Next week, Valencia County residents can cheer for a hometown restaurant when Fat Sat's Bar and Grill in Belen competes in the Sept. 22 contest at the Avenue of the Governors at the state fair grounds.

Fat Sat's will be one of several New Mexico restaurants that will compete for the title of best green chile cheeseburger in a competition that started after the Buckhorn Tavern in San Antonio, N.M., was featured on the Food Network's "Throwdown with Bobby Flay."

Gov. Bill Richardson called for the statewide contest after Buckhorn owner Bobbie Olguin defeated Flay in the competition. Contestants had to register by the end of the day on Sept. 15.

"It would be great to win," said Fat Sat's co-owner Carlo Trujillo. "I think our burger can stand up to the competition.

"The combination of our blend of cheeses tastes like a homemade burger. You know it's fresh. It's not sitting in a freezer for months."

Trujillo said the Fat Sat's burger features three types of cheese, Hatch green chiles, and hand-pressed meat without preservatives and is never frozen, according to Trujillo.

"It's a great tasting burger," Trujillo said. "The flavors go really well with the smoked green chile and (the smoked green chile) on the burger gives it extra flavor. We also have ingredients like smoked paprika seasoning that makes our burger really unique."

The Belen restaurant is no stranger to participating in food contests. In fact, Fat Sat's won the Community Choice Award for their salsa at this year's Valencia County Community Expo in August.

The winner of the governor's contest will automatically earn a spot on the green chile cheeseburger trail, which will feature about 40 New Mexico restaurants on the New Mexico Tourism Department's Web site. The trail is a virtual map where residents can find their favorite restaurants across the state.

The trail, which is a separate contest from the governor's challenge, is an online competition where restaurants with the most votes will also earn a spot on the trail.

So far, the Web site lists six restaurants from Valencia County― Benny's II Mexican Restaurant in Los Lunas, Circle T Burgers in Belen, Fat Sat's, Harla May's Fat Boy Grill in Belen and Rita's New Mexican Restaurant in Belen.

Residents can vote for their favorite restaurant by visiting www.newmexico.org/greenchilecheeseburger. Contest voting ends Sept. 30.

Trujillo encouraged residents to come to Fat Sat's to try their signature burger. The restaurant receives a meat shipment every day, and is perfect to enjoy during sporting events.

"Our meat has a (80 percent meat 20 percent fat) blend and makes for a nice, juicy, flavorful burger," Trujillo said.

Trujillo's brother, Jonathan, echoed Carlo's opinion.

"I don't think people understand they can root for their favorite team over good food," Jonathan said.

"They don't have to eat and run. They can stay and enjoy some of the best burgers in the state."