Over 20K votes cast in Indy's Best Burger Bracket. See who advanced, vote in Elite Ate

After a week of voting, round one of IndyStar’s Burger and Fries Bracket Challenge concluded at noon Wednesday. More than 20,000 votes poured in for the tournament’s 16 eateries, yielding mostly predictable results with one notable upset. As we gear up for the Elite Ate, let’s examine how we got here.

In a battle of local legends, elder statesman reigns supreme

No. 1-seeded Workingman’s Friend (established 1918) and No. 4 Red Key Tavern (1933) have a combined 197 years of flipping patties. Maybe those extra 15 years make the difference, as Workingman’s edged out Red Key by 1,008 votes.

It was an uphill battle for Red Key. Workingman’s Friend is the platonic ideal of a burger joint in several ways, serving heaping stacks of beef and toppings at low prices in a blue-collar atmosphere. The Near Westside icon will face No. 2 Twenty Tap in round two.

Flamme Burger and Fire by the Monon receive the most votes

A loyal diner is seldom surprised to see their favorite restaurant thrive, but we certainly didn’t expect No. 3 Flamme Burger and No. 2 Fire by the Monon to lead the first round with 4,209 and 3,624 votes, respectively. Flamme ousted Indy-based chain and No. 2-seeded Bru Burger by 1,715 votes, while Fire by the Monon crushed No. 3 District Tap by 3,034 votes in the bracket’s largest margin of victory thus far.

Could the two restaurants present a double-headed mid-major monster a la Butler and VCU in the 2011 Men’s Tournament? Or maybe we simply seeded them too low. We’ll see what happens as the plucky underdogs take on established chains in round two — Flamme Burger battles No. 1 Bub's and Fire by the Monon takes on No. 1 Fat Dan's Deli — but for now we may have a pair of unexpected titans.

Local chains (mostly) dominate their matchups

We deliberated over whether to include chains, ultimately deciding to include those that originated in the Indianapolis area. Non-chains undeniably have more charm, but this bracket is about determining Indy’s favorite burger and fries. If that meal happens to come from a chain restaurant, that’s on us, the eaters.

Carmel-based No. 1 Bub’s cruised past No. 4 Prodigy Burger, 918 votes to 483. Likewise, SoBro-based No. 1 Fat Dan’s Deli torched the intriguing plant-based burgers at No. 4 Burgeezy by 916 votes. However, a big-name brand in Cunningham Restaurant Group’s Bru Burger fell to Flamme Burger by 1,715 votes.

No March tournament would be complete without a dramatic upset. Bru Burger had the misfortune of playing the burger version of Purdue, quickly exiting despite great expectations.

Round 1 IndyStar Best Burger & Fries results

You can view the final voting tallies from every first-round matchup here. Be sure to place your votes for round two, located below.

(1) Workingman’s Friend beat (4) Red Key Tavern, 1,536 to 528

(1) Bub’s Burgers beat (4) Prodigy Burger, 918 to 483

(1) 317 Burger beat (4) Turchetti’s Delicatessen and Meat Market, 1,763 to 400

(1) Fat Dan’s Deli beat (4) Burgeezy 1,167 to 251

(2)Twenty Tap beat (2) Indy's Burger Joint 784 to 446

(3) Baby’s beat (2) California Burger, 709 to 467

(2) Fire by the Monon beat (3) District Tap, 3,624 to 590

(3) Flamme Burger beat (2) Bru Burger, 4,209 to 2,494

Vote in round two of the Burger and Fries Bracket Challenge

For each matchup in the form below, select the restaurant with the burger and fries you enjoy most. You can vote as many times as you want between now and noon on Wednesday, March 27. Results will be posted shortly thereafter.

Think your favorite burger joint should have gone farther? Did it get snubbed from the bracket entirely?

Let me know me at [email protected] so I can check it out. I’ll be visiting a handful of readers' favorite spots on and off the bracket to render my own verdict.

For now, vote in the poll below and be sure to share with the fellow burger fans in your life.

Contact dining reporter Bradley Hohulin at [email protected]. You can follow him on Twitter/X @BradleyHohulin.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: IndyStar's Best Burger & Fries Bracket: Vote in Elite Ate Round 2