Meeting the Burger Week Challenge

Credit: Ai Ishiguro

Every time we have a food-and-drink-related issue, our Indy staff always talks about the unspoken challenge of weeks like Burger Week: Who is going to be the person who tries all of the burgers listed in just one week? This year, through our Snap. Share. Win! Contest on Instagram, Ai Ishiguro got in an incredible 19 burgers!

Ishiguro has been in Santa Barbara for five years, and last year she had nine out of the 16 burgers — which is another big feat for only having seven days! Ishiguro told us about the plan she had for Burger Week this year:

“I did go in with a plan to get as many as possible. I started planning out by day three which places I’d need to hit over the weekend due to the restaurants having limited serving days. Burger Week is such a fun way to disrupt the normal flow of eating out we get into. I love trying new places, and this makes it so much more accessible and fun! I was dedicated to this — I drove all the way to Santa Ynez for The Victor’s Burger Week burger on Sunday (it would’ve been my seventh burger of the day), and they had sold out when I got there. My favorite burger was from La Paloma. It was the best quality from what I had, in my opinion, and also had such a complex flavor profile (a different taste in every bite) and a really good patty (not overcooked). My favorite spot was The Brewhouse! I pass by it every day on the way to work and never went in before this week and was surprised to see how good their menu looked and how big of a spot it was inside — I’ll definitely be back. I didn’t eat 19 full burgers on my own — I had friends come with me and half some, so in total I had about 12.75 total burgers in the week. I documented my burger-eating journey on Tik Tok (@ai_ishiguro) as well!”