One of life's greatest mysteries is: "who has the best burger in all the nation?!" It's one of the grand questions of the ages and is put to the test time and time again with burger competitions.

Bates Technical College's Culinary Arts crew threw their hat into the ring during November's 2014 World Food Championships in Las Vegas and came out on top with their Snooty Chef Burger. This masterpiece, created by Bates chef instructors JJ Meland and Roger Knapp, features ground Kobe beef and rib eye steak mixed with a Hungarian ragout blend spice from local gourmet seasoning gurus - two snooty chefs. They then add crispy bacon, tempura battered and fried Havarti cheese, a salad of spicy arugula, tomato and red onion tossed with a red wine vinaigrette and a caramelized onion mayonnaise all set upon a toasted Kaiser bun.

This behemoth earned them fourth out of 50 of those competing, advancing them to the final round where they placed in the top 10.

The displayed culinary prowess has earned them an invite to compete again this year in Florida and from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 27, the citizens of the South Sound may dig into this championship burger at Bates Technical College's café for a cool $9.95 (price includes tax and fries).

Meland says, "We're excited to share this delicious burger we've worked hard to develop with our community. The Bates team enjoyed the 2014 competition and we are excited to develop a new innovative burger to bring to next year's World Food Championships."

Go forth and discover what a world championship contender tastes like and check out more about one of their secrets to flavor success at twosnootychefs.com.

BATES TECHNICAL COLLEGE, 1101 S. Yakima Ave., Tacoma, 253.680.7000

My husband is not a native Tacoman. He hadn't entered the Pacific Northwest until he set foot in Tacoma just over a dozen years ago. There are many Gritty City must-dos he hasn't checked off his list - including noshing on the beefy, finger food that is Frisko Freeze's bacon cheeseburger.

Last weekend, I decided it was time to introduce him to the vintage styled, classic burger drive-thru digs that not only flips some of the best burgers and spins some of the best shakes in town, but is also a Tacoma landmark. Naturally, we opted for a bacon cheeseburger (though I warned him they are on the smaller size), a side of onion rings and a hot fudge shake. Let me tell you ... he is officially a Tacoman and a newfound fan of Frisko Freeze grub. He proclaimed he'd be grubbing on a "double" next time.

Frisko Freeze burgers are delectable, made to order and the perfect level of greasy. Unless altered, the burgers arrive with chopped onions, lettuce, melted cheese and Frisko's sweet relish secret sauce.

Milkshakes are a required partner - thick, creamy and available hot fudge, blackberry and marshmallow, to name a few.

Though Frisko Freeze is not your traditional fast food experience - not as speedy as chain restaurants - it is a must visit at least once in your life.

FRISKO FREEZE, 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Sunday-Thursday, 10-1 a.m. Friday and Saturday, 1201 Division Ave., Tacoma, 253.272.6843