We are over the moon excited for our friends at The Orchard Lounge in McAllen, Texas! We had the honor of having Chef Bobby & Chef Trey down to the farm to cook us their oooo so famous Concha Burger!! This bad boy is a shiitaki mushroom, chorizo and beef blend, topped off with a homemade strawberry fig jam, chipotle Aioli, pickled cucumbers, butter lettuce, a fried egg, applewood bacon and juicy tomatoes .... and let us tell you, it was beyond extraordinary!! Congratulations to all the winners!
Second Annual Blended Burger Project Winners:
1. Bareburger, New York City (LaGaurdia Place) – topping its wild boar and sweet tamari mushroom Blended Burger with picked red onion, crispy mustard greens and a Sriracha vinaigrette.
2. The Wood’s Kitchen, Bloomingdale, Ga. – serving up a Worcestershire-glazed double mushroom burger with charred Vidalia onion on a mushroom-salted brioche bun.
3. Logan’s Underground Supper Club, Memphis, Tenn. – presenting “The Mushroom Monster”: equal parts portobella mushrooms and ground beef, then seasoned with its own Legends seasoning blend. The burger is topped with fontina cheese, lettuce, tomato and bacon.
4. Cedar’s Café, Melbourne, Fla. – featuring ground beef blended with portobella, shiitake and cremini mushrooms, topped with pomegranate ketchup, banana pepper curry mustard, tahini remoulade, balsamic onion, goat cheese, bacon, spinach and avocado.
5. The Orchard Lounge, McAllen, Texas – creating a shiitake, chorizo and beef blend patty, topped with homemade strawberry fig jam, chipotle Aioli, pickled cucumber, butter lettuce, a fried egg, bacon, tomato and string mushrooms.
“In the past few years, the blended burger has been adopted by the nation’s top culinary influencers, James Beard Foundation, Culinary Institute of America, universities, leading food management companies such as Sodexo, and now – especially with the Blended Burger Project – some our nation’s most creative and adventurous chefs,” said Kristopher Moon, Vice President, James Beard Foundation. “We are delighted to see the widespread enthusiasm and acceptance this summer for this plant-forward take on the burger. We congratulate all those who took part.”
For more information on the Blended Burger Project, visit jamesbeard.org/blendedburgerproject.