http://burgerdays.com

Burgers aren't health food. We get that. We're OK with that. As a matter of fact, we LOVE that. Burgers done right usually aren't good for you. If you want a "less-guilty" alternative to a fat-ass beef patty loaded up with meat, cheese and fried stuff, then eat a Lean Pocket. A burger stripped of fat, grease and salt is soulless and few things in this world are worse than soulless burgers. It's one of the reasons we'll never set foot in a certain blue-and-white burger joint that rhymes with Shellavation.  Because that's exactly what those burgers are: shells. It's like eating a chocolate bunny at Easter. From the outside, it looks like the real deal but realizing it's hollow one bite in and, damn it, you're pissed. But you know who gets it? Holy Cow. Unapologetically gluttonous, the Del Ray burger joint has been churning out grease-laden gut bombs since it stepped on the scene in 2012. Creators of the End of the World Burger, the Noah's Ark and the Sugar Cow, Holy Cow knows how to capture the hearts and arteries of true burger lovers. For National Hamburger Week, culinary creativity director Elizabeth Henrickson – the mastermind behind Holy Cow's weekly "Burgers of the Moment" – has created yet another diet-unfriendly special that we're not going to tell our doctors about. With her final beefy entry into the mix (she's leaving Holy Cow at the end of the week), she went to the people. "Guests are always asking for a spicy BOTM," Henrickson says. "I've never done one so I figured I should since this will be my last creation." Enter the Prairie Fire. A spicy-and-salty smack to the face, the burger week special tops a 1/3-pound patty with bacon, sweet chili aioli, a heavy dose of ghost pepper pimento cheese and fried pickles. Because the way fried pickles are prepared can prove to be contentious (spears? chips? something else entirely?), we're happy to report that Holy Cow's version are of the "fry" persuasion – a seemingly successful compromise of the chip and spear. And when it comes to the heat, the ghost pepper cheese doesn't hit with one of those burn-your-lips-off blasts but rather a long-and-slow burn that'll leave you wiping the sweat from your brow for a while. Fat, grease and salt? Holy Cow's got soul. Holy Cow | 2312 Mt Vernon Avenue | Alexandria | holycowdelray.com FULL NATIONAL HAMBURGER WEEK BURGER LIST BURGER WEEK PHOTO CONTEST: Snap a photo while taking any of the Burger Days National Hamburger Week burgers to the face this week and you could find yourself looking fly and well-fed for the foreseeable future. Whoever snaps the sexiest, meatiest Burger Week photos from B Side, Burger Tap & Shake, DCity Smokehouse, Holy Cow, Mad Fox, The Pig or Right Proper will get a chance to win up to $100 in gift cards from the D.C. area’s best burger makers PLUS an opportunity to dress like the Burger Days Crew with an official Burger Days National Hamburger Week t-shirt. For a chance to take home the greasy goods, share your Burger Week photos on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter using the hashtag #7days7burgers, tag us @burgerdays and wait for the pay off. Eat burgers. Win stuff. How cool is that?