Local Burger Takes National Prize

Picture this: an eight ounce Angus beef burger topped with diced pickles, red onion, American cheese, bacon, shredded lettuce, jalapeños and sweet potato fries (yes, on the burger) all slathered in Thousand Island dressing.  Is your mouth watering yet?

Well, maybe it should be. This glorious concoction is the brainchild of the folks over at the It’s named The Hot Mess and recently won the Davis Square burger joint top honors in the Battle of the Best Burger contest on The Rachel Ray Show.

Now, the Boston Burger Co. is headed to Florida to square off against celebrity chefs during the Fourth Annual Burger Bash at the Food Network's South Beach Wine and Food Festival (Feb. 24-27).

It all started, explained Boston Burger co-owner Paul Malvone, when a patron submitted The Hot Mess into a nationwide burger competition put on by Every Day with Rachel Ray magazine.

Malvone said he had no idea the burger had been entered into a contest until he received an e-mail from the show’s producers asking for his recipe.

“I thought, I got nothing to loose, send it over,” Malvone said.

A few weeks later, Malvone was notified the burger was a front-runner, chosen from a pool of more than 500 entries. Within days he was on a plane to New York to compete on the show.

“We didn't think we had a shot to get there, number one. Let alone a shot to win, and now we're going to Miami,” he said.

Eight Ounces, Eight Toppings

The burger, Malvone admits, has a lot going on. He said the name generally attracts people to it, and once they read the toppings, the sweet potato fries are always of intrigue, but all together it mixes really well.

“The jalapeños really kind of kick it a little bit at the end. It's nothing crazy; it's just got a zip to it,” he explained. “All those flavors really come together; so it's not overbearing [with] one or the other and the people seem to like it.”

What’s in a name?

Originally, The Hot Mess was dubbed The Big Mess by its creator, Sebastian. But that title just didn’t sit right with Malvone. So to the chagrin of Sebastian, they added jalapeños and changed the name to The Hot Mess, which Malvone thinks is part of why it’s a hit

“I’ll say, ‘Oh who's got the hot mess?’ and everybody laughs. It's almost like that joke that never gets old," said Malvone. 

"[Sebastian] goes: 'That was my burger.' But I go, 'Where would we be with the Big Mess?' You know, nowhere, the Hot Mess won," he teased.