Clearlake >> According to Glenn Peterson, running a restaurant is a lot like a romantic relationship. “You have to keep things fresh and interesting and change it up once in a while,” said The Spot owner. “It’s a romance, if you will.”
Having been in operation for over three years, Peterson decided it was about time for something new and fresh at the Clearlake establishment. And what better way to bring some excitement to the place than to host a contest?
So over the next couple of months, The Spot will be accepting burger recipes from the public. After the deadline on March 1, they’ll narrow down the submissions to three finalists. Those burgers will then be added to the menu for the public to vote on beginning Saint Patrick’s Day.
The best part of the whole thing? The winner doesn’t only get bragging rights. Their creation will be added to the menu — which currently features 13 different burgers — and named after them. Plus, all three finalists eat free once a week for the rest of the year.
“We’d been toying around with some new burgers that are somewhat unusual,” Peterson said. “I thought, hey why not get some other minds in on this to come up with something innovative?”
This is the first time The Spot has held a recipe contest, but not their first competition altogether. As a popular breakfast and lunch destination for car clubs thanks to the waterfront views and the 1950s décor, in the summer of 2015 they put on a vintage car photo contest, inviting patrons to submit their best images of classic cars. The winner had their photograph mounted in the restaurant and posted on their website.
Peterson has no way of knowing just how many burger recipe submissions they’ll receive. There could be three or there could be 20. But for those who intend to take part in the contest, Peterson’s advice is simple: be creative, but most importantly, make sure it tastes good. The most innovative recipes won’t count for much if customers don’t want to eat it.
Some regulations will be posted in the restaurant, but there are no rules for what can and cannot be included in a recipe. However, common sense should of course be used. Don’t include expensive things like caviar, because The Spot isn’t going to sell many $60 burgers. Don’t pick anything difficult to recreate or utilize hard-to-find ingredients.
“If it’s something too off the wall, it may not be practical to put it on our menu,” said Peterson. “I just hope that people realize that if they’re specifying Zimbabwe water buffalo patties, we’re not going to be able to do much with that.”
The deadline for submitting a recipe is March 1. For a full list of rules, visit The Spot, 14625 Lakeshore Dr., Clearlake. Contact the restaurant at 900-8671.
Jennifer Gruenke can be reached at 900-2019.
