Announcing the Winners of the 2018 Blended Burger Project™

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: there’s ‘shroom for improvement in your favorite burger.

The Blended Burger Project™ has finished its two-month run, during which 350 restaurants developed and served their version of a blended burger, which combines finely chopped mushrooms with meat to create a more delicious, nutritious, and sustainable burger. From Memorial Day until July 31, more than 250,000 online votes were cast at jamesbeard.org/blendedburgerproject, before a panel of expert judge—Andrew Zimmern, James Beard Award–winning TV personality; Susan Westmoreland, Culinary Director, Good Housekeeping; and Antoinette Bruno, Editor-in-Chief, StarChefs—evaluated the 20 burgers with the most votes to crown this year's champions. Those five restaurants will serve up their winning blended burgers at the historic James Beard House in New York City on October 18, 2018.

Our Blended Burger Project winners are:

The Bearded Chef, Palm Bay, FL
Thai My-Shroom: an umami bomb Thai burger made from Florida-grown Monterey mushrooms blended with beef and pork, with ginger, lemongrass, cilantro, and bird's-eye chile; served with spicy Thai ketchup, pickled enoki mayonnaise, mushroom-cured egg yolks, and smoked maitake bacon on toasted mushroom-dusted brioche

Burgh'ers Restaurant, Pittsburgh
The Fox Chapel: a 75/25 blend of local grassfed beef and local roasted mixed mushrooms topped with goat cheese, pickled red onions, avocado, spring mix, and balsamic glaze

Courtyard Cafe at Raymond James, St. Petersburg, FL
Smokey Mushroom Venison Blended Burger: char-grilled blend of farm-raised New Zealand venison, angus beef, and hen-of-the-woods mushrooms, with alder wood–smoked sea salt, cracked pepper, and porcini mushroom powder; served with beet ketchup, melted smoked Tilamook cheddar, and wild ramp béarnaise on a sourdough pretzel roll

Curb Side Bistro, Odessa, TX
El Tejano Borracho (The Drunken Texan): a 70/30 blend of ground beef and mushrooms, including shiitake, white button, and portabello, topped with pulled pork; tangy barbecue sauce; jalapeño, mushroom, and corn fritter; cilantro ranch; pickled red onions; and mushroom–white queso cheese sauce on toasted brioche

Toltec Brewing, Albuquerque, NM
The Royale: New Mexico beef brisket–roasted crimini patty with aged white cheddar, Young Guns New Mexico green chiles, herb–ancho chile mayonnaise, applewood bacon, local fried egg, and heirloom tomato on jalapeño brioche

Stay tuned! We’ll be sharing the recipes for the winning burgers soon.

Get your tickets to the Beard House burger party now.