Kaleidoscope Bistro and Pub Readies to Defend Best Burger Title (VIDEO)

Joey Riley, owner and executive chef of , spoke with Patch Thursday night as he and his team were gearing up to defend its 2010 Judges Choice Best Meat Burger in Atlanta title in the 2nd Annual Battle of the Burgers at in Virginia-Highland Saturday.

Having beat out all of the competition in the inaugural event last year - including some of Atlanta's most respected bugermeisters before Kaleidoscope opened its doors - Riley said, "Everyone's gunning for us this year. They are real serious about it."

So is Riley.

He said he will close down the restaurant for lunch during the competition and he's taking a team of Brookhaven hometown support to cheer on the reigning champions.

With the exception of one tweak - a new specially made bacon and bacon fat mayonnaise - Riley said he'll keep his signature burger dressed in pimento cheese, slaw, green tomato chow chow, and bread and butter pickles.

"It's one little thing that we think will put us over the edge," Riley said.

Kaleidoscope is among 17 other restaurants around Atlanta who will compete for four prizes: Judges’ Choice Best Burger (meat and meatless) and Peoples’ Choice Best Burger (meat and meatless).

The event, which includes live music by Atlanta-based country duo Whiskey Belt and Atlanta rockers Life & Limb, runs from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. A 5K Burger Eating Run where runners build burgers at several stations set up throughout the course kicks off the day at 9 a.m.

The burgers will be judged around 6 p.m.

General admission tickets are $25 in advance for adults and give festival-goers 20 taste tickets that can be redeemed for burgers, milkshakes, fries and more. VIP tickets are available for $60 in advance and include unlimited burger bites, private bar (includes beer and wine) and private bathroom facilities.

Virginia-Highlands Patch Editor Jaclyn Hirsch contributed to this report.