The honorable title of GatlinBURGER Burgermeister has been bestowed upon Smith & Son Corner Kitchen for their burger “The Italian Job.” The second most popular burger chosen is the “Pickle Me Pimento” by Split Rail Eats. Sixteen Gatlinburg restaurants competed for the title by serving up an off-menu specialty burger for only $7 during the inaugural GatlinBURGER Week September 13 – 19.
 
“The Italian Job,” consisted of a stack of two prime brisket blend patties topped with creamy melted gruyere cheese, caramelized onions, thin crispy pastrami wedges, mouthwatering dill pickles, and finished off with a roasted red pepper garlic aioli on a toasted sweet brioche bun.
 
“Pickle Me Pimento”  was two mashed burgers with pimento cheese, crispy southern fried pickles, Applewood smoked bacon, ranch dressing, lettuce, tomato and red onion on a toasted potato roll. 
 
Mark Adams, GCVB CEO/President, personally tried 9 burgers. “The variety of burgers was outstanding,” he said. “The restaurants who participated did an excellent job. The success of the week rests solely on their creativity and efforts by their staff to sell hamburgers. We look forward to doing this again next year.”

A total of sixteen restaurants offered up creative, mouthwatering burgers during the week-long event. Participants included; Cliff Top Grill at Anakeesta, Crawdaddy’s Restaurant and Oyster Bar, Crystelle Creek, Delauder’s BBQ, Flapjack’s Pancake Cabin, The Greenbrier Restaurant, Loco Burro Fresh Mex Cantina, Ole Red Gatlinburg, Pucker’s Sports Grill, Seasons of Ober Restaurant at Ober Gatlinburg, Shoney’s, Smith & Son Corner Kitchen, Smoky Mountain Brewery, Split Rail Eats, TGI Fridays, The Rampant Lion.
 
Diners from East Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, New Jersey, Virginia and Louisiana enjoyed more than 1,700 hamburgers during the week. Burger-eaters had the opportunity to vote for their favorite burger by Passport and social media.  
 
Gatlinburg rewarded two burger eaters for their enthusiastic support of GatlinBURGER Week.  Lloyd Trimble from Lancaster, South Carolina and David Fillion of Sevierville will receive a Gatlinburg Goody Pack for their diligence in trying burgers and posting on social media.

Join us next year for GatlinBURGER Week September 19-25, 2021.