On Friday, August 12 I was one of five judges at the South Lake Union Block Party’s annual burger grilling competition.

My fellow hamburger evaluators were: Hanna Raskin, Seattle Weekly’s restaurant critic, who wore a brassy blond wig and sunglasses so as to go unrecognized; smooth-talking Seattle City Council member Jean Godden (two-handed handshake); an executive from Jack in the Box called Kurt; and a woman named Stephania (rhymes with lasagna) who won her place at the judges table in a raffle.

We ate five burgers made by grillers from five SLU restaurants: Farestart, Brave Horse Tavern, Lunchbox Laboratory, Whole Foods (the brave dude who runs the meat counter competed), and Seastar.

The buxom burger from Seastar, we were informed, was a two-time winner.

First up was Farestart. Had every judge voted exactly like me, this burger would have won. It was reasonably portioned, lovingly presented with a wee gherkin for garnish, fresh and juicy and bursting with flavor. Civilized and sure of itself, this burger needed no bacon bravado or gimmicky flourishes.

The second burger was from Tom Douglas’s Brave Horse Tavern. This is not a good photo, but despite its unsavory glare you can probably see that there is a corn dog sticking out of the hamburger, which some judges liked and others found egregious. The patty itself was perfection and the smoked ketchup lent a depth that I will crave next time I’m consuming regular ketchup—so good with the brioche bun.

Lunchbox Laboratory chose to grill up a sandwich it calls “The Smoker.” I don’t know, man. I’ve never gotten Lunchbox Lab. There was just so much going on here, I felt completely overwhelmed. And the smokiness took over everything, it was the taste equivalent of what your hair would smell like if you spent 12 hours at a bonfire smoking cigars and swigging Ardbeg. But Lunchbox Lab has its ardent fans, and one of the judges declared this a favorite.

Next up was the guy from Whole Foods. I love this guy for grilling alongside professional chefs, an endeavor that might intimidate other home bbqers. His burger featured arugula, blue cheese from Rogue Creamery, bacon, and an apricot-habanero spread. I’ll tell you, if somebody served this to me at a backyard bbq, I’d be pretty pleased with that someone.

But eating it alongside the professional burgers was a good lesson in balancing the garnishes: The cheese was strong, and needed something to counteract the funk, and the arugula was surprisingly unwelcome—as if a salad had accidentally wandered on to the sandwich. ( Representative Godden pointed out aptly that a burger is one of the few dishes in which you’re glad to see iceberg lettuce.) I was looking forward to the apricot-habanero sauce, but only a thin coat of it decorated the bun, its spicy-sweetness drowned out by a whole hell of a lot of bacon. The patty itself though was unimpeachable, juicy but with a crisp black crust around the edges.

Finally came the Seastar burger. Can we talk about this for a second? Look at that burger. I mean, that’s so much food. From bun to burg, however, it was an impeccable collection of ingredients. And despite the fact that it was nearly impossible to consume, the judges collectively deemed it the best of the bunch for the third year in a row.

I’m told Farestart was a close second. And next time I’m in the mood for a hamburger (it may be a few days), that’s where I’ll be headed.