The grills are fired up, the meat has been chosen with care and the chefs are waiting to cook the perfect burger. But just who has the best burger on Long Island?

“We have a good chance of winning, our burgers are properly seasoned, we have top quality meat and a good bun,” Eric Urso of Road Trip in Port Jefferson said.

Road Trip is one of 81 nominees in Long Island Pulse’s Battle of the Burger 2014 presented by Amstel Light.

But what makes the best burger?

According to the General Manager of the Babylon Carriage House Melissa Morales the best burger has to have three things.

“It has to have that grill flavor, be cooked properly and the bun has to be just right,” Morales said.

So, will Babylon Carriage House be the winner of Battle of the Burger? Morales said she thinks they have a good shot.

“We have good burgers,” Morales said.

Churchill’s Restaurant Owner Kevin Culhane was a bit less certain.

“No idea if we’ll win, but we have a good chance,” Culhane said.

If Churchill’s Restaurant sticks to the basics they might just pull it off. Last year is was a simple burger composed of cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato, bacon and caramelized onions that won. PeraBell Food Bar won the competition in front of 1,200 attendees on a clear day in August, at Shorefront Park in Patchogue Village in 2013. A representative from PeraBell was unavailable for comment on their chances this year at publish time. We’ll check in with them later in the month to see how it’s going for the reigning champions.

In the meantime we need your help in narrowing down the 81 restaurant field.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE
Vote:
The online polls are open! Vote for the restaurant with your favorite burger, up to once daily, from now until May 31.

On June 1, we’ll announce the 30 semi-finalists. You can vote for your favorite of those 30 from June 1 to June 20.

On June 21, we’ll announce the 10 restaurants going to cook-off final on August 3, at Shorefront Park in Patchgoue.

#BOBLI2014
Support your favorite restaurant on Twitter and Instagram by using the #BOBLI2014.

Finals
Get your tickets now to the August 3, finals at Shorefront Park in Patchgoue.

WHO IS COMPETING?
Babylon Carriage House – Babylon
Bar Social – Uniondale
Barefoot Peddler – Greenvale
Bay Vue – Lindenhurst
Billie’s 1890 Saloon – Port Jefferson
BK Sweeny’s – Bethpage
Blackbird’s Grille – Sayville
Brownstone’s – Ronkonkoma
Bulldog Grille – Amityville
Burger Shack – Patchogue
Carmody’s – Rocky Point
Changing Times – Farmingdale
Christopher’s – Huntington
Churchills – Rockville Center
Claudio’s – Greenport
Corrys Ale House – Wantagh
Duffy’s Wing House – Lindenhurst
Eastwind – Wading River
Elbow Room – Jamesport
Elijah Churchills – Fort Salonga
Faraday’s – Smithtown
Fatty McGee’s – East Islip
Flanagan’s – Smithtown
Founders – Riverhead
Gator Blue – East Islip
GM Burger Bar – Rockville Center
Good Steer – Lake Grove
Grumpy Jack’s – Port Jefferson
H.R. Singleton’s – Bethpage
Hurricane’s – Syosset
J Fallons Tap Room – Floral Park
Jackson Hall – East Islip
JC’s Too – Mastic
KJ Farrells – Bellmore
Legend’s – New Suffolk
Lily Flanagan’s – Islip
LT Burger – Sag Harbor
Mac Arthur Park – Rockville Center
Majors Steak House – East Meadow
McCann’s – Massapequa
Momo’s – Holbrook
Montauk Yacht Club – Montauk
Nutty Irishman – Bayshore
O’Reillys – Oakdale
Old Fields – Greenlawn
Old Street Pub – Smithtown
Painters – Brookhaven
PeraBell Food Bar – Patchogue
Phils – Wading River
Porters – Bellport
Post Office Café – Babylon
Public House 49 – Patchogue
Rare 650 – Syosset
RC Dugans – East Meadow
Relish – Kings Park
Road Trip – Port Jefferson
Rowdy Hall – East Hampton
Rudi’s – Patchogue
Sapsucker’s – Huntington
Sea Cove – Center Moriches
Shennigan’s – Ronkonkoma
Shooters – Wantagh
Southampton Social Club – Southampton
Stonewalls – Riverhead
Swept Away – Bayshore
The Beach House – Long Beach
The Carltun – East Meadow
The Good Life – Massapequa Park
The Inn – Long Beach
The Inn Between – Syosset
The Park Lounge – Kings Park
The Parrot – Bayport
The Saloon – Long Beach
The Village Idiot – Patchogue
Tommy’s – Port Jefferson
Triangle Pub – Eastport
Trinity – Floral Park
Twisted Kilt – Bohemia
Two Morrow’s Pub – Patchogue
Wantagh Inn – Wantagh
Whales Tale – Long Beach