By Charley Falkenburg, Staff Writer
WEST WINDSOR Mercer County Park turned into a burger haven on Saturday afternoon as hordes of burger lovers gathered for the county’s second annual Burger Mania where five restaurants put their patties to the test for the coveted title of Best Burger in Central Jersey.
Burger Mania was made possible by Cathy Campbell, the event producer at Stone Campbell Marketing. While this is Mercer County’s second Burger Mania, the competition has been in existence for four years.
”Burgers are a universal food beef, turkey, seafood or veggie it’s the all-American food,” said April Sette, the spokesperson from Sette Solutions LLC. “There are a lot of competitions out there and nobody seemed to be doing a burger cook-off, so Cathy decided to give it a try.”
This year Princeton’s elements restaurant and Caterers Kiss the Chef, Bordentown’s Hob Tavern and Hamilton’s Killarney’s Publick House and Bill’s Ole Tavern put their money where their grills were to be recognized as having the area’s tastiest burger, by both the judges and the public.
The event started with a brief storm, but neither lightning nor rain could keep burger fiends from taking advantage of $1 sliders, a beer garden and live music. People arrived in ponchos with umbrellas in one hand and a burger in the other making sure to sample from each stand.
Hamilton resident Bonnie Clark sat at one of the picnic tables, munching on two mini burgers. She had just gotten off work and stopped by to get the most burger for her buck. So far, she had made rounds to Killarney’s, the Hob and Kiss the Chef and appeared to favor Killarney’s selection.
”It had lettuce and tomato, where some of the others didn’t,” she explained. “What’s a burger without lettuce and tomato?”
Other attendees, like Gabrielle Lamb of Lawrence, were just getting started. The prospect of different cheeseburgers brought Ms. Lamb and her family out that afternoon and so far she had tried one from the Hob, which she described as “okay.”
However the Hob’s burgers didn’t get such a rave review from Tina Lands of East Windsor, who said they were too burned.
”I hate to say that comment, but it tasted like a little hockey puck,” said Ms. Lands. She added that she was really looking forward to making a stop at elements, last year’s champions.
Christopher Peterson, the butcher at elements, said last year’s burger was already perfect and thought hard about what they could do make it even better.
Their added twist? A lot of smoke and dry aged beef.
Prior to the competition, Mr. Peterson appeared a little worried about the 150-degree temperature in which the burger had to be cooked a temperature he thought was too well done for their high fat and rich concoction.
Al Vonsteenburg, the owner of Bill’s Ole Tavern, said their burger included a blend of ground beef, southwest brisket and a verde sauce minus the greens.
”You can get lettuce, tomato and pickles on a burger anywhere,” said Mr. Vonsteenburg. “We do things out of the box this is not a burger you can get just anywhere.”
While Killarney’s burger took a Greek approach by emulating a gyro containing a mixture of both lamb and beef, the Hob was all about sweet and simple by offering folks a handheld that included the necessities: burger, salt and fire.
”And homemade delicious ketchup,” added Courtney Barnes, a bartender at the Hob.
Her mother and restaurant owner Mary Barnes revealed that the judges would be eating an Italian chicken burger, with all homemade ingredients that were bought locally.
As the rain tapered off and sun emerged, Hey Bull Dog, a Beatles cover band, took the stage. Classic songs from the Fab Four wafted through the air, mingling with the aroma of sizzling burgers.
”As soon as I walked in, the band was playing ‘Ob-la-di Ob-la-da’ and they won my heart right then and there,” said Jennifer Chaikin of Jobstown.
While the crowd was busy eating, the contestants were busy cooking to win the hearts and taste buds of both the hungry and a panel of four rotating judges. The judges were chosen from Mercer County Culinary Institute, food critics and local chefs.
Throughout the event, the panel used a Matrix point system to judge the creations on texture, appearance, taste and creativity. The burgers were presented with sauces on the side so the judges could first taste the meat for texture and then add the toppings to judge the originality.
The afternoon gave way to dusk, the flames of the grills settled, bellies became full and the judges finally reached their decision: elements retained its title by nabbing “best overall burger” for the second year in a row. Killarney’s was named winner of the popular vote a fourth victory in a row since the competition was invented.
Elements and Killarney’s won $1,000 and $500 respectively.
Although the rest of the contestants might not have created the winning burgers, all the restaurants can boast that their burgers have touched the lives and tummies of thousands in one afternoon.

