Fresno’s CHARburger eyes national burger challenge, your vote could help

While the Wall Street Journal is calling the final days on gourmet burgers, downtown’s Fresno’s CHARburger seems to be having none of it.

The restaurant is pushing out a beef and portobello mushroom blended patty with fresh mozzarella, basil, tomatoes and balsamic spread on a brioche bun. It’s called the CHARprese and is being offered as part of the James Beard Foundation’s Blended Burger Project. The project asks restaurants to create a hamburger, using “The Blend.” That’s the foodie term for that beef-and-mushroom mix, which can be more nutritious and sustainable that traditional burger patties.

It is also asking people to vote for their favorite burger online (keeping in mind things like creativity, flavor profile and appearance).

Now, you could just vote for the CHARpreses because its the hometown favorite and winning would be big for city pride, but the restaurant is also open for dinner service from 5-8 p.m. tonight, if you want to try the thing first. It’ll only cost you $5.50, so no gourmet prices, here.

Here’s what CHARBurger owner Catherine Heaney has to say about the CHARprese:

“When I saw information about the competition, it was that day when it was like 102 and I was sitting at CHARburger and was like, ‘what do I want to eat right now?’ I love mushrooms, I love rich foods. My first instinct was truffle, à la our tots, but then I was like, ‘no, it’s just too hot for something that heavy.’ Almost instantly, images of a fresh caprese salad started dancing in my head. It may have been dehydration. While they’re just awesomely fresh, they’re also very satisfying. I started experimenting by messing with the ingredients. Once I had perfected the patty, I assembled the entire bad boy, but knew it needed the perfect condiment. We use vegan Just Mayo for our special sauce (I love that it’s creamy but not too heavy) and stirred in some aged balsamic vinegar for a acidic zip and presto or pesto…or, well it tasted really great!”

The CHARprese will be on the menu through July. Online voting also run through July and all votes will be entered to win trip for two to the 2018 Blended Burger event at the James Beard House, Heaney says.

“It’s sort of a win-win, eh?”

This story was originally published June 2, 2017 at 2:22 PM with the headline "Fresno’s CHARburger eyes national burger challenge, your vote could help."