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A local celebration of one of the most iconic sandwiches ever created is coming to Fayetteville and the surrounding area next month. The first-ever NWA Burger Week, organized by local foodie and Instagrammer Joseph Nguyen of The Hangry Pedaler, is coming up May 3-9 in the region.
Nguyen organized the event, which will include more than 35 restaurants creating specialty burgers for folks to stop by and try, as a fundraiser for the NWA Food Bank.
Participating restaurants include Hugos, JJ’s, Southern Food Co, East Side Grill, Flyway, The Hive, Eleven and others at venues in Fayetteville, Springdale, Rogers, Bentonville, Siloam Springs and other cities around NWA.
You can follow along with the event on Instagram.
We got in touch with Nguyen, who shared more about his plans for the inaugural event and how it will all work with the Flyer this week.
Tell us a bit about NWA Burger Week and how it came about.
The inaugural NWA Burger Week goes down May 3-9, with 37 restaurants/food trucks involved. Each business will have a specialty burger for the week, and all specialty burgers will be the same price ($12). For every burger sold, $1 will be donated to Northwest Arkansas Food Bank.
I’ve always been interested in helping raise money for local non-profits and have helped with many local events. I decided to create my own, and that’s how NWA Burger Week came about. Who doesn’t love a good burger, right? It’s just another way I can give back to our community, and it just makes me feel good at the end of the day.
What can you tell us about how NWA Burger Week works?
To participate, all you have to do is go to a participating restaurant the week of May 3-9 and ask for their Burger Week special. It comes with the burger only, so I do encourage people to order sides and a drink. Just make sure you check when the restaurant opens because every restaurant will be open for its normal hours.
The fundraising comes from the restaurants that agreed to donate $1 from every burger sale to the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank. I also have a donation page on the website where people can donate directly to the food bank. My goal is $5,000, and I hope we can raise that much. Since it’s the first year, I wanted to set a goal that I felt was attainable.
Why would you say burgers deserve their own local celebration?
I feel like everyone loves a good burger. And so many places offer one. You go to any restaurant, and there’s normally at least one burger on the menu. That made it easier for me to reach out to restaurants. I love a good burger, and I know big cities have Burger Weeks, so I wanted to do something like that here.
Looks like you’ve got a great list of participating restaurants. What are some of your favorite burgers you’ve had recently, and are there a couple of places you are excited to try?
We have an amazing list of burgers, and the restaurants really came through for me. There are a few burgers on that list that I’ve had before; they’re on their regular menu, but they’re heavily discounted during burger week.
For instance, The Hive Burger (The Hive, Bentonville) normally costs more than $20, but during burger week, it’s only $12. I’ve had it before, and it’s fantastic. Pimento cheese, tomato jam and house pickles. Another burger that I’ve had is the Red Door Porker from The Red Door in Tontitown. This place is very underrated because it’s not in one of the 4 main cities in our area. Absolutely worth a drive wherever you are because their food is great. The porker consists of a classic cheeseburger topped with queso and pulled pork. It’s a big, fantastic burger!
A place I’m really excited to check out is East Side Grill. They are offering a Triple Rodeo Burger. Beef patty, bacon, cheddar cheese, onion straws and BBQ sauce.
Another place I’m looking forward to is Muselet in Bentonville. Theirs is a fancy burger I can’t even pronounce called “Le Boucher de Reims” which consists of shio koji cured Wagyu, triple mustard slaw, soy-stout caramelized onion and tallownaise.
Proceeds from the event benefit the NWA Food Bank. Tell us a bit about their work and why you chose to raise funds for them.
Since my Hangry Pedaler NWA Instagram account focuses on food, I naturally gravitated toward a nonprofit that addresses food insecurity. There’s no better one in our area than the Northwest Arkansas Food Bank.
Graphic: Courtesy, NWA Burger Week
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