For the second year, the Nashville Scene is teaming up with a huge team of Nashville restaurants for Burger Week, a summer celebration of our best burgers, lasting — you guessed it — one week.
The second annual Burger Week kicked off Monday, July 18, and participating is easy: Go to any/many of the participating restaurants, and order one/many of the specialty Burger Week burgers, which’ll set you back $5 apiece. (That’s a la carte, so your sides will run you extra, but that’s still a sweet deal.)
Some side fun: Burger Week isn’t just an opportunity to grab discounted lunch/dinner around town — it’s also a chance to cast your vote for the finest burger in town. At the end of the week, once you’ve done your research, you can log on to the Scene’s Burger Week website and drop your ballot for the best burger. (The winner gets a fancy plaque; you get the warm feeling that comes with doing your civic burger duty.)
Dozens of restaurants are taking part, but we picked out just a few that we thought delivered in specific, inviting ways. Take a look at what’s on our to-do list:
Classic burger
Elliston Place Soda Shop
2111 Elliston Place
As all-American as apple pie washed down with a milkshake, Elliston Place Soda Shop’s been serving classics in Midtown Nashville since 1939. So if you want a classic and classically good burger without a bunch of new-Nashville adornment, here’s your destination. (Washing it down with a milkshake, incidentally, very much recommended.)
A-list burger
Flip Burger
4111 Charlotte Ave.
Flip Burger in Sylvan Heights is part of a celeb chef-led chain — Top Chef Richard Blais is the man in control. For Burger Week, there’ll be a special paying tribute to another famous name: The “Summitt” burger, in honor of recently departed coach Pat Summitt, is fittingly Southern, with pimento cheese and bacon.
White meat-y burger
Smokin Thighs
611 Wedgewood Ave.
Don’t do red meat but still want to participate in Burger Week? Try Wedgewood-Houston BBQ spot Smokin Thighs — their Flying Hawaiian is on special, and it features a ground chicken patty with pineapple, slaw, Teriyaki sauce and more.
Patriotic burger
Hoss’ Loaded Burgers
various locations
Hey, it’s still July: Give it up for America with food truck Hoss’ Loaded Burgers’ Red, White and Blue Burger: grass-fed beef, stuffed with blue cheese and topped with mild wing sauce and buttermilk ranch. Their website’ll tell you where to find them.
Ultra-indulgent burger
Jack Brown’s Beer & Burger Joint
1123 3rd Ave. N.
Over at Germantown spot Jack Brown’s, the $5 special is the Greg Brady burger, which, in terms of decadence, puts a bacon cheeseburger to shame. Sharing your buns with the burger patty: house-made mac n’ cheese and Martin’s BBQ potato chips.
If you end up grabbing burgers at any of these spots (or any other participating Burger Week spot), we’d love to see how it went — tag us on Instagram or Twitter!