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The “House of Umami,” Five Star Burgers has rapidly become one of the area’s best places to bite into a medium-rare burger with all the fixin's and get your carnivore on, proper.
Five Star offers an inventive burger-of-the-month special. Past specials have included the “Potsticker,” a pork patty topped with Vietnamese slaw and peanut-hoisin sauce (below left); the “Iron Skillet,” country-fried Angus beef topped with bacon gravy and an over-easy egg; the “Luau,” a pork parry brushed with sweet BBQ sauce and topped with pineapple, jalapeno, and candied bacon jam (below right) ; the “Steak House,” Angus beef topped with potato chips, Béarnaise sauce, and sautéed spinach; and the “Goat Burger,” a locally raised goat patty topped with ancho chile salsa and fried plantains.
One local student chef who has the chops to come up with something that can join this list will win the inaugural Five Star Burger Bash, scheduled for Monday, July 1, at the restaurant. His or her wild and crazy burger, prepared at a cookoff at Five Star, will then become the July special there.
Students who have won qualifying burger cookoffs at the Culinary Institute of St. Louis at Hickey College, L’Ecole Culinaire-St.Louis, and the St. Louis Community College Culinary Arts program will go head-to-head-to-head in the Five Star kitchen.
A small panel of local-celeb judges including Five Star owner Steve Gontram (right) will choose the winner. Guests will have a great time sampling the three competing burgers in slider form, voting for a people’s choice winner, and sipping a limited-edition beer from Civil Life Brewing Co. (style of beer unknown at press time).
The admission fee, which includes unlimited eats and drinks, goes straight to the do-gooders of the Operation Food Search food pantry for the needy.
And by the way, June’s special at Five Star is the “The Maryland,” two buttermilk-fried soft-shell crabs served with avocado sour cream on butter-toasted brioche (below). It’s not technically a hamburger, but we ain’t complainin’.
First Annual Five Star Burger Bash
Monday, July 1
2 to 5 p.m.
Five Star Burgers
8125 Maryland
314-720-4350
Burger images courtesy of Five Star Burgers.
