Macon Burger Week has 6 new restaurants competing for best patty. Here’s the list
Macon Burger Week kicked off Monday with 27 restaurants participating downtown and across Macon-Bibb County, and six of the restaurants are competing for the first time.
“I truly don’t know who’s gonna win because some of them are just so creative and like blending different kinds of fusion flavors together,” said Caitlin Jackson, the checkoff program coordinator for the Georgia Beef Board. “It’s not only going to be a challenge to pick like one from all 27 but also to go to all 27.”
The participating restaurants have creative new ideas for their burgers, Jackson said.
Some of the first timers are new to the Macon scene entirely, and others are local staples that are throwing years of experience into the ring.
Here are the new competitors.
H&H Soul Food Restaurant
H&H Restaurant was founded in 1959 by Inez Hill and Louise Hudson and serves soul food for breakfast and lunch. In accordance with their soul food traditions, the restaurant is serving the Collard Green Patty Melt for Macon Burger Week.
With a 7 oz. certified Angus beef patty, the patty melt has a slice of white American cheese and H&H’s signature collard greens on toasted, country buttermilk, white bread.
JAG’s Pizzeria & Pub
JAG’s Pizzeria and Pub opened in Mercer Village after Sauced closed in December 2019. As a pizza place, JAG’s decided to create a burger-specific pizza to compete in Macon Burger Week
The “Good Burger” Pizza has a chili base as well as ground beef and a blend of mozzarella and cheddar cheese. The pie is topped with diced onions and mustard.
Liliana’s
Liliana’s made its debut this year as the permanent food truck at Society Garden, a beer garden in the Historic Ingleside Village. The food truck serves Italian street food, including pastas, sandwiches and unique side dishes.
For the competition, Liliana’s created the Gusto Italiano Burger with a beef brisket short rib blend patty. The burger is served on a soft Italian roll with arugula, prosciutto, burata and tomatoes slow roasted with a balsamic reduction and truffle oil.
Loom
Loom, at Hotel Forty-Five in downtown Macon, opened in 2022 and serves a variety of cuisines from locally-sourced ingredients whenever possible.
The restaurant is serving the Caprese Burger for Macon Burger Week. The house-ground steak burger has basil aioli, balsamic garlic roasted tomato and fresh mozzarella on a roasted ciabatta roll.
Marrow 41
After Miss Hattie’s Kitchen & Bakery closed in March 2018, Marrow 41 opened in its place in April 2021 in the charming house in Bolingbroke. The restaurant serves southern-style cuisine, including meatloaf, burgers and shrimp and grits.
Marrow 41 created a burger called The Irishman for Macon Burger Week. The two smash-beef patties are topped with caramelized onions and mushrooms, Red Dragon Cheese and Guinness aioli.
Sophia’s on Second
Sophia’s on Second is also relatively new to the downtown Macon scene. It opened July 2023 and serves packed charcuterie boards, other appetizers, flatbreads and craft cocktails.
The restaurant’s burger for the week is called Mississippi Blues. The braised beef marinated in Mississippi au jus is topped with swiss cheese, fried onions and pepperoncini. The patty is served on a savory garlic mash potato spread and a toasted bun.
The restaurants are competing for three awards. The burger that receives the most votes from the public receives the People’s Choice Award.
The second award is the Cleverly Created Award, which is judged by a representative of the Georgia cattle industry.
The third award is for the restaurant that sells the most beef by the pound. This is a self-reported award.
