What' more American than the burger?

Its roots go back to hamburger steak.

Ground beef brought into American food culture by German immigrants in the 1800s, but America turned it into something new.

By the late 19th century, street cart and lunch counters were feeding workers who needed something cheap, fast and portable.

Put that patty between bread and suddenly the burger was built for a country on the move.

Then diners, fairs and roadside stands helped make it a national obsession.

It's simple.

It's classic.

And in Pittsburgh, it's something people have very strong opinions about.

I said, listen you have to try this hamburger.

They loved it.

You can't really get a pierogi on a burger anywhere else.

It's phenomenal.

The way they like, smash it and then the bun and like, all of it comes together and it's like the perfect hamburger.

So for America 250, we're putting that debate on the table.

You chose three local spots, three different burgers and three very strong cases to make.

Oh, that looks so good.

You're making me hungry.

Our first contender is a local heavyweight in the heart of Bloomfield, an old school institution built on fire histor and decades of loyal regulars.

So that's where this burger debate begins for this very special America 250 edition of “Showdahn.” In a city tha never stops reinventing itself.

Some places endure by staying exactly who they are.

Everyone who visits me here, I bring to Tessaros.

Over the years, it's always been the same.

We got to go to Tessaros.

We got to go to Tessaros.

For more than four decade Tessaros has been holding court in Pittsburgh's Bloomfield neighborhood, where burgers are still hand formed.

Beef is still ground in-house, and hardwood fire still crackle beneath the grill.

You should come here for the burger.

Any time any one of my relatives from Italy come over.

I always bring them here.

No gimmicks, no shortcuts.

Just generations of cooks, regular and a recipe that helped define what a Pittsburgh burger could be.

Tessaros is a go to place in Pittsburgh.

It's the greatest bar.

It's like “Cheers.” It's just so friendly.

And the food is delicious.

It's a good neighborhood place.

They haven't lost touch wit what their original concept was, which was the neighborhood bar, and it still is.

Tell us how Tessaro's has has changed over the time.

It hasnt.

Richard Tessaro bought this in 1983, named it after himself, and then Kelly Harrington purchased it in March of ‘85 and wanted to keep the theme of Little Italy, and was really worried about owning a Irish business in Small Italy.

Yeah.

And so kept the name Tessaro's, and it's been Tessaro's ever since.

The best burger in the city of Pittsburgh is at Tessaros.

The flavor, the quality, the consistency.

It's all there.

Never fails.

You always get consistency.

It's the consistency.

And they cook it right.

You ask for it medium, you get it medium.

And if you know the story about the meat, that the gentleman is a fireman who comes in in the morning and chops and prepares the meat and mixes it for the burgers.

I'm here with Dominic who has been grinding all of the meat, handling all of the meat for decades, pretty much.

35 years.

35 years.

So we're going to grind this meat twice.

Okay.

First is going to be a 3/16 oh and then we'll grin to 1/8 for our finished product.

What kind of meat is this.

This is a New York strip.

This is the New York strip.

How big of a slice?

Does it matter?

Doesn't matter.

Because that hole up there is that big.

Saw.

Saw back and forth.

The knife will do the work.

Oh, Dominic that's an interesting feeling.

I'm watching his hand because I don't want him to be.

And I (stumpy) appreciate that that would be bad.

We're going to throw this up in this hopper, okay.

Up in here.

Yeah, right.

Ooh.

All right, get the plunger.

Yeah.

Okay.

Nonna, look, I'm doing it.

Why do they have the best burger in the ‘Burgh?

Combination of Dom and Courtney.

Nothing has changed.

Dominic's absolutely maniacal about the quality of the product.

And you could see that the quality of this.

There's no filler.

Yeah.

And the old people that wanted a “cannibal sandwich.” Did yoy say “cannibal sandwich?” Cannibal sandwich was raw ground meat with an onion slice on bread.

I would... This is good.

You can eat this.

Because you seen where it came from.

Yeah, I did.

So the quality is there.

Courtney's maniacal about how he prepares it.

It takes a couple of minutes befor you have to flip the hamburger, because if you do it early, it's just going to stick to the grill.

It is a testament to wha Courtney can do on a live fire.

When I say he's the heartbea of the restaurant, I mean that with every sense of that phrase.

Oh my God, when I first started, came straight from Jamaica.

And this is like the first job I've ever had.

Started from a dishwasher, worked my way up through to the grill.

They realize my potential to be able to do the grill.

And I started there and never left.

All is said, I'm here 37 years to life.

And so we're making the Kelly Burger.

What goes into all of that?

What is the Kelly Burger?

Yeah.

So the Kelly Burger is made up with a half pound patty.

You wanna grab a little bit bigger than a baseball.

Okay.

Oh.

Ground meat.

It feels weird.

So, what are we doing?

Packing.

Packing it?

Yeah.

Not too tight.

I didn't take much to get my mine, like.

Yeah.

No, you're an expert, Courtney.

Going to the grill?

To the grill Awesome.

Woah, look at the fire there.

It goes on the grill is cooked to your desired temperature or lightness.

Yes, and wood is for flavor.

The coal is maintained, the heat.

So I'm going to cheese the burger up.

Place on there like that.

Looks alright.

A little bit of grilled mushrooms.

Heat up the bacon a little bit.

Bring it back to life.

that bacon is placed right on top of that burger.

Over to the bar.

There's your Kelly Burger.

Grilled onion and mushrooms, lettuce, tomato, raw onion and the side dish, which could be potato salad.

We usually just add to the side and that's complete.

And that burger right now is probably perfect.

Good stuf going on inside your mouth.

Wow.

So I just made the Kelly Burger here.

American cheese on mine.

Just gonna slather that right on there.

Here we go.

Right on top.

Pickle, onion, tomato, lettuce, mayo, bacon, onions, mushrooms and potatoes.

I'm gonna go ready for this.

Bacon.

Juicy, flavorful.

This is a traditional burger right here.

It's going to be hard to beat.

It's, like good quality.

It's always cooked well.

I mean, it's just.

We've never had a bad meal.

The Kelly Burger is just about, I would say, the best in Pittsburgh.

*speaks in Italian* Yeah.

What stands out here is not just the burger.

It's the rhythm of the place.

The tiny kitchen, the hardwood grill.

The people who know exactly what they're ordering before they sit down.

Tessaros feels like a restaurant that became part of people's routines and eventually part of their memories.

But “Showdahn” is not just about the heavyweight.

Next we're heading north to a place with a very different story a South Side original that had to reinvent itself, move into a new neighborhood, and build a second life in Cranberry.

Tessaros gave us the classic now Smiling Moose gets the comeback kid round.

The smell.

I feel like really brought us in.

We find ourselves her at the bar at least once a week.

People and atmosphere's great.

Foods great, beers great.

I can never complain I always find something I love.

The best neighborhood spots don't always look the way you expect.

Tucked into a corner of Cranberry beside a golf driving range, the Smiling Moose is equal parts scratch kitchen, craft brewery and punk rock survivor.

Being a touring musician for a big part of my life, I knew a lot of bands, so I was putting bands and bars that I was working at.

I got this idea I'm like, hey, I mean, maybe I should open up my own bar and venue, and then that way I could, you know, make a little bit more cash and have more fun.

So that's how we found the vacant spot in South Side Pittsburgh.

And this went from there.

And now you're in here in Cranberry.

You have a spot in Grove City.

What has that transition been like?

Covid is actually what kind of fueled the whole thing.

The lockdowns happened and we couldn't have shows.

So I had some really cool brewer friends of ours.

One in particular was it was like, hey man, I'll help you set up a nano brewery in the venue area.

I'm like, well, let's go for it.

So that's how that became and I've been a big fan of craft beer.

That was a huge way for us to grow, and that's how we got up there.

And because of that, you know, we're able to piggyback off our license and open this spot here.

The owner and I have know each other just through music.

He was the first person that I hit up when my wife and I were talking about leaving California and moving east, and he's like, when are you coming?

You know, I need a manager.

It's the patients running the asylum right now.

We build relationships with our customers.

Cranberrys very family based.

I got to know, what's your favorite burger to get here?

The kids sliders, they're really good.

Really good.

Sliders.

Hech yeah!

Sliders.

The owner is so nice.

The food is awesome.

Cliche as it sounds, the love Tiff loves what she does.

Tiff is... big fan of Tiff.

Fantastic.

We do run a complete scratch kit.

Almost complete scratch kitchen.

I don't make mayonnaise and ketchup and mustard.

I think people can taste the love and the freshness of the food.

Its not from a bag.

It's not frozen.

We cut everything up here.

We use, you know, top quality ingredients, a little bi extra creativity, in my opinion.

I mean, the Jack Sparrow, I believe it has rum aioli.

It has those almost five hou process of caramelizing onions.

Yeah, yeah.

Captain Jack Sparrow actually told us to put rum aioli on there.

All right, Tiff I'm read to make the Jack Sparrow Burger.

What's my first step Gloves, gloves.

Grab your bun.

Grab my bun.

All righty.

Make some, pretty grill marks.

Pretty grill marks.

Pretty girl marks.

We're going to grab our, burger.

It's hand pressed.

And youre gonna put tha right down right over here Okay?

Right down right there.

Oh, that is hot.

We don't want to burn our buns, okay.

You're going to take our pierogi.

Thats right there on the plate, and we're gonna drop that in the fryer over here.

Let's put that in the basket.

I'll put it down for you.

Team work makes the dream work.

Yes it does.

We are going to take a scoop of our caramelized onions.

Okay.

These are red wine, caramelized onions.

Red wine.

Red wine.

And balsamic.

Now, while that's heatin up.

I caught your bread, so your buns didn't burn.

Thank yo I appreciate that.

Okay, okay.

Red cabbage We shred this in-house as well.

And then we're going to grab our rum aioli.

What?

Okay.

Is housemade.

Just drizzle that bad boy on.

There you go.

I'm going to turn our burger just a little bit to make some, sexy girl marks.

All right, all right, I can do that.

Got this.

You got this little turn, little of press.

Little press.

Yep.

Ready?

Flip.

Oh, that looks good.

Look at those grill marks.

Yeah, look at that sexy grill mark.

Yes.

Get the hang of it.

We're gonna scoop u these caramelized onions okay.

Spread tha right on top of there.

Awesome.

So now we're gonna take our, our pierogi.

Were gonna transfer it over here.

Now, here's the fun part.

Okay.

I'm excited.

And you gotta flip it around.

Put it right down on there.

Oh, you're going to catch it with this one though okay.

Then you're going to lift that bowl up and just put it off to the side.

There we go.

Then we're gonna scoop that burger up and go put it on that bottom of that bun over there.

Don't lose it.

You gotta go grab that rum aioli again.

You gotta drizzle that bad boy all over it.

Back and forth, back and forth.

Zigzags.

Top.

It.

There we go.

Look at that.

And thats our Jack Sparow in all its glory.

I will be enjoying this soon.

The caramelized onions on here, man.

So good.

Almost five hours to cook those.

That's insane.

The uniqueness of the Jack Sparrow burger.

Who doesn't love a pierogi.

Right?

You have the rum aioli.

Which is amazing.

I would just drink a whole cup of that.

Yes, please.

He put a pierogi on a burger.

Who would have thought to put a pierogi on a burger?

It's amazing.

It's like culinary genius, Mrs.

T's.

Yes, please.

Every time we've been in here, it's been a fantastic experience.

Like I said, the food is delicious.

The staff is friendly.

It's very welcoming.

And the beer, of course.

It's really good.

I just think it's a family.

Atmosphere and it's reasonably priced.

And the food is amazing.

And the beer is also really good.

Theyre the best burgers.

The best burgers?

No way!

You think so?

Better than like, McDonald's or Burger King.

That's a head nod.

That's a yes.

Smiling Moose brought the comeback story.

South Side roots, Cranberr regulars, scratch kitchen pride and a burger that clearly knows how to make friends.

But our next stop takes us into a very different chapter of Pittsburgh's burger scene.

A modern local favorite built around the smash!

From the Moose... we're heading to Moonlit.

They're consistently juicy and delicious, and they melt in your mouth.

After the old school fire of Tessaro's and the comeback kid energy of Smiling Moose, our final stop takes us to Moonlit Burgers.

I love a smash burger.

It's just like a reall affordable and awesome burger.

It's also family friendly.

Oh, that looks so good.

Yummy to the tummy.

Yes, please.

You were in the line for the original pop-up.

O.G.

Oh my God, it was amazing.

We all lined up and we got this little brown paper bag and we opened it up and it was like just heaven.

The owner of Moonlit, Mike McCoy.

He and I, before Covid, we came up with this, this burger concept.

Back then we called it Magic Burger.

Covid happened and everything was up in the air.

And literally one day Mike called me, and was like, hey, why don't we just buy a grill?

And started cooking some burgers and see what we can do.

My very first pop up was at Millie's Ice Cream in Shadyside, and we set up a tent, set up a grill on a table, and just started slinging burgers for whoever showed up.

It was bonkers.

After everything had been shut down, I feel like people were just so anxious to just have something new.

So the first week we sol like 100 burgers in two hours.

Second week we sold 300 burgers in two hours.

We just kept on from there.

We opened our first location in Dormont in 2021.

About a year later, we opened our Uptown location at Duquesne University.

2025, we opened Sewickly, and then in January 2026, opened here in Garfield.

My favorite is to get the Big Mick, which is like their version of almost a Big Mac.

It comes with fries on top.

Coleslaw, grilled onions, two patties.

That's the Big Mick.

I am extremely excited to get in the kitchen and make your classic burger, but just tell us what goes into that?

You have two beautiful smashed double patties, yellow American cheese, kosher dill pickles, griddled onions and of course, our moon sauce.

All right, Derek I think it's my turn.

Let's go.

All right.

You have to meatballs on the right.

So just smash it?

Do you wanna just kind of even pressure and kind of work it down.

All right.

Even pressure.

Keep goin.

Put some muscle into it!

Keep goin, keep goin, a little more.

Is that okay a little more more a little more.

There you go.

Beautiful!

You're hired!

Heck, yeah.

There we go.

You know.

We got some shaved onions over there.

Yes, a little pile of those on each one.

Oh, don't be scared.

Okay.

Yeah, I love onion.

Come on.

All right.

Now we got to season those bad boys up.

We do.

Shake it real nice and high.

We get i spread out all over the place.

There you go.

Top on this side.

Just let bottom on that side.

Yeah.

That way.

The moon sauce.

Moon sauce.

All right.

A little blob right in the middle.

Ready for the flip?

I'm ready for the flip.

I am a left handed, so.

Oh, okay.

That's a right handed scraper though.

Just like that.

There ya go.

Your's is nicer than mine.

No, no no, no.

On top?

Right on top.

All right.

Some American cheese.

The best cheese for a burger.

Come on.

That's just taking seconds to melt.

Oh, look at that.

Yes.

Beautiful.

That's how we do it.

This is the moment.

Made by yours truly.

I think I did pretty good.

You did great!

I think.

Thank you.

Thank you Derek.

Appreciate it.

Come get a Moonlit burger.

Mhm.

Juicy.

The moon sauce it compliments it well.

It's not overshadowing anything you get a little spice a little tartness there and there the, kosher dill pickles are a nice, acidic crunch.

You know, you're getting great ingredients.

I think it comes down to the ingredients.

The fact that we hav a really perfectly Smashburger.

Like, it' just like a really good burger, like the smash burger.

It's, like, cooked, like, really well.

I've never once been let down by Moonlit.

Why does Moonlit have the best burger in the ‘Burgh?

Cause its *expletive* delicious!

That completes our burger tour.

And somehow Pittsburgh gave us three completely different reasons to love a burger.

It's an easy recipe, but no on else can replicate like we can.

I've had food and everything all over the world, and it's the most one of the most unique burger I've ever had.

This is juicy and it's cooked just right.

But in a democracy, the decision belongs to you.

Was it the fire and the history?

Was it the pierogi burger and the comeback story?

Or was it the crispy smashburger and the moon sauce?

Pittsburgh the burger ballot is in your hands.

Vote now for your favorite burger in the burger.

The time has come.

Yinz have spoken.

This is the “Showdahn” Award Ceremony!

Let's take a look bac at some of my favorite moments.

Hospitality matters here.

The fact that people still come in here, they part with their hard earned money here, that that means something to us.

And it's like culinary genius.

This aint from frozen.

There's a lot of love, goes in this.

You're eating a Moonlit burger every other week?

Pretty much.

Yeah.

It's just a good place is in a great neighborhood and I love it.

Now we get to crow the Best Burger in the ‘Burgh.

Drumroll, please.

The winner of Showdown: Burgers Best Burger in the ‘Burgh... Getting this golden spatula is... Moonlit Burgers!

Oh, yeah!

Wayne and Derek.

Congrats to you both!

Thank you for voting in this round of Showdown: Burgers.

On behalf of Moonlit, Tessaro's, Smiling Moose, Washington and Guyasuta... Im Nebby Nick, and we'll catch you in the next round of Showdown!