BROOKINGS Pints & Quarts in downtown Brookings has been named the champion of the 2024 Brookings Area Burger Clash with its Drunken Lucy burger, but the victory was a close-run thing, contest organizer Shane Anderson said.
It was a very close race between first, second and third. Probably the closest Ive seen so far, he said.
A nail-biter of a finish makes it all the sweeter, right?
(It) feels good better than not! Kevin Raab said in an interview with The Brookings Register this week. He and his wife, Kristi, own and manage Pints & Quarts. We didnt think we won, and then when (Anderson) came by and announced it, we were pretty excited. The girls that work out front were the most excited that we won. The kitchen was really excited, so people were happy, and it was a good little boost for everyone, so it was cool.
The other top finishers in this years edition of the Burger Clash were:
- Second place: Patriots Grub & Sweets
- Third place: Pheasant Restaurant & Lounge
- Fourth place: Cardinal Tap in Arlington
- Fifth place: Lemkes in Aurora
It is very important that people get out and rate these places once they have tried these burgers, Anderson, who is a realtor at Century 21 Krogman & Co. in Brookings, said.
He noted that more than 1,100 votes were cast in this years contest, which included record-setting participation by 23 restaurants, some as far away as Castlewood and Hendricks, Minnesota.
Circling back to Pints & Quarts, the business is no stranger to winning ways, having also earned the top spot in the 2022 Brookings Area Burger Clash. Even better, though, is that this years mouthwatering burger, the Drunken Lucy, remains on the menu. Raab said its comprised of bacon and cheddar cheese between two smash patties and then its topped with West Coast Sauce and the beer cheese that the restaurant makes.
Its a real good combination of beef, cheese and bacon its simple, but good. You dont really need much more, he said, adding that its been his most popular offering since January, having sold well over a thousand of the burgers.
During the contest, we had a lot of people would come in and they would ask for the Burger Clash burger. They might have known the name, they might not have but they wanted that burger for the contest, Raab explained. They would be asking when they came in which one is the one for the contest to make sure thats the one they were ordering.
He continued, We saw a lot of familiar faces, we saw a lot of new faces. Its great that people are out trying a bunch of hamburgers. We sold over 1,600 of them in two months, which is the most weve ever sold of any burger in two months.
People really enjoyed it, which, to me, is more important than winning the contest (its) people coming in, having a hamburger that they enjoy and hopefully all the new people that tried it are going to come back and order that again or try something else, Raab concluded.
Previous Burger Clash winners were:
- 2021: Pheasant Restaurant & Lounge, with its Uff da Burger
- 2022: Pints & Quarts, with its West Coast Classic Burger
- 2023: Rub N Tug BBQ, with its The French Onyum
In closing, Anderson expressed his appreciation for the folks who took part in the contest.
Thank you again to everyone that participated and took the time to patronize these wonderful places, he wrote on social media. Cant wait till next year and see what new and (exciting) burgers there will be then! Stay hungry!
Contact Mondell Keck at [email protected].
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