Valley Food Championship Burger Battle: Judges visit Local Burger in Northampton

The fourth and final stop in the competition brought the judges to Main Street in Northampton. Watch video

Judges in the Valley Food Championship Burger Battle made their last stop in visiting the Final 4 burger joints chosen by online readers of The Republican, MassLive.com and El Pueblo Latino.

Local Burger in Northampton joined White Hut in West Springfield, Five Guys in Westfield and 911 Burgers and Dogs in Agawam in the finals.

The Republican's three judges – arts and entertainment editor Ray Kelly, sports reporter Pam McCray and photographer Don Treeger – ordered up burgers prepared by the Isnari family at Local Burger.

"Sitting at the counter at Local Burger, you can see flames leaping from the grill, blanketing the beef and you know that something special is headed your way," Treeger said.

He added, "My six ounce black Angus burger was delivered with the signature 'char' that forms a crust on all the beef leaving the kitchen. There is a fine line between char and burnt and my burger just made it into the char column. The bun was the proper size for the amount of meat and the lettuce and tomato topping let the beef retain center stage. You can order your burger with grass fed beef from Easthampton or Angus beef from the Midwest, with the former being a leaner choice."

Kelly had the terryaki burger - a six-ounce burger cooked in terryaki sauce and topped with a slice of grilled pineapple.

"I have had terryaki burgers from Maui to New York, and this was one of the best. It had more of a sweet than smoky flavor," he said.

Kelly added, "You can order a burger 'pink' or 'no pink' at Local Burger. I ordered it well-done. It was still juicy, though I might opt for 'pink' next time I am there."

McCray was pleased with her choice, a burger topped with lettuce, tomato, pickles, and mushrooms.

"I really liked the flavor of the burger. It had a charred taste to it. You could really tell it was cooked on an open flame," McCray said. "They offer a lot of very different burgers like the one with mac & cheese right in the burger. That's something I'd definitely go back for."

She added, "One thing I really liked about Local Burger was how satisfied I was after the meal. I wasn't still hungry. It was a great burger."

McCray, Kelly and Treeger have started deliberations and will reveal the winner next week.

When the contest was announced on Nov. 22, online readers were asked to submit their nominees.

With tournament style voting, online readers reduced the initial field of 87 burger joints to the Final 4.

Burger Battle: Pickles Bracket