It's a simple equation: Ground beef plus heat equals burger. But hidden within this simple formula is a universe of variety. Griddle or grill? Plain salt or complex seasoning blend? Poppy seed bun or french bread? Everyone who makes this classic American staple, from national fast-food joints to CL's Best Restaurant of 2007, has choices to make. And in those choices lie the path to greatness.
Over the past four weeks we've pitted 64 of the Bay area's best against one another in the mother of all burger brackets. You've seen the carnage: No. 1 seeds fell, powerhouses butted heads, and surprise patties made a run at the prize. Here's a recap:
Week one saw the brackets shaking off the old grease and dry patties as early matches cut the field from 64 to the Savory Sixteen. Most of the top seeds made the cut, except in the Central St. Pete bracket, where both early favorite the Chattaway and popular midtown joint Biff Burger got knocked off, leaving the field wide open.
Week two was when the serious work began, with only the best of the brackets trying to flip burgers into the Final Four. El Cap, the most vaunted Bay area burger for decades, made it to the Edible Eight only to be knocked out in the next round by Kelly's. The Kitchen won a close battle with Parkshore, then steamrolled past Ruby Tuesday.
In Tampa, Five Guys' crusty chain burgers eased past Mel's Hot Dogs and Malio's with little effort, while Pane Rustica dominated both No. 1 seed Bern's and No. 2 seed Capital Grille to make it into the Final Four.
Kelly's. The Kitchen. Five Guys. Pane Rustica. Each restaurant has a different burger philosophy, from Five Guys' petite diner patty, always cooked well-done but with enough tenderness to contrast with the greasy crust, to Kelly's classic big-mouth restaurant burger served on an onion roll. Both are fabulous examples of the burger art, and both are well worth a trip out of your way, even to Dunedin.
But neither of them could top the burgers at St. Pete's The Kitchen and South Tampa's Pane Rustica. These are the burgers that made it into the Tournament of Burgers championship game.
We convened local celebrity chef-at-large Jeannie Pierola, currently consulting with DeSanto Latin American Bistro and working on her own Top Secret project, and Tampa Bay 10's Holley Sinn, perky co-host of morning show Studio 10, to taste the final two burgers. They joined CL editor David Warner and little ol' me. We let the restaurants know we were coming so they could put their best burger forward.
Margaret Guidicessi is the driving force behind The Kitchen. Known as the "Granola Lady" thanks to a thriving oats and honey business she ran at the Saturday Morning Market and at her own retail store, she still clings to that semi-healthy image. Burgers aren't even on the sandwich-heavy menu at The Kitchen; I only knew about them from several e-mailed tips. Guidicessi loads her 85-percent lean (15-percent fat) beef with Monterey Steak Seasoning and her own Vidalia onion jam before grilling, resulting in a spiced and subtly sweet patty loaded with flavor.
Like The Kitchen, Pane Rustica is known more as a bakery and lunch and dinner spot for boho South Tampans than as a burger specialist. Although its patty choices change daily and are topped with everything from gorgonzola aioli to arugula and pancetta, the key to its success is rich meat and proper cooking. Rustica's beef is 80-percent lean, which means extra juice and richness, and the eatery uses only salt and pepper, applied right before cooking.
Who took the Bay area's top burger prize? Let's ask the judges.
Everyone praised The Kitchen's ripe tomato and crisp romaine, as well as appreciating a bun that took a back seat to the patty. Better yet, hand-cut fries and Carson's Kick-Ass Ketchup (made by Guidicessi's 16-year-old son) rendered the entire package "the best burger meal," according to Sinn and "the perfect burger set-up," for Pierola.
The patty itself, though excellent, showed no sign of the rosy red of mid-rare we ordered, perhaps due to the seasoning Guidicessi worked into the meat. That didn't bother Sinn one bit. "I like the sweetness of the meat," she said. "That's how mom made burgers."
At Pane Rustica, the patties were gorgeous, with a dark crust, light texture and bright red interior. Although big, Pierola thought that Rustica burgers were "not nearly as heavy as you think they will be." The bread — a chewy foccacia with one and slices of grilled French pan bread with the other — were huge hits, although they never seemed to make the burgers too fancy. That might be due to the wood-fired grill. "If I made good burgers at home, they'd taste like this," said Sinn, while Pierola thought they tasted "like your backyard." Maybe your backyard, Jeannie.
Although torn, everyone at the table came to the same conclusion. Warner missed Carson's Kick-Ass Ketchup. Pierola chose "[Pane Rustica's] bread and burger, [The Kitchen's] veggies and fries." Sinn summed it up: "For the best burger meal, go to the Kitchen. For just burger and bread, it's [Pane Rustica]."
It was even easier for me. After tasting through 64 burgers, I learned that the best stick to the formula: good seasoning, perfect cooking, good meat. Pane Rustica's burgers are fundamentally simple and textbook perfect, whether on their fancy bread or stuck on a Wonder bun. It's just like what you could make at home, only much, much better.
Pane Rustica is CL's Tournament of Burgers grand champion.
This article appears in Apr 2-8, 2008.