Marcus Dietz crossed the finish line of the Dine & Dash foot race Saturday morning in Hamburg so far ahead of the other competitors that it seemed like it was a one-man race.
The 2007 Hamburg High School graduate, now a resident of Emmaus, Lehigh County, said he signed up for the event, held during the Taste of Hamburg-er Festival, because it included two things he is most fond of: running and burgers.
His mother, who was among the family members cheering him on, said she could attest to that.
Dietz described the race sponsored by Blue Mountain Wildlife as follows: Eat a burger, run 1 mile; eat another burger, run 1 mile to the finish line.
Someone in his entourage asked him how he managed to down the second burger so quickly.
“It was a good burger,” he said. “It wasn’t overdone.”
The burgers for the Dine & Dash were donated by LaFaver Family Farm, a beef cattle farm along Hex Highway in nearby Tilden Township.
If you like burgers, Hamburg was the place to be on Saturday, with 38 burger vendors offering their own, often creative twist of the American classic hand-held food over an eight-block area of the borough’s downtown.
Saturday marked the 20th year of the festival, which started as a three-block festival to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the burger.
The festival draws people from throughout the region as well as other parts of the country and world, Deena Kershner, executive director of Our Town Foundation, the nonprofit organization that organizes and hosts the festival.
Besides the burger vendors, this year’s festival included 80 artisans, the most ever. Registration had to be cut off a week or so before the festival because there was simply no room to put more stands, Kershner said.
No one would have imagined the festival growing to such a size when it started.
One year, a visitor traveled as far as Australia to the Taste of Hamburg-er Festival. Kershner said. The Aussie visitor told Kerchner that she learned about the festival on the internet and that is what drew her to United States.
Besides the usual entertainment that included musicians on four stages, a burger eating contest and a beer/wine garden, the festival included a new event.
A professional wrestling ring was set up at Second and State streets by American Xcellence Wrestling, with several matches throughout the day.
It was a nod to Hamburg’s rich pro-wrestling legacy. Kerchner said American Xcellence is bringing pro wrestling back to the iconic Hamburg Fieldhouse, where the likes of Hulk Hogan and Andre the Giant wrestled in the 1970s.
“WWF (World Wrestling Foundation) got its start at the fieldhouse,” she said. “That’s where it all started.”
No matter how you slice it, though, the Taste of Hamburg-er Festival, as its name implies, is about the food.
Many visitors, like Leslie Smurthwaite of Pottstown, enjoyed the hunt for the unconventional burger that takes their taste buds on a joy ride.
She made this year’s selection the “Pierogie Burger” – a 6-ounce black angus burger topped with grilled pierogies, fried onions, bacon and a sour cream – from the Wow Wagon food truck at Third and State streets. The foot truck is based in Gilbertsville, Montgomery County.
Just down the block on South Third, a line of smash-burger enthusiasts formed in front of the Slide on By Food Truck.
Inside the mobile kitchen, Nick and Erica Loukas of Northampton County were making sliders using the smash method: Nick would dip an ice cream scooper into a container of loosely packed beer and slam the ball onto a very hot grill. He would then flatten the mound until it was as thin as a credit card.
This was Slide on By’s first Taste of Hamburg-er Festival, Nick said, adding that they started the couple three years ago and last year
acquired the food truck.
Josh and Katye Magner of Orwigsburg, Schuylkill County found something pleasing to their pallet that didn’t involve a burger. They dined on tater tots from Pip and Lily’s Loaded Tots food trailer, also on South Third Street, which did a brisk business.
“We have to eat gluten-free,” Josh said. “It’s one of the few options.”
They were enjoying their tots at tables sponsored by Salem Church, which had its own vending stand, home of the multi-year grand champion of the festival–the “Heavenly Hog Burger,” a beef-and-pork patty topped with provolone, fuji apple slaw, a thin slice of Italian sausage and citrus-chipotle sauce, served on a brioche roll.
Salem Church member Dave Long paced in the middle of the crowded street while holding a 7-foot staff topped by a smiling hamburger balloon.
“Who’s hungry?” he said. “Step right up to the home of the five-time grand champion heavenly hog burger.”
Lisa Krohnemann of Philadelphia said she couldn’t wait to come to the Hamburg festival.
“Bucket list thing,” she said after swallowing a mouthful of Wherehouse of Hamburg’s “Oscar Burger,” at its stand in the first block of South Fourth Street.
The Oscar, a charcoal-grilled 6-ounce steak burger topped with lump of
crab meat and asparagus-infused Hollandaise sauce, is the top-selling burger offered by Wherehouse of Hamburg, a new event venue at 215 Pine St., chef Kim Shefter said.
Krohnemann was asked how she found it.
“I was just going to keep going until I found something I really liked,” she said.
Source: Berkshire mont