It’s a good time to be a burger fan in Nashville right about now. (Well, not as good as this time, but still pretty darned great!) Two beloved local restaurants are rolling out burger promotions over the next month — one is a chance to design your own dream burger, and the other is the rebirth of an old favorite. So butter your buns and read on for the deets.
First up, M.L. Rose Craft Beer & Burgers has offered a rotating Burger of the Month for years now, and they have released some really creative specials as part of that series. Now, they want to give their fans a chance to create the next big hit with their Burger Genius Contest.
Submissions will be accepted via an online form from Aug. 25 through Sept. 15. Pick your patty (your choice of beef, turkey or black bean), and the rest is limited only by your imagination. The winning recipe will be an upcoming Burger of the Month, and the creator will receive a $500 cash prize, a $500 M.L. Rose gift certificate, an invitation to the burger photo shoot, and ongoing bragging rights as Burger Genius.
Entrants can make their burger stand out by uploading photos or video content to the online form, but it isn’t required. (Though it might help!) The winner of the Burger Genius Contest will be announced in October. Employees of A.Ray Hospitality and their family members are not eligible for the Burger Genius Contest.
VP of marketing for A.Ray Hospitality, Derek Kirk, offers hints about what the judges will be looking for in the official Burger Genius announcement: “Our Burger of the Month features are an opportunity to lean into creative ingredients, pop culture trends, community partnerships and collaborations, and seasonal flavors. A few have been so popular they’ve joined the menu permanently. We often get requests and suggestions in the restaurants, so we’re formalizing that process and can’t wait to hear directly from our guests. The judges are looking for creativity across the board, so entrants are encouraged to draw inspiration for the name, ingredients, and inspiration. Out-of-the-box buns, condiments, toppings, and flavors are all welcome here.”
In other burger news, Arnold Myint of International Market has been thinking a lot about an old favorite lately. The PM Burger from the erstwhile Belmont Boulevard restaurant of the same name was the winner of the Scene’s Great Burger Challenge way back in 2008. Here’s how our resident Burger Meisterin Carrington Fox described the PM Burger in announcing the winner:
“Arnold Myint’s Asian-inspired treatment of the classic American chopped-steak sandwich blew the competition away. An 8-ounce patty, infused with minced onions sauteed in butter, hits the olive-oiled grill to order and, at just the right second, gets licked with a glaze of minced garlic, Thai sweet chili sauce and fruit juice. Flame-kissed to caramelized perfection, the burger cuddles up on a soft multigrain kaiser roll from Provence, beneath a green swath of romaine, pink onions and a schmear of wasabi mayonnaise. The result is a tender sandwich that melts in your mouth, leaving a decadent trail of sweetness and a faintly fiery kick. Add-ons of cheese and sautéed wood ear mushrooms and shiitakes are available but unnecessary, since the standard version packs so much flavor and texture. A master of unexpected details, Myint delivers steak fries that would hold their own against any in town if the Scene were ever to conduct a spudstakes. A favorite breezy hangout for sipping Chai-tinis and nibbling sushi on the patio while watching the Belmont traffic stroll by, PM now holds the blustery title for Best Burger in Nashville.”
Arnold Myint is considering a new casual concept where the burger would fit better on the menu than at his family’s flagship International Market restaurant. As part of his research, he’s partnering with his next-door neighbors at Chago’s Belmont Cantina for a pop-up test run of the concept.
Starting Tuesday, Sept. 10, Chago’s will offer the PM Burger (now renamed the “Burger Patti” after Arnold’s late mother Patti Myint) on Mondays and Tuesdays from 3 p.m. until closing through the rest of September. The burger will be offered for dine-in only, and at least a few components of the original recipe. The bun will now be provided by Charpier’s Bakery and Bear Creek Farm. Trust me when I tell you that these developments are by no means downgrades!
Follow @burgerpattibna on Instagram for further updates and maybe we can help manifest this new concept into existence.
