Roosevelt’s 21 Crowned Best Burger in the Valley!

Eight restaurants faced-off for Battle of the Burgers to benefit the Allentown Rescue Mission

Hundreds of hungry people descended on Green Acres Outdoor Living in Easton Saturday afternoon to taste the best burgers in the Lehigh Valley. It was all part of the “Battle of the Burgers,” a new event hosted by Green Acres Outdoor Living to mark the end of the summer of 2012. Green Acres partnered with the Allentown Rescue Mission and the Morning Call newspaper for the event and all proceeds were donated to the Mission.

The “Battle of the Burgers” showdown featured eight local restaurants competing for the title of “Best Burger in the Lehigh Valley” -  Red Robin, Copperhead Grille, Starters Riverport, Burger Shack, Blue Monkey, Roosevelt’s 21, The Keystone Pub and Jake’s Wayback Burgers.

“The restaurants definitely came prepared for battle on Saturday, “said Allentown Rescue Mission Executive Director Gary Millspaugh. “They each prepared delicious burgers and the voters had their work cut out for them!”

600 people of all ages waited in long lines to try all of the restaurants’ signature sliders. The parking lot was packed with tents and grills and the smell of fresh burgers permeated the afternoon air.  A “tasting fee” was charged in order to participate: $7 for adults, $3 kids ages 6-12 and kids under the age of five got to eat for free. In addition to the delicious food, event-goers also enjoyed music by A-Plus DeeJays and got their pictures taken inside a free photo booth.

“It was an amazing event with a lot of great food,” said Cleon Swartzentruber, Vice President of Green Acres Outdoor Living. “We like to donate to the Mission, because we love how you try to change people’s lives.”

From 1pm to 4pm, each participant got to sample eight grilled sliders, one from each of the competing restaurants. Then they voted for their favorite burger.  The votes were tallied and at 4:30pm the winner was announced. Roosevelt’s 21, with locations in Bethlehem and Allentown, was awarded “Best Burger in the Lehigh Valley.”  The winning slider was a mini-version of the restaurant’s famed burger called “The Roosevelt” – topped with pork roll, fried egg, bacon, cheese, spicy sauce, lettuce, tomato and onion.

The event raised $4376 for the Allentown Rescue Mission and according to Allentown Rescue Mission Executive Director Gary Millspaugh it couldn’t have come at a better time.

“The summer is a challenging time for fundraising for the Mission,” said Millspaugh. “People tend not to think of the homeless and needy during the warmer months. We are extremely grateful that the folks at Green Acres Outdoor Living asked to partner with us for this great event. We’re thankful to everyone who helped make ‘Battle of the Burgers’ a huge success.”