Months ahead of the annual Denver Burger Battle, The Cherry Cricket hosts its own internal beefy brawl.
Chefs from each of the burger institution’s three locations submit two to three options in May as possible contenders for the contest, which takes place this year on Aug. 1. They consider texture, acidity, how toppings complement the beef and what ingredients are efficient for high-volume servings.
It’s an effort that has paid off. Since 2010, the Cricket has won the People’s Choice award at the Burger Battle four times, including last year for its rich Cricket Royale short rib burger with bone marrow and the year before that for its 983 Big Cheesy with mac and cheese, bacon jalapeño jam, crispy poblano and Jalapeño Cheddar Cheetos. The restaurant also took home a Judge’s Choice award in 2019 for its green chile relleno burger. They’ve never won both in the same year, though an ultimate goal for the restaurant.
“We make sure to stay away from polarizing ingredients,” said Heidi Ziepperecht, general manager of The Cherry Cricket Cherry Creek. “Peanut butter is so fun, but there are so many allergies. That’s one of those ingredients you’re kind of terrified of the most. Eggs are not fun to deal with during battle, so we don’t want to do a burger with an egg on it.”
The team of 15 chefs, general managers and corporate staff from the Cricket’s parent company, Breckenridge-Wynkoop, taste and narrow down the first round of burgers to the top three. They spend the summer tweaking and perfecting each bite.
Two years ago, the group tried every Cheeto varietal they could find for the 983 Big Cheesy, which ended up winning the People’s Choice award in 2022. Because of its extra crunch and flavor, they chose the Jalapeño Cheddar Cheeto.
But not everything they throw at the wall sticks. An ice cream sandwich burger, for example. “The hot grease ended up freezing along with the ice cream,” Ziepperecht said. “It was a disaster.”
Or a burger using mashed potato hush puppies as a bun with brown gravy on top. “Potatoes are just too weird on burgers,” Ziepperecht added.
This year, The Cherry Cricket Littleton submitted a creation called the “We’re In A Pickle” burger, a take on a classic California cheeseburger with shredded lettuce, a tangy “pickle de gallo” and Cricket sauce. It’s inspired by the trending pickle pizza and other pickle food.
The Pickle de Gallo Burger at The Cherry Cricket in Denver on Tuesday, June 18, 2024. (Photo by Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post)
The Cherry Cricket Ballpark’s chef Ronaldo Munoz, who’s worked with the company for 22 years, created the “Everything’s Peachy” burger with brie cheese, peach jam, apple slaw and candied habanero bacon on a brioche bun. This was his way of playing with local produce.
The Peachy Burger at The Cherry Cricket in Denver on Tuesday, June 18, 2024. (Photo by Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post)
And The Cherry Cricket Cherry Creek invented “The Cry Baby,” a classic half-pound Cricket Burger topped with a crostini blanketed with cave-aged gruyere, bone marrow caramelized onions, crispy cheese frico, and onion strings. The behemoth is served on a rosemary potato bun with a schmear of French onion dip and French onion soup sidecar for dipping.
Cry Baby French Onion Burger at The Cherry Cricket in Denver on Tuesday, June 18, 2024. (Photo by Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post)
“It’s the perfect marriage of a French Dip, French onion soup and a French onion dip,” Ziepperecht said.
After multiple taste tests, The Cherry Cricket team unanimously voted “The Cry Baby” as this year’s Denver Burger Battle contender.
“Judges’ Choice tends to skew towards the more classic traditional burgers, and People’s Choice have tended to be more out there,” Ziepperecht said. “No offense, we appreciate the judge’s taste, but we like the people.”
If, or like Ziepperecht likes to say, when The Cherry Cricket earns first place in the Denver Burger Battle, the winning burger lands on the menu permanently. If it loses, it will be the Burger of the Month for August. “The Cricket Royale from last year has gotten so popular, so these poor guys are now going through a thousand pounds of onions a week,” Ziepperecht said.
As for the contenders that go unchosen, The Cherry Cricket sticks the flavor profile in its back pocket for a future battle or a monthly special.
On game day, the Cricket usually brings an army of around 12 people to help make roughly 400 burgers for hungry Denver Burger Battle guests. Munoz said the summer heat on top of the heat wafting from the grill is the hardest part of being there.
Since selecting “The Cry Baby” as this year’s contender, the team has been trying to figure out how to efficiently and quickly soak a crostini in French onion soup and cover it in gruyere before assembling the burger for a line of 100 people. “We’re going to do some trial runs,” Ziepperecht said.
“Meeting all the fans and burger enthusiasts makes it worth it when you’re there sweating, covered in grease and coleslaw,” she added. In fact, whenever a guest returns to the Cricket’s booth for seconds, they ring a bell in their honor.
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The Cricket has been serving some of Denver’s favorite burgers since 1945. And the Denver Burger Battle kicked off in 2010. Over that time, Denver’s burger scene has grown from straightforward classic cheeseburgers or specialty ones with green chili to smash burgers, chef-driven patties, impossible vegan burgers and more. But The Cherry Cricket welcomes the competition. “The more the merrier,” Ziepperecht said.
The Cherry Cricket in Denver on Tuesday, June 18, 2024. (Photo by Hyoung Chang/The Denver Post)
This year, they’ll be up against 19 other local burger joints, including newcomers like South Park Hill’s The W, which will be making the Lil’ Big Wig with smoked pulled pork belly bacon and white cheddar, or BrewDog’s bacon deluxe burger with onion rings. Returning contender Blue Moon Brewery will serve its take on a Pueblo slopper, and Stoney’s Bar & Grill is attempting a Bahn mi burger on a French baguette.
A group of around eight Denver foodies judge quarter slices of all 20 burgers throughout the day, ranking them on a scale of 1 to 10; a 1 means that “the Hamburgler had the opportunity to steal this burger, he’d decline and go to the KFC across the street,” according to last year’s rules, while a 10 meant “I would sell my house, my spouse, and my children just to taste this delicious masterpiece again.”
Ziepperecht said they’re keeping an eye out for competitors like Ultreia, which will be serving the “Jamónburguesa,” a double cheeseburger with Portuguese 1000 Island dressing, lettuce and pickles.
Or the formidable Snarfburger’s “Hatch Supreme Burger” with pepper jack cheese, bacon, lettuce, tomato, Giardiniera aioli sauce, onion and hatch chile peppers. Snarfburger was the winner of the Judge’s Choice for its classic double Snarfburger last year.
“Whoever knocks us off our throne needs to earn it,” Ziepperecht said.
The Denver Burger Battle takes place on the Auraria campus’s Tivoli Quad, 1000 Larimer St., on Thursday, Aug. 1. General admission is $94 plus fees and entry is at 6:30 p.m. There are also early admission VIP tickets available. Go to denverburgerbattle.com.