[Photographs: Elin Raun-Royer]

With Bon Appetit on board as the new primary sponsor of Chicago Gourmet, it was inevitable that the celebration of Chicago's best eats would get a little bigger and include a few more national attention-grabbers this year. The main event, a weekend affair I reviewed here, was definitely larger this year, but the big change was the addition of a Friday night kickoff in the form of the Hamburger Hop on the roof of the Harris Theater in Millennium Park.

Hosted by Cat Cora, Bon Appetit's Executive Chef, the event featured 15 Chicago chefs competing in a burger competition. Participants ranged from a guy who runs an excellent burger shop to places that don't even have burgers on the menu. The burger battlers were:

• John Coletta, Quartino
• Meg Collaran-Sahs, Terzo Piano (AHT review)
• Federico Comacchio, Phil Stefani's 437 Rush
• Radhika Desai, English
• Dirk Flanigan, The Gage/Henri
• Kevin Hickey, Seasons Restaurant at Four Seasons Hotel
• John Hogan, Keefer's
• Stephanie Izard, The Girl & The Goat
• Eddie Lakin, Edzo's Burger Shop (AHT review)
• Ryan LaRoche, NoMI
• Steven Lawhorn, Palmer Place Restaurant
• Chad Starling, Aria
• Carol Wallack, Sola
• Brian Wright, Rosebud Restaurants
• Stu Zirin, D.S. Tequila Company

Allen Brothers sponsored the event and offered pre-formed beef patties to all chefs who wanted them. Some accepted and some asked for and received different meats. Every chef was given a charcoal grill to work with and some cooked directly on the racks while others brought along skillets and griddles to use on top of the grates.

The end result was 15 very different burgers, some outstanding and some disappointing, and a rooftop full of happy eaters and chefs. There were two different awards handed out. The common folk who spent $75 per ticket along with media types and invited guests who scored free passes all voted for the people's choice. The theoretically more prestigious award was given by a panel of judges made up of Barbara Fairchild, Bon Appétit Editor-in-Chief; Lin Brehmer, WXRT; Thomas Keller, Chef and Owner of The French Laundry and Per Se; Jean Luc Naret, Director of the Michelin Guide; Lee Schrager, Vice President of Corporate Communications & National Events at Southern Wine & Spirits of America, and Keith Villa, Creator of Blue Moon.

The people selected Kevin Hickey of Seasons as the best burger. Given that I voted for his burger (and accompanying homemade chips and chocolate cherry malt), I have to say that democracy worked. The judges gave the award to Nomi, a choice that I cannot say was problematic at all. And really, about half of the burgers were, I thought, in the running for best of the night.

Take a look at the slideshow for details on my favorite seven.