Get those pickles out of sight. And don't even mention sesame seeds, or
we'll swing you from a golden arch.

Swenson's legendary patty of sweetened meat on a delicately toasted bun
gave Louie's a run. So did the two-fisted sliders at Whitey's Booze N'
Burgers. But in the end, Louie's big burger made mincemeat of all comers.

`If ever there was a more perfect patty, it would be illegal,' commented
one judge.

Louie's road to burger immortality began June 30, when readers were asked
to nominate the restaurant that serves the best hamburger in Summit, Stark,
Medina, Portage and Wayne counties.

What an opinionated bunch of bun-heads you are, we discovered. An
impressive 1,245 of you voted for burgers from 145 different restaurants.
Along with ballots, you sent heartfelt testimonials and even snapshots of
burgers.

Most of the votes went to small restaurants, not the big chains. McDonald's got only six votes, Hardees four, and Wendy's, 13. The exception was Burger
King, which launched an advertising campaign, cut the price of its Whopper,
and volunteered to pay postage for mailing in the ballots. The chain got 36
votes.

One restaurant was disqualified for stuffing the ballot box with votes from folks who, when called, had never heard of the contest. How cheesy.

The remaining nominees were whittled down to the top 10 vote-getters, which then were visited by our panel of burger buffs. We tasted the hamburger
(single-decker only) mentioned most often on the ballot. When no specific
hamburger was mentioned, we tasted the simplest burger on the menu.

The panel was headed by Beacon Journal artist Art `Greasy Cheeks' Krummel, whose uncle, Frank Menches, is credited with inventing the hamburger in the
1800s at the Summit County Fair. Joining him on the panel were readers Harriet Vallen of Copley, a part-time nurse and mother of seven, and Dave Case of
Tallmadge, a burger fanatic and tire salesman; Beacon Journal Metro reporter
Will Outlaw; and me.

The 10 restaurants were visited anonymously. Panel members rated the
burgers on a scale of 1 to 100. Points were awarded in four categories:
quality of bun, quality of meat, overall flavor and general acceptability.

Early on, we figured we'd toss down a few Swenson's-size burgers, order up some fries, and then start thinking about dinner. Uh-uh. Most of the burgers
were enormous half-pounders, and four of them -- following voters' directions -- were topped with gobs of mushroom, onions and grease.

At one session, we ate three of these belly bombs in a couple of hours
-- our idea of hamburger hell.

Case was a champ, though. Alone among the panelists, he ate all but one
burger down to the last crumb. Dave says he's ready for more burgers. The rest of us are ready for antacids.

But before we turn our backs on ground beef, we offer these winners. They
are listed in order of finish.

1. LOUIE'S BAR & GRILLE     739 E. Glenwood Ave    Akron

This charming little tavern serves major-league hamburgers that look
stunning and taste even better. The half-pound patty comes on a gorgeously
toasted kaiser roll, alongside a heap of french fries that never saw a
freezer.

The hamburger meat is fresh, too, and char-grilled for a smoky flavor. The meat is juicy but, unlike other burgers we sampled, not a bit greasy. All in
all, burger perfection.

Comments: `Great classic burger.' `Good, fresh meat.' `Real bakery bun,
toasted to perfection.'