With the Memorial Day weekend kicking off the summer season, it’s the perfect time to celebrate National Burger Month. When people think Pensacola, most immediately think of fresh seafood and fish, but this city’s burger game just keeps getting hotter.
We decided it was the perfect time to showcase and review some of our Local Pulse favorites and find out which local burger is best.
In case you missed it, the team from Pensacola Eggfest partnered with Moe Cason’s team and just snagged a third-place finish at the World Barbecue Cooking Contest at this year’s Memphis in May International Festival.
So we invited a few of that award-winning team, including Sean Norenberg, Luke Gipp, and two of Local Pulse’s owners Doug Jolly and Buck Hall to be judges for our mini burger battle. For a fair review, our friends at Wisteria Tavern gave us a table on neutral ground for this friendly competition.
But it’s good news for all of our burger chefs and you, because everyone on our team had a different favorite!
Let’s dig in…
We picked up burgers from Brown Bagger, Blue Dot, Sauce Boss Burger Co., Dog House, and Tops Hamburgers and quartered them, so the judges had a sample of each burger.
Doug Jolly says of Brown Bagger’s traditional bacon cheeseburger, “This burger has an awesome flavor. The beef is the star of the show, complimented by good, fresh veggies. Traditional burger perfection.”
Other Brown Bagger compliments were: crispy bacon, fresh veggies, a great combo of ingredients, and excellent char.
“Classic dot burger! It’s beefy and a big portion. The cheese is tasty and the sauce makes the burger!” Buck Hall says when reviewing the Blue Dot Double. Other notable team mentions are that Blue Dot is a great straightforward American burger, with healthy-sized patties, and super tasty.
All four reviewers commented about the fresh and tasty bun of Sauce Boss Burger Co. and Sean Norenberg says, “The beef on this burger is cooked perfectly,” before noting the fresh ingredients. Other reviewers said of the Sauce Boss burger that it is juicy and tender and the sauce is a burger sauce classic.
“Consider me charmed!” Was the sentiment of Doug Jolly on the Dog House Southern Charm burger, before adding that he loves the arugula and considered it perfectly cooked. Sean added, “A little heat kick after a few bites, this burger has a unique combo of delicious flavors that meld perfectly.”
Although Tops is a chain, it is a regionally local chain, so we decided to keep it in the review. This burger impressed everyone with its surprising home-grilled taste. Luke Gipp says, “There’s tons of flavor in this burger and a tasty, buttery bun.”
So, while some burgers were liked for their flavor or sauce, others were appreciated for their fresh ingredients and unique ingredient pairings. In the end, it was hard to pick an all-out winner, when they all tasted delicious.
We know this…we reviewed five of Pensacola’s best burgers and there are five Fridays in June. Coincidence? We think not. Opportunity for your own Pensacola tour de burger? Absolutely.
For the full burger review video, click here!
