Wilton Manors bar and restaurant Georgie's Alibi had a spot on the west
side of last night's Riverwalk Trust Burger Battle, and that meant the
wind was blowing right towards the grill. All night, the smoke blew
straight into the face of Chef Ron Kerr.
"I literally couldn't
see," Kerr said today. "You know when you get smoke in your eyes and
there's that pain and you don't know whether to close them or open
them?"
Cooking nearly blind apparently didn't hurt -- Georgie's
Alibi took home first place in the first-ever Burger Battle, beating out
big-name chains like Morton's and Capital Grille.
The victory
was surprising considering Georgie's back story. The place started as a
bar 13 years ago with no food. Seven years ago, they started making
French fries and onion
rings in the back office, and slowly it grew into
a full-blown restaurant. About two years ago, Georgie's brought Kerr
down from Ohio to help with a new menu.
"We are really honored
to win the first burger battle, especially being in the company of such
wonderful restaurants, some of the best restaurants in all of Fort
Lauderdale," said Vincent Frato, the Georgie's Alibi general manager.
The
winning burger was
added to the menu about a year and a half ago. It's made from ground
chuck with a 28 percent fat content, carmelized onions cooked in butter
and bacon fat, American cheese, and challah buns brought in from a
bakery daily.
It's a simple burger, really, and Kerr thinks
that's why it won. "I think everybody was putting too much thought into
it. Everyone was trying to do a different blend and add things to it.
Ours is simple."
Capital Grille also had a fairly simple burger,
just lettuce, tomato, American cheese, and pickles. The crowd, which
could vote by dropping chips into voting booths, picked Capital Grille
as the winner.
Kerr said he's not sure what he'll do with the Burger Battle trophy. Georgie's Alibi has a case full of trophies from softball teams it has sponsored, but last night's trophy may deserve a better spot. Besides, beating the likes of Ilios and Johnny V's is all about the bragging rights anyway.
"We're really beside ourselves," Frato said.
