Two years.
That's how long Laura Nickoloff had been waiting for Saturday.
It wasn't some significant wedding anniversary or anything
special like that, though. It was, instead, the debut of the
two-day National Hamburger Festival in downtown Akron -- an
event that marries ground beef lovers with some of the tastiest
hamburger makers around.
Some medical professionals also may say it conjoins clogs
with arteries, considering the size and numbers of burgers
that folks were downing.
The festival was announced two years ago and was supposed
to debut last year.
But it had to be postponed, leaving hamburger buffs salivating
all this time. Where else are you going to find such a proliferation
of burger chefs all in one place?
``I've been waiting for two years for this,'' Nickoloff of
Akron said as she munched on half a burger with her husband,
Carl, in the shade of Canal Park. The festival, she concluded,
was worth the wait and she hopes it returns next year.
Organizers, who expect 20,000 to 25,000 people this weekend,
hope hamburgers work the same festival magic as chicken wings
do in Buffalo. The National Buffalo Wing Fest attracts about
50,000 people a year.
``I think this is going to be a hit,'' Kristie Ihrig of Wadsworth
said as she surveyed the portion of South Main Street that
had been transformed into a tent city for hamburger joints.
Ihrig and her husband, Brian, love exploring food festivals.
They regularly head off to the Taste of Miami and Taste of
Chicago events, and -- like a lot of the folks attending the
Hamburger Festival -- are Food Network fans. The Food Network,
by the way, is here filming the event. The Ihrigs didn't want
to miss this festival in their own backyard.
``It's a first of its kind in the area,'' Brian Ihrig said,
noting that rib burnoffs are a dime a dozen.
Conspicuous by their absence were fast-food burger staples
like Burger King, McDonald's, Wendy's and White Castle. They
were invited, but opted not to come, organizer Drew Cerza
said. Big Boy and Cheeseburger in Paradise were the only major
chains to attend.
The Big Boy mascot was spotted wandering around. No sign
of Mayor McCheese or Burger King, though.
Festival-goers said they didn't expect -- or want -- the
fast-food restaurants at this event anyway.
``I think it's good,'' Kristie Ihrig said. ``It's nice to
see the homegrown restaurants here.''
The local restaurants included Skyway Drive-In, Horizon Specialty
Burgers, Menches Bros., Louie's Bar & Grille, Park Avenue
Grille, Main Street Saloon, Steel Trolley Diner, Sportsterz,
Barley House, Hodge's Cafe and Legends Sports Pub & Grille.
``We were honored to be invited,'' said Ryan Hillman, general
manager at the Steel Trolley in Lisbon. The Steel Trolley
was named last year by Ohio Magazine as making one of the
best-tasting burgers in the state.
So what's it take to make a great burger? Experience and
secret ingredients, Hillman said, adding that eating at a
nostalgic place like the Steel Trolley doesn't hurt either.
In addition to the food, there was a hamburger-eating contest,
a bobbing-for-hamburgers contest, music by a Jimmy Buffett
tribute band (think the song Cheeseburger in Paradise)
and a mock trial to determine who really invented the hamburger.
Akron; Seymour, Wis.; New Haven, Conn.; and Athens, Texas,
all claim to be the home of the burger inventor. Akron residents
Frank and Charles Menches maintained they invented the sandwich
at the 1885 World's Fair in Hamburg, N.Y.
All the claims are eerily similar: Chefs smashed some ground
beef together and put it between two pieces of bread to appease
a hungry customer who was in a rush.
Since the trial was more about theatrics than actually solving
the mystery, it ended with a hung jury.
Folks are being urged to vote online for who they think invented
the burger by going to www.hamburgerfestival.com.
Votes will be accepted until Aug. 26.
