Bourbon Steak's Rip-Roarin' Burger Bash Entry

Bourbon Steak's Burger Bash entry.

​Spies inside Bourbon Steak's kitchen found executive chef Gabriel Fenton hard at work hand-shaping a substantial amount of meat patties--hundreds, actually--and later discovered he was prepping for Burger Bash. He says there's no secret to his entry, as it's the same delicious, Michael Mina signature hamburger always served at the restaurant. And Fenton has an unusually high confidence level.

He's aware that the judges will be presenting awards to a select number of the 25 entrants, and he's pretty sure he's got one in the bag. "People's Choice," we heard him announce. "We have a lot of local support."

Fenton will be making about 2,000 dry-aged prime beef burgers over a wood-burning grill with grilled balsamic onions, aged yellow cheddar on top, toasted buns smeared with butter, and a secret sauce. "One of the main ingredients is pickle," he divulged. Hmm. And his secret weapon? "Little gem lettuce."

We think the lettuce is only one part of the equation now that we've seen he'll also be offering those decadent crispy duck fat French fries with rosemary flavoring and pickle ketchup, along with bourbon--yes, actual Bulleit Bourbon (45% alcohol by volume)--snow cones, accented with a fresh muddled mint, lemon zest, and simple syrup. But the kicker is he actually hired a snow cone girl to deliver the frozen cocktail. "You get a handful when you come over to our tent," he promised.

Hey the only thing more crowd-pleasing than tasty eats is a tasty server with liquor. Good move, Fenton.