http://burgerdays.com

We're nursing hangovers and still a little damp from the meat sweats but the first annual D.C. Burger Throwdown at The Commodore was a rousing, rousing greasy success. Against ridiculously stiff competition, John Critchley of Brine and his burger, Thunderlips, The Ultimate Male, took home the big prize, besting the field of seven competitors on the judges' scorecards. His burger, a seared Roseda beef patty topped with shaved rib cap, Honeysuckle cheddar plus Napa cabbage kraut served on a custom-made pretzel roll skewered with a bourbon-pickled Rappahannock oyster, earned the Judges' Award trophy (and seven bottles of whiskey) for the best burger on the day. Travis Weiss of The Commodore, who finished runner-up in the judges' vote, took home the People's Choice Award with The Ramsay Bolton. His crowd-favorite burger featured his custom Rebellion blend patty, white cheddar cheese, spicy bread and butter pickles, bacon bits, smoked foie gras mayo, 1000 Island and shredded iceberg lettuce on a potato roll. Sunday's Capital Meat Company and Burger Days D.C. Burger Throwdown lineup featured burgers from seven of the D.C. area's top chefs including Matt Adler from Osteria Morini, Critchley, Scott Drewno of The Source, Ryan Hackney of Bibiana, Alex McCoy of Alfie's, Keith Long of Harvest Wood Grill + Tap and Weiss battling for burger supremacy to benefit Deaf-REACH, an organization seeking to maximize the quality of life of Deaf and Hard of Hearing individuals and families through a wide spectrum of services. Stay tuned – we'll have a full recap of the 2016 D.C. Burger Throwdown on Burger Days as soon as we sober up and stop seeing double.