Author’s note: Santa Fe’s third annual Green Chile Cheeseburger Smackdown will be held on Thursday, September 10th from 5:30 to 8:30pm at the Santa Fe Farmer’s Market Pavilion. This year the event is sponsored by Edible Santa Fe. Eight local chefs will be competing to be named the BEST. Tickets, $25 each, can be bought on Edible’s website. They are $35 at the door. The event was a sellout last year.
Santa Fe Green Chile Cheeseburger Smackdown 2014
The second annual Santa Fe Green Chile Cheeseburger Smackdown has come and gone. Bragging rights for the next year are in new hands. The winner and Reigning Chomp is the Original Alien Burger made by Second Street Brewery. The ingredients included a blue corn chile relleno with pepper jack cheese, green chile, guacamole, bacon, fried red onion and chipotle mayonnaise. The People’s Choice Award went to the The Mineshaft Tavern’s MadChile Burger” which had batter-dipped and fried whole green chiles along with cheddar cheese, chipotle dijonnaise atop their chuck burger which was served on a brioche bun.
Luminaria’s outdoor cookstation at the Cheeseburger Smackdown, photo Steve Collins
The winners were chosen from eight contestants who made the final cut. They cooked for over 500 paid attendees at the Farmers Market Pavilion on Friday, September 12th. Attendees waited patiently, on sometimes long lines, for their samples, either a slider or a quarter of a burger. The People’s Choice Award was chosen from votes cast by those in attendance.
Six of the eight restaurants that participated in the Smackdown were chosen by over 10,000 online votes. Besides Second Street Brewery, the finalists were Amaya at Hotel Santa Fe, Anasazi Restaurant at Rosewood Inn of the Anasazi, Cowgirl BBQ, Luminaria at the Inn and Spa at Loretto, and Terra at the Four Seasons Resort Rancho Encantado. Their were supposed to be seven entrants, but both the Mine Shaft and Fuego at La Posada de Santa Fe tied for that Lucky Seven spot.
Second Street Brewery seen here selling beer won for best cheeseburger photo /Billie Frank
Judges who vetted the burgers on appearance, “burgerability/eatability”, quality of ingredients, melding of flavors, and chile flavor/heat were Gustavo Arellano of OC Weekly whose column of Ask a Mexican is syndicated locally in the Santa Fe New Mexican, Teresa Franey of The Colorado Springs Gazette, Elaine Johnson of Sunset magazine, Pat Sharpe of Texas Monthly, and local James Beard Award-winning cookbook writer (and Culinary Editor for New Mexico Magazine) Cheryl Alters Jamison.
Rounding out the event, which benefited the Santa Fe Farmers Market Institute, was beer sold by Second Street Brewery and live music. The event was a joint effort of the Institute and Tourism Santa Fe. If you missed the sold-out event this year, it will be back next year. Don’t miss out! Buy your tickets early for 2015.
The Mineshaft’s Madburger won the People’s Choice Award,, photo/Billie Frank
See you next year!
What was your favorite burger?
Are these marvelous burger creations still available?
I think these are on the regular menus, check with the restaurants to be sure.