Dee’s Diner won the second annual “Burger Week” competition, beating out 33 other participating restaurants in Daviess County to earn the title of “Best Burger.”
The diner, located at 1362 E. 4th Street, offered a “French Toast Breakfast Melt” — which included a ¼-lb. fresh beef patty topped with bacon, scrambled eggs, and American cheese served on 2 slices of French toast and dusted with powdered sugar, and paired with tater tots.
“Breakfast is what we do well,” said diner owner Kenneth Harper. “I figured we could give people the opportunity to start Burger Week early (in the day) with a French toast burger. We put our all into it.”
Harper said “Anyone who works in the kitchen loves a good rush, and that’s what Burger Week does.”
Harper took over the family business in early 2019. When Dee’s Diner was recently voted the Best Local Diner in a competition hosted by Owensboro Times, Harper said he does what he does to make people happy, especially through breakfast — because to him that is the most important meal of the day.
“I never once in a million years would have thought that this place would have ever been as important to people, or just as popular as it is,” Harper said previously. “I am eternally thankful for everybody that walks through my doors.”
A total of 34 restaurants participated in “Burger Week.”
Second place went to Miller House (301 E. 5th Street) and their “Get In My Pork Belly Burger” burger — which included Angus ground beef, braised pork belly, tomato bourbon jam and arugula on a brioche bun.
Third place went to last year’s champion O’Bryan’s Bar and Grill (7006 KY 815) and their “Maker’s Melt” — which included two patties on garlic butter toast covered in pepper jack cheese, bacon, fried onion straws and a homemade spicy Maker’s Mark sauce.
For the second year, Beef ‘O’ Brady’s sold the most featured burgers with more than 2,000 sold. They offered the “Beef’s Campfire Burger” — which included a fresh premium blend angus burger topped with melted Swiss and American cheeses, smoky bacon crumbles, Sweet Baby Rays BBQ sauce, and crispy beer battered onion rings, finished with a generous drizzle of house made chipotle mayo and served on a toasted brioche bun.
Participating restaurants competed for bragging rights for the “Best Burger” by an independent group of judges.
Owensboro Burger Week was made possible with support from local and state sponsors including the Kentucky Beef Council, Independence Bank, Green River Appliance, and Hillview Farms Meats.
