This Wilmington-area restaurant has the best burgers, according to StarNews readers
The Wilmington StarNews recently dipped its toe into reader food polls, and we started with one of the all-time classics -- burgers. It’s something we love in New Hanover, Brunswick and Pender counties. We narrowed the field to 20 restaurants, diners and food trucks often mentioned when it comes to the best in the area. Over the course of a couple of weeks, readers cast thousands of votes. Here are the results.
Best burgers, honorable mentions
While these restaurants didn't get enough votes to be one of the top three, they still have fans and got more than 300 votes each. They include P.T.’s Olde Fashioned Grille, which has seven locations in Wilmington, Leland and Goldsboro, and Platypus & Gnome, at 7205 Wrightsville Ave. near Wrightsville Beach, with its gourmet menu that includes burgers made with a house-made custom blend of ground brisket, short-rib and chuck, as well those made with duck and ground elk.
One of the area’s oldest restaurants, Winnie’s Tavern at 1895 Burnett Blvd., Wilmington, is always listed as one of the top burger spots and was even featured on the Cooking Channel’s “Best Thing I Ever Ate.” In this poll, they came in fourth place.
SEE THE NOMINEES: Who has the best burgers in the Wilmington area? Vote for your favorite!
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The Top 3 best burgers
Some readers might be surprised by who earned the top spots on our poll. They are newcomers, and a popular regional chain.
Kevin and Emmaline Kozak opened Burgaw Brewing last year and the pub has been a popular addition to the Pender County food scene. The basic Burgaw Burger is a diner-style smash burger, while the Carolina Burger is a double (with the obligatory chili, cheese and slaw) and the Brewser Burger is topped with beer cheese, smoked onions, mushrooms and roasted garlic aioli. The restaurant took third place with 14% of the vote.
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Another 2023 addition to Wilmington restaurants is our second place finisher. Oklahoma’s Original Burger, from the people behind Concorde Espresso Bar at Front Street Inn in downtown Wilmington. For this restaurant at The Pointe at Barclay, 1450 Barclay Pointe Blvd., they specialize in Oklahoma-style smash burgers cooked with thinly sliced onions. For almost 20% of voters, they were the favorite.
And finally, earning more than 30% of the vote, is Poe’s Tavern. This restaurant has four locations in South Carolina, Florida, Georgia and one in Wrightsville Beach at 212 Causeway Drive. They grind their own burgers in house and name them based on the works of Edgar Allen Poe. The Black Cat, for example, has bacon, drunken chili and pimento cheese. And the Annabelle Lee adds a crabcake and remoulade.
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Allison Ballard is the food and dining reporter at the StarNews. You can reach her at [email protected]
This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Who has the best burgers in Wilmington, NC?
