Ann Arbor restaurant takes top prize at Burger Battle

Ann Arbor restaurant Frita Batidos took home the grand prize Sunday evening at the fourth annual Burger Battle Detroit in Eastern Market.

Chef Eve Aronoff impressed event goers and a panel of judges with her slider-size burger topped with shoestring fries and a quail egg, served on a soft brioche bun. The ingredients for the burger were prepared fresh, with no overnight prepping.

After accepting her trophy with her staff, Aronoff announced she would be opening a restaurant in Midtown Detroit. Details of the new spot are still under wraps, but she said she hopes to be open by the end of the year.

She credits her win to teamwork.

“It’s a combination of texture and contrast, that’s my style of cooking, and I’ve worked with the same guys for 15 years so I think it’s that as well,” she said, explaining how she was able to beat out 20 Metro Detroit restaurants for the grand title.

Other top finalists were Grey Ghost of Midtown, which came in second place with a classic, two-patty burger. Rusted Crow, a distillery with a restaurant near Comerica Park brought originality with a patty topped with roasted Brussels sprouts and a Thai-peanut dressing.

The top five of the 20 competitors were rounded out by River Bistro’s peppery burger with maple-bourbon sauce. Tommy’s Detroit Bar & Grill near Cobo caught the attention of the voting public with a burger topped with spicy coleslaw and a pretzel bun.

The five finalists were chosen by votes from attendees, and a panel of local food experts judged the finalists on presentation, grind, creativity and flavor. All of the meat used for the competition was provided by Fairway Packing of Detroit.

mbaetens@detroitnews.com

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Twitter: @melodybaetens