by Olee Fowler

On Thursday, May 16, Macy’s launched its summer American Icons series with a Battle of the Burgers hosted by Chat Chow TV.

To kick off the night, guests were treated to a performance by Miramar High School’s marching band who played a mix of contemporary and Motown hits for the crowd of close to 100. Once inside the Macy’s home store, guests got to check out the newest seasonal items on display from KitchenAid, Cuisinart, Martha Stewart Cookware and SodaStream.

The Battle of the Burgers pitted local favorites The Filling Station and Garage Bar against Sparky’s Roadside Barbecue. The winner of the burger battle would not only receive bragging rights but also a $250 Macy’s gift certificate.

First up in the battle was Sparky’s, who’s “Sparky’s Divine Burger” was prepared in front of the audience by the restaurant’s chefs, owners and long-time friends, Hans Sietz and Kevin Kehoe. During the demonstration they grilled up a half-pound Angus beef pattys seasoned with their special rib rub, which featured more than 26 herbs and spices. They topped the burger with an assortment of grilled vegetables including portabella mushrooms, roasted red peppers, Vidalia onions and finished it off with homemade bacon and roasted garlic ketchup.

The hungry audience members soon got to try the “Sparky’s Divine Burger” for themselves while washing it down with a cold beer and listening to a live saxophonist.

After the audience finished tasting the first burger, the second part of the Battle of Burgers got underway with the Filling Station’s owner, Adam Feigeles, making its “Steve’s Respect Mobile” burger. While Feigeles explained the burger is much more elaborate to create at the restaurant, he demonstrated to the audience how to make the home-kitchen version of their popular burger. Using store bought dough, he spruced it up with garlic, cheese and herbs, rolling it up cinnamon roll style and baking it off to create the buns for the burger. He then topped the burger with pulled pork, jerk BBQ sauce and a cool ranch dressing to balance out the spiciness.

After sampling both burgers, guests received a coin to vote for their favorite burger. While the coins were tallied up, the audience got to try some summertime desserts. The women from KitchenAid made a patriotic “Red, White and Blue Vanilla Wafer Tartlet” using a KitchenAid standing mixer, vanilla ice cream was created by a Cusinart Ice Cream maker, and a twist on the American classic apple pie was made using Martha Stewart cookware.

Sufficiently full, everyone waited anxiously for the winner of the first Burger Battle to be announced. It was a close race but the Filling Station took home the top prize for the night. The audience even got to get in the fun, entering to a win a $100 gift card to Macy’s awarded by local food blogger Fatgirl Hedonist.

Miss out on this month’s American Icon event? Not to worry! Chat Chow TV has events planned with Macy’s throughout the summer including a demonstration with Proper Sausages on June 20 for “Grillin’ & Chillin”. The events are free and open to the public when you RSVP on Macy’s Events page. See you there!