much for all of the emails and comments over the past 24 or so months. You had lots of burger-related questions. I did get to all of them. I’m just hoping the answers were semi-coherent.
Things some of you folks asked…
• Did you get free burger meals? Nope, we paid for all of them!
• Were there burgers that you didn’t write about? Yes. I’ll leave it at that.
• Did you rate them or keep score? Not exactly. But we did have some guidelines that we used to keep track of them all.
• You really like fries, don’t you? YES, I DO! (This was actually a revelation for me. I had no idea. 🍟😁)
• You never really had anything horrible to say about any of those burgers. What’s up with that? We all know where you can go on the great big World Wide Web if that’s the type of content you’d really like to read.
• Will there be a “Best of” at the end? Yes, and you’re reading it right now!
🏅 Let’s Talk Burgers! OK, here we go. You asked, we’re about to answer! 📝 Let’s try and remember this WAS NOT a contest or a competition. Results may vary with each visit. Be nice!
BEST “SMASH” STYLE BURGERS
BEST TRADITIONAL STYLE BURGERS
BEST “NO FRILLS” BURGERS
BEST BURGERS UNDER $10 (These were priced under $10 when we ate them)
BEST SPLURGE BURGERS
BEST FRIES! 🍟
MESSY, BUT SO WORTH IT
All right! Those are just a few of our favs from the past 24 or so months. I’m sure you have yours too.
🗣️ We’ve been talking burgers for almost two years. Now it’s your turn! We’d like to hear about your favorites. We’re going to put together a little reader summary down the road. HERE’S A LINK TO TELL US WHAT YOU THINK!
👋 GONE, BUT NOT FORGOTTEN. When you do just about anything for over a year, things will look different at the finish than they do at the start. That’s true for burgers, too. Over the course of our journey there were a few casualties.
Places do close. And for a wide variety of reasons. You all know what those reasons are. We don’t need a full analysis here. Unfortunately, these spots are no longer available to take your burger order… The Public House, Knick’s Tavern & Grill, BurgerFi, Opus SRQ, and of course, the Hob Nob Drive-In. 😢
🏫 Some Lessons from BurgerLand. As you can imagine, there would be stuff to learn. I thought burger consumption was going to be a pretty straightforward affair. Not so.
1️⃣ Before A Burger A Week, my toppings preference was pretty much mustard and onions (and cheese, of course.) I decided at the beginning that, to be fair, I would order each burger as it was described on the menu. I figured if the chef/cook took the time to try and design a tasty burger, I should give that at least a chance. Boy, was I happy that I did! I’ll never go back to the old boring days! 😁
2️⃣ It’s apparently not super easy to cook a burger to medium temp (who knew? 🤷♂️.) I ordered all of my burgers cooked medium (to kind of level the playing field). Most of them came back somewhere in the ballpark, but a decent number didn’t. I did find that places that were “known” for their burgers did a WAY better job at hitting the mark!
3️⃣ Go when it’s busy. The burgers that came out of the kitchens of restaurants that were bustling, on the whole were cooked and constructed better. Maybe the kitchen finds its peak flow when the tickets are coming fast and furious!
🍔 LAST! – This was fun. And we’re done (mostly). But you still may, from time to time, see another A Burger A Week article pop up in your inbox. New places will open (they deserve some love.), or one might not have been on our radar (we’d hate to neglect a deserving patty!) Let’s just see how it goes…
🤗 Thanks so much for coming along on our burger ride! It wouldn’t have been nearly as much fun without you!
🗓️ SARASOTA FOOD EVENTS 🗓️
Here are some upcoming local food events that we think you might find interesting. All you need to do is make that reservation. We’ve provided you with a link to more info.
⭐⭐ If you have an event, we’d like to help you spread the word. Let us know! (EMAIL IT)
📖 BUY A COPY OF OUR 2024 SARASOTA DINING BOOK! – ORDER HERE 📖
😋 MICHAEL’S ON EAST – MONTHLY EPICUREAN MENU – CUBA
📆 WEEKLY POP-UP KITCHEN EVENTS – 99 Bottles Taproom & Bottle Shop
🧀 CHEESE CLASSES! – Sign Up for a Cheese Class – Artisan Cheese Co.
We’ve got a few things for you to do in the next days, weeks, and months. Get out there and take advantage of what our Sarasota restaurant community has to offer! ⬇️
AUG 10 – Banfi Wine Dinner – Madfish Grill
AUG 15 – Jackson Family Wine Dinner – Libby’s (Southside Vill.)
AUG 16 – El Pino Club Wine Dinner – Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse
AUG 16 – Cakebread Cellars Wine Dinner – Pier 22
AUG 20 – The Blend Progressive Dinner – Sarasota Manatee Originals
AUG 22 – Cakebread Cellars Wine Dinner – Mattison’s Forty-One
AUG 29 – Syrah & Viognier Wine Tasting – Mademoiselle Paris (UTC)
AUG 30 – Syrah & Viognier Wine Tasting – Mademoiselle Paris (AMI)
SEPT 8 – Summer Art Mart – Meadows Farm Market
SEPT 21 – Sarasota Opera Food & Wine Festival – INFO 🎶
SEPT 25 – The Blend Progressive Dinner – Sarasota Manatee Originals
🧑🌾 FARMER’S MARKET INFO 🌾
EVERY SUNDAY – Siesta Key Farmer’s Market – DETAILS
EVERY SUNDAY – Farmer’s Market at Lakewood Ranch – DETAILS
EVERY SUNDAY – The Meadows Farmer’s Market – DETAILS
EVERY WEDNESDAY – The Phillippi Farmhouse Market (Oct-Apr) – DETAILS
THIRD THURSDAY NIGHT – RADD Night Market – DETAILS
EVERY SATURDAY – Sarasota Farmer’s Market – DETAILS
EVERY SATURDAY – Downtown Bradenton Public Market – DETAILS
EVERY SATURDAY – Venice Farmer’s Market – DETAILS
🌟 SHARE, FOLLOW, LIKE 🌟
📱 Yes, we’re on social media! Our Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Threads
Get information on 350+ Sarasota restaurants on the dineSarasota.com website
Did you miss a story? Here are some of our past Bites – SB ARCHIVE
Do you love our A Burger A Week pieces? – HERE’S THE FULL ARCHIVE 🍔
Check out all of our Videos on our YouTube channel!
Refer a friend to Sarasota Bites. That would make us super happy CLICK HERE!
Email us a question, comment, or suggest a story. SEND EMAIL
Leave a Reply