"Best Burger" belt bestowed upon Sophie's Cork and Ale
Eat! Drink! Burger Week! Founder Algenon Cash (left), Chef John Wilson & sous chef, Sean Warfield.
{Brooke Maners/Davidson Local}
On Monday, October 11, 2021 Chef John Wilson, owner of Sophie's Cork & Ale, was “crowned” Burger Champ at Eat. Drink. Burger Week's awards ceremony. Hosted by the Winston-Salem Journal at the Butcher’s Block in Winston-Salem, Wilson captured three of the six awards presented. With 23 participating Burger Week restaurants across the Triad, Wilson's incredibly crafted “shrimp & grits” burger, proved Lexington can bring mouth watering, award winning dishes to the table, besides barbecue. The week long event was hosted in September by Eat. Drink. Triad.
Chef John Wilson (center) & sous chef, Sean Warfield {Brooke Maners/Davidson Local}
Wilson, along with his sous chef, Sean Warfield, humbly, and proudly accepted his troves of awards: two gold trophies and a championship belt. “Thanks so much to everyone, I see a lot of faces here that came out and tried our shrimp & grits burger,” said Wilson. “The burger is cool, I love it too! I didn't expect to win in three categories. I woke up that morning and thought, ‘Oh my gosh, we won three?’ I had my specials planned out for that day, and made the mistake by not doing the burger that day. The phone was blowing up all day asking for the shrimp & grits burger. So, for the following three or four days, we made a lot of shrimp & grits burgers. Thank you all. this is very exciting!
Other Burger Week award winners include:
Best Burger of High Point: Sweet Old Bills, “The Slob Burger”
Best Burger of Greensboro: Crafted the Art Of Taco, “Nacho Truck Burger”
Best Burger of Winston Salem : Little Richards, “The Mojo Burger”
Wilson admitted that he is often asked why he chose Lexington when he opened Sophie’s Cork & Ale in 2015. He shared, “I’ve been in Lexington for five years now. Everyone who interviews me wants to know why Lexington? Why not Charlotte? Winston? Wherever? It's like dude, I’m from Lexington. I love Lexington. I love being a part of Lexington. Lexington is very much capable of anything that the next city is. This is what this award proves. Lexington has good food, and good people just like every other city.”
Sophie’s Cork & Ale is located at 23 W. 2nd Ave. in Lexington. According to their website, the goal is to “become a cornerstone of the uptown business community while providing our customers with great service, amazing food, and a wide variety of wines and craft beers."
Trophies await the recipients at the awards ceremony. {Brooke Maners/Davidson Local}
