San Antonio Burger Blog Your complete guide to San Antonio's burger joints

After weeks of bitter burger rivalries and arterial clogging, it is time to announce the 2010 March Fatness Champions for both the readers' and bloggers' brackets. And the winners are . . .

Readers' Bracket

After a vicious struggle between Gourmet Burger Grill and Fatty's in the second round that garnered literally thousands of votes, last week's playoff between Fatty's and Lord's Kitchen was a bit anticlimactic. Fatty's took the lead early and never looked back, winning by a final vote of 113 to 32.

If we have learned one thing from this competition, it is that Fatty's has a fanatical (and vocal) fanbase (not to mention a very tasty burger). Congratulations, Fatty's!


Bloggers' Bracket

Even if Butler failed to best Duke in the last moments of Monday night's NCAA Men's Championship game, the 2010 San Antonio Burger Blog March Fatness Championship will go down in the annals of burgerdom as a true Cinderalla story. With a result none of us would have imagined when we began blogging about burgers just over a year ago, Bracken Store Cafe (which until only recently was a burger joint unknown to most of us) defeated the San Antonio burger juggernaut, Chris Madrid's, by a vote of 4 to 2.

While Chris Madrid's delicious, greasy and oh-so-cheesy burgers have long been a favorite of many of our bloggers, it was Bracken Store Cafe's thick patties, super fresh ingredients and satisfying combination that won us (or most of us) over in the end.

As always, however, there were some hecklers and naysayers who thought the title should still go to Madrid's. Burger Boy, for one, maintained that other bloggers' zeal for Bracken Store Cafe would have monumental negative consequences:

"I hope Madrid’s wins, because if we pick the obscure Bracken, darling of an elite cadre of burger reviewers, then we bloggers will have completed our transformation into snobbish pedants who should immediately apply for jobs writing burger reviews at Texas Monthly. And I would hate for that to happen to us."

While Burger Boy's dark warning gave us pause, most of the rest of us, having been to Bracken, knew that this was no frou-frou French restaurant but a true, red blooded, American burger joint. Feeling Burger Boy's fears were overblown, each of us proceeded to vote according to our conscience, consequences be hanged!

Here's the breakdown from other reviewers:

Hamburglar:

I have loved the burger at Chris Madrid’s for as long as I can remember and I’ve sworn by it as the best burger in San Antonio. However, in a head to head match-up against the burger offered at Bracken Store Café in our March Fatness Contest, the win goes to Bracken. Both of these burgers are seasoned perfectly, offer fresh toppings and bring a unique flavor of their own to the burger. But the juicy ½ pound patty at Bracken steals the show with its perfect char and seasoning. If you haven’t been to Bracken Store Café yet for the burger, you are truly missing out.

Justice Warren E. Burger:

Bracken was great the one time I went, but I’ve had too many amazing burgers at Chris Madrid’s to take away its title. I still say Madrid’s is the best.

Fry Daddy:

I admit, at times in the past I have been a bit carried away on finding a new burger place and have placed too much emphasis on my first visit, only to discover on my second visit a number of flaws overlooked in my initial excitement. Not so with Bracken Store Cafe. The half pound cheeseburger on my second visit was every bit as amazing as the one I devoured on my first visit. The thick beef patty may be the best we've encountered so far in our citywide burger quest, but Bracken didn't stop there, every part of the burger demonstrating Bracken's devotion to producing an excellent product. All I can say is well played, Bracken Store Cafe, well played. We will definitely be back.