Burger Week returns bigger than ever June 7-12
Jun. 4—CORBIN — After last year's event was canceled, one of Corbin's favorite foodie festivities, Burger Week, is back with more participating restaurants than ever before.
From June 7-12, Burger Week offers local foodies the opportunity to sample some of the best and most creative burgers Corbin's local restaurants have to offer.
2021's lineup will feature 12 local restaurants with newcomers such as The Ice House, Austin City Saloon, and Knuck's Kitchen joining Burger Week vets like The Wrigley, Bubby's BBQ, Seasons Restaurant, and Depot on Main in the battle for the Burger Week trophy.
Burger lovers are encouraged to vote on their favorite burger through a link that will be posted on the Corbin Tourism's website starting Monday. The winning restaurant will receive the traveling Burger Week trophy that is currently held by 2019's champion, Old Town Grill.
"That's one of the things that makes it fun," Corbin Tourism Director Maggy Monhollen said on the Burger Week trophy. "It's up for grabs. There's a chance Old Town Grill could lose it."
Monhollen said she was excited to have the most restaurants ever participating in this year's event, and that she was excited about the creativity each restaurant had put into their burger.
"It gives our local restaurants a chance to showcase a dish and be creative," she said. "It also gives people an opportunity to have some fun with it."
Participants like Travis' Cafe are flexing their creative muscle by including a cucumber tzatziki sauce on its Greek Garden Burger, while the Blazin' Black and Blue Burger at Shep's Place features buffalo sauce, house ranch, and bleu cheese crumbles.
The Caboose Sports Tavern is offering more bang for your buck with its three Souse and Savory sliders, and Si Señor is even joining in the fun offering a Mexican twist with jalapeños and grilled onions on their Si Señor burger.
When asked why she thinks Burger Week had grown in popularity over the years, Monhollen said she believed it was because the food in Corbin was just that good. The quality of food combined with the creativity, and the opportunity for people to experience something new are the perfect ingredients to a fun-filled foodie event.
"Not only do they get an opportunity to try a bunch of different burgers at a price that won't break the bank, a lot of groups will get together and actually restaurant hop to try the burgers that week. So that's fun, and it brings about a sense of camaraderie," noted Monhollen. "We want people to post on social media, share their pictures of their burgers, and their experiences at the restaurants," she added.
The popularity and crowning of a champion are just some of the additions Burger Week's experienced since its inception. This year will also see a new change as the cost of each burger will increase from $5 to $6. Monhollen said the price increase comes as a result of the increase in the price of food fueled by lingering effects of the pandemic.
Coming out of the pandemic, Monhollen said restaurants were excited and receptive to participating in this year's event.
"I think that says a lot especially because our restaurants are challenged right now with staff," said Monhollen. "This is something that floods the restaurants with people, there's an increase in restaurant goers. For the restaurants to be like, 'We can still handle this despite the fact that we can't find any help,' that's commitment."
