Four Pittsburgh restaurants are competing in the James Beard Foundation’s fifth annual Blended Burger Project.
When the contest kicks off on Memorial Day, Burgh’ers in Lawrenceville and Harmony, Cinderlands Warehouse in the Strip District, Ola Appetit Catering Co. in Duquesne, and Home, one of the four residents at Smallman Galley in the Strip District, will feature blended burgers with meaty profiles, local produce and breads and creative toppings.
Burger lovers can have a say in the matter by voting at https://www.jamesbeard.org/blendedburgerproject/vote through July 31 for their favorite blended burger. A panel of three judges will review the burgers from the top 25 finalists who receive the most online votes, and select five winners based on their culinary creativity, flavor profile and presentation.
This year, 350 to 400 restaurants are expected to participate nationwide, and that includes 13 from Pennsylvania. That number could go up as restaurants have until mid-June to sign up for the contest.
James Beard Foundation’s mission has been to promote good food for good. Its Blended Burger Project builds on that message — make a burger better for both the consumer and the planet by blending in at least 25% fresh cultivated mushrooms.
“A blended burger is just a better burger and much more sustainable,” says Eric Davis, spokesman for the Mushroom Council. “The mushroom helps in cutting back the fat, adds vitamin D, holds moisture in and has umami.”
The main criteria of the contest is that burgers should be made with at least 25% fresh cultivated mushrooms, Mr. Davis says. But proteins such as chicken, turkey, lamb, lentils or beans can be used instead of beef or in addition to it.
The winning chefs will not only each win $5,000 but also a trip to New York City to cook their blended burger at the James Beard House. That night in the fall (the date is TBA), the chefs will get another chance to compete. Guests who attend the gathering will pick their favorite burger for a special People’s Choice award.
Fiore Moletz, chef and owner of Burgh'ers, has participated in the project for four years and has been a winner twice, including last year.
When he won the first time, his burger featured local greens and Goat Rodeo cheese. Last year, he was honored for his Fox Chapel burger, which is a 75/25 blend of grass-fed beef to roasted mixed mushrooms and topped with goat cheese, pickled red onions, avocado, spring mix and balsamic glaze.
“The Blended Burger Project lines up with the restaurant’s and our customers’ philosophies,” he says. “It’s the right thing to do. Restaurants have the responsibility to help the environment.”
This year, he is upping the ante on the Pittsburgh flavor. In addition to using local beef, he’s building the burger on sourdough bread from BreadWorks and layering it with local greens, sauerkraut, sweet onion, Swiss cheese, sweet and spicy mojo sauce and topping it all with what has come to be a ’Burgh idiosyncrasy — french fries.
Keeping with the theme of christening his burgers after Pittsburgh neighborhoods, Mr. Moletz is calling it The Strip after the Strip District.
Here are what the other Pittsburgh restaurants are featuring:
Cinderlands Warehouse: The black bean patty for the Cinderlands Black Bean Burger is perfumed with cumin, coriander, cardamom and cinnamon, and combined with brined mushrooms and roasted chopped cashews, jalapenos and onions. It is served on a Martin’s potato roll with a roasted cherry tomato salsa, cashew cheese with a bite, and fried onions.
Home: Chef Phill Milton’s blended burger is a riff on a classic gyro. He uses a 50/50 mix of local ground lamb and local mushrooms for his patty, which is seasoned with Greek spices before being thrown on the grill. Served on a Mediterra Bakehouse brioche bun, the patty is topped with tzatziki sauce, pickled red onions, garlic-whipped feta cheese, confit tomatoes and cucumber salad.
Ola Appetit Catering Co.: Owner Olafemi Mandley stacks her wagyu beef-organic mushroom patty with smoked pimento cheese, caramelized onion jam, crispy onion straws, jalapeno slaw, smoked sea salt and smoked paprika, and serves it all on a homemade potato bun. She will be appearing at different pop-ups, including Repair the World in East Liberty on June 12, Casa Brasil and Union Project, both in Highland Park, to promote her burger.
Arthi Subramaniam: asubramaniam@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1494.
First Published: May 24, 2019, 11:03 a.m.
Updated: May 24, 2019, 11:03 a.m.
