Creative Loafing Burger Week begins

All right. A heads up for burger fans. A tasty tradition returning today. The annual Tampa Bay Burger Week. It is hosted by Creative Loafing. Dozens of restaurants on both sides of the bay offering special burger deals. And we want to waste no time getting out to one of the locations that is doing just that. The Dan at a hotel floor in downtown Tampa. That's where Lee Wilson with Creative Loafing. is joining us live right now. Lee, good afternoon. How are you? Hi, I'm doing better now. How are you? I'm doing better now. You know what? I'm actually, Lee, I'm glad that I ate lunch before this because otherwise I would have been drooling and foaming at the mouth while you were speaking. I know you've got some good stuff to show us. Let's start with where you're at and what that burger looks like, and then we'll take it from there. So I am at the Dan in the bottom of the historic hotel floor. In downtown Tampa, and if you don't know, Hotel Florida is celebrating their centennial. They've been around 100 years, and the Dan is one of their restaurants here. And they have, I mean, look at this. This is delicious. Is that onion? Their Dan burger. Yeah, tell me a little bit. So now I'm assuming that each space, each place gets creative with their burgers. So now what is on that burger right now? Oh, yes. We challenge chefs to get creative. So this burger is a Wagyu burger. It's got melted cheese. They do these caramelized ale onions and sauteed mushrooms. It is delicious. And here at the dam, the fun thing that they do is every time you dine here, they also deliver you a little A little dessert in cotton candy form. What is that? It makes the little kid in me so happy when I come here. But we have, like, all of these restaurants that are participating. We have about 30 restaurants that are participating, and they have been challenged. They get so creative with burgers. We've got Common Dialects has a marshmallow, fluff, and peanut butter. We've got something for the vegans as well. WeVegan is doing a vegan burger. There is a burger pizza. So you have all of the amazing little things that you have about a burger on a pizza form. So you get the best of both worlds. We've got a Mexican torta that's going on the menu too. I mean, just deliciousness across the board. And I can imagine. Now, do you know at the top of your head how many restaurants are participating this year? We have about 30 restaurants. And some of the restaurants are participating with multiple locations too. Wow. I don't know if this is a question that's allowed since Creative Loafing is hosting it, but do you have a favorite? Well, I am five burgers into Burger Week, and it just started today. Hi. Let's see. I personally... Uh, personally, this is one of my favorites only because I love mushrooms and onions so much. And they do such a good job with the, they have this like truffle garlicky on it too. And that's how, that's how you get me is truffle. You, that is how you kidnap me is truffle. I love it. You know, I, it's, it's just, and then, and there's something there's got smash burgers too, which like everybody's doing a smash burger now. It's fantastic. Cause you get like the little crispy ends around it too. But I have to say, I don't know. I'm a sucker for truffle. I am a sucker for truffle myself. I love it. I gotta admit, I don't know how I feel about the sweets on a burger. Sweet and savory together at the same time, that's where you, I don't know, it's a taste-by-taste basis when it comes to that. You got to challenge yourself, man. Like, give it a go. It's, you know, the mixing of flavors that come into things, like the Mexican torta has jalapenos on it and, like, Mexican queso. It's kind of like the mix of, the mix of savory and sweet is really, is done well. It's something to try. I love it. You know what? I do need to try it. I'm going to stop judging. So speaking of judging, I know that Creative Loafing likes to have a little fun with this. If you share a photo of your burger to Instagram, you could win some prizes. Tell us all about how Creative Loafing plays this up and how people can participate in the burger fun. Well, first of all, we want to know how you feel about your burgers that you're trying in all the different places that we want you to snap it and share it and tag us on Instagram. We are on Instagram all the time. So we want to see where you are, what you're eating. And then you can vote on the website on your favorite burgers. So it's super easy. You just go to Tampa Bay Burger Week dot com. You can see the lineup of all of the burgers there. We've got prices, descriptions, everything. And then you can click to vote every single day. On your favorite burger because hopefully you're going to eat a burger every single day just like I have been doing for Burger Week for 10 days. As you should. Now tell me how long this event runs through and I understand that all of this benefits a certain organization, huh? It does. So the promotion runs for 10 days. We start today, November 12th, and it runs all the way through November 22nd and proceeds from this benefit feeding Tampa Bay. And they need so much, especially with the holidays coming up, all of our food banks get really taxed. So they need the help during the holidays the most. Feeding Tampa Bay is a wonderful organization. They literally feed Tampa Bay. And they don't just feed Tampa Bay, but they feed other organizations in Tampa Bay. They realized a long time ago that you can't combat food insecurity just by giving people food. So they have an entire compound here in the Tampa Bay area that helps people with financial literacy, maybe furthering education, understanding career advancement, medical needs. It's wonderful what they are doing and how they're helping the citizens of Tampa Bay. I love to hear that. Lee, anything else you want burger lovers, viewers watching this to know? Any advice? I'm sure take it slow, but anything else as we wrap this up? It is a marathon, not a race. I'm not going to say this. And let us know where you are. Go follow us on Instagram, on CLTampaBay on Instagram. We have a podcast now, so you can hear all sorts of in-depth things about what's going on in the Tampa Bay area. Our editorial team is constantly pumping out information. We've got, like, Tampa Theater Week. I think we have Art Week coming up. Tons of things going on in the Tampa Bay area, especially during the holiday season. So, following us on Instagram, subscribing to our E! Newsletter. going to our website is the best way to keep up with all of the things that are going on in in creative loafing land and in the Tampa Bay area. I love it. Lee Wilson, thank you so much for taking us on your burger tour. We appreciate you. And I'm sure, as you said, with so much coming up, we'll talk to you again soon. Cheers, my friend. I only have a diet coke to contribute. I'm going to sink my teeth into this burger. Yes, girl, you go do that. Have a bite for us. We'll talk to you soon. Thank you.