Which Westchester Restaurants Won Big at Our 2021 Burger & Beer Blast
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Photos by Dave Zucker
After a year’s hiatus, our Burger & Beer Blast returned to Kensico Dam Plaza with 2,000 hungry foodies all voting on the best burger around.
Around 2,000 local food lovers gathered at Kensico Dam Plaza in Valhalla this year for one of Westchester’s most popular gastronomic contests: Westchester Magazine’s Burger & Beer Blast. Each one got to cast their vote for their favorite burger of the evening, choosing between seventeen of the county’s best restaurants. Here’s how the evening shook out:
10. North End Tavern
Our 2019 Judge’s Choice winner (and eighth popular vote) placed again this year, with a sweet plantain-topped mini-burger.
9. Latusion Food Truck
A newcomer to our competition, Latusion’s Lomo Burger with Gouda, beef stir-fry, and signature sauce definitely won some hearts and minds.
8. Bareburger
Whipped goat cheese, bacon jam, grilled red onion, diced onion, baby spinach, and herb aioli on a mini ciabatta roll brought a veggie-forward flare and let BB break into the top 10.
7. Prime 16
The house’s custom blended patty was topped simply, with bacon-onion jam and bourbon burger sauce for an elegant bite.
6. The Wooden Spoon
New Rochelle’s 2019’s Fan Choice winner clocked in sixth this year, with a burger as innovative as its previous donut-sandwiched breakfast creation: a whole-shrimp topped mini-burger with spicy sauce on a pretzel bun.
5. Rye Roadhouse
Who wouldn’t love a burger topped with spicy andouille sausage gravy on a toasted bun?
4. Stew Leonard’s Burger Barn
Elevating the classic backyard burger, Stew’s came out swinging with a house blended ribeye/chuck patty loaded up with spicy bread and butter pickles and pimento cheese on a classic Martin’s slider roll.
3. The Bus at Salinger’s Orchard
The DiBari-backed food bus is already known for its adventurous (and delicious) apple-adjacent burgers, and its Burger & Beer Blast creation did not disappoint. Fans were wowed by the balanced flavors of the classic Bus Burger: sharp cheddar, house-made bread & butter pickles, and “Happy Sauce.”
2. Southern Table Kitchen & Bar
With perhaps the most visually stunning burgers on offer, Southern Table made a huge stride this year after placing fifth in our last competition. Its Bullet Burger was a dry-aged beef blend covered in melty locally aged cheddar, caramelized onion, and grilled bacon, as well as a Bulleit Bourbon glaze, before getting skewered with a half cherry tomato and sweet gherkin. Though quite a mouthful, the flavors were balanced and complementary, catapulting Southern Table to second place this year.
1. Coals Pizza
After getting narrowly eked out of its hat trick victory last Burger & Beer Blast, Coals Pizza is back in the top spot as your 2021 People’s Choice winner, once again claiming the coveted Heineken-Blue Moon Best Burger trophy. Coals improved upon its previous runner-up burger with a classic beef patty, Buffalo sauce, cheddar, pickled red onions, and a generous dollop of guacamole.
Photo by Sabrina Sucato
Want to try making your own Best Burger at home? Seven of these Top 10 burgers — and all of the Top Three! — used ground beef from our event’s official meat sponsor Piccinini Bros.