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When we first learned that both BGR and brgr:shack went turkey with their November BOTMs, we decided to put our disdain for the bird burgers behind us and give the two poultry patties a try. 'Tis the season after all. And the fact that cranberry sauce, gravy and stuffing were part of the equation didn't hurt either... Our first visit was to BGR where we were hooked up with their Thanksgiving on a Bun-- a turkey, gravy, cornbread stuffing and cranberry mash-up that was, indisputably, the messiest burger we've eaten this year. The gravy and cranberry sauce dominated, with huge dollops of each oozing from the mix and splattering on our plates below as we attempted to take these monsters to the face. By the end of the meal, we had a mountain of napkins on our table that we were somewhat ashamed, but mostly proud, of. We battled the sloppy beast and we won. The gravy and cornbread stuffing brought a blast of savoriness to the burger. While we had some good bites where the sweetness of the cranberries cut through, they were rare and we wish we could have had more. The stuffing was also bit too dry and had us reaching for a drink frequently. And since the components were present in such generous amounts, the turkey wasn't as prominent as we thought it would be, though we couldn't determine if this was a pro or a con. Speaking of turkey, since we're not regular consumers of these types of burgs, we were a bit surprised with BGR's patty. We were expecting a patty all ground up --similar to the cow versions we eat on the regular-- but BGR's were more coarsely ground and resulted in a patty with good-sized chunks of turkey--  a pleasant surprise. Now, don't go thinking we're changing our stance on bird burgs, but if we ever dive back into that scene again, we'd opt for these patties. Next up was brgr:shack's Goble:Goble (aren't they missing a 'B'?) burger. This turkey BOTM also went with cranberries, but rather than going for the whole Thanksgiving meal like BGR, they passed on the stuffing and gravy and instead went with caramelized onions, arugula and a double helping of Swiss. The Goble:Goble was downright immaculate compared to the messy, massive behemoth that was BGR's Thanksgiving on a Bun, but not gonna lie, we were a bit underwhelmed with brgr:shack's take on the seasonal special. At first, we thought they may have forgotten the cranberries as we were expecting a helping similar to the one we had prior. But after closer inspection, we found their house-made cranberry sauce somewhat off-putting, purplish-pinkish-colored smear spread on the top and bottom buns. The onions were under a blanket of the melted Swiss with the arugula on top of both. And the patty was what we expected a turkey one to be like: all ground up and perpetrating to be beef. (stop frontin' bird!) Anyway, we weren't much impressed with this burger. While this patty had less interference than its counterpart at BGR, it wasn't a good thing. The lack of toppings highlighted the turkey which we thought was bland and the cranberry sauce wasn't very sweet or strong and could have been left off-- we hardly noticed it. It did get the edge on juiciness, however, beating out the dryer offering from BGR. Needless to say, we won't be switching to turkey anytime soon. Neither of these burgers impressed us much, but of the two Thanksgiving-themed BOTMs, the clear winner is BGR's Thanksgiving on a Bun. Not only is it tastier (well, as tasty as a turkey burger can be), but it embodies all that Thanksgiving grub is: turkey, stuffing, cranberries, gravy; that's what it's all about. brgr:shack simply missed the mark with their stab at a T-Day burg but they needn't feel bad-- we don't like them for their poultry. They do a cow burger just fine and we can't wait to jump back on their beef patties. In the end, our experience with the bird in a bun was fun O.K not terrible an experience and it just reinforced our love for the cow. There is no way in hell anyone could ever mistake a turkey patty for beef, and anyone who tries to tell you otherwise is just straight up lying. Or an idiot. Or maybe both.  

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BGR The Burger Joint | 8 Locations in D.C., Maryland and Virginia | bgrtheburgerjoint.com brgr:shack | 4125 N. Fairfax Drive | Arlington | brgrshack.com