Peppers & Fries brings home first place at Burger Battle

The Bangkok Burger won Twin Cities Burger Battle People’s Choice award

Peppers & Fries Burger & Burrito Grill took home the Twin Cities Burger Battle People’s Choice award on Saturday, May 21. Peppers served up 1,300 Bangkok burgers in the span of three hours at the event, held at Harriet Island in St. Paul this year.

Peppers’ Bangkok Burger is an all-American beef patty, with cool cream cheese, house-made sweet Asian garlic sauce, Sriracha coleslaw, cilantro, and fresh jalapenos served on a toasted PJ Murphy’s bakery bun.

The contest, held annually since 2014 as a fund-raiser for the Sanneh Foundation, pit 25 Minneapolis and St. Paul restaurants against each other this year to compete for the People’s Choice Award and a Judge’s Choice award. In 2015, Peppers & Fries placed third for both awards.

“We're just a dad and daughter who love making burgers that are fresh and simply straight-up good. We love combining new and different flavors in unexpected ways, but we appreciate and respect the classic flavor combos too,” says owner Steve Frias. “We're so grateful to everyone who came out to the Burger Battle and voted for us. The People’s Choice award means the most to us since it reflects how our customers, new and old, feel about our burgers.”

Peppers & Fries, 2900 E. Lake St., is run by the father-daughter team of Steve Frias and Marie Frias. Peppers is an unpretentious sports grill with 11 HDTVs and plenty of cold craft beers on tap and a full bar to go with scratch-made burgers and burritos.

About the name: Steve Frias’ childhood nickname was “Fries,” and “Pepper” was his nickname for his daughter. The two have made a father-and-daughter dream come true by opening a neighborhood gathering place that celebrates creative burgers, burritos, refreshing beverages, and their mutual love of baseball.  They are part of a legendary restaurant family: Guillermo and Gloria Frias, Steve’s parents and Marie’s grandparents, founded St. Paul’s Boca Chica Restaurante Mexicano y Cantina in 1964.