Burger Battle 2017

This picture was taken at 4:10 at the start of Burger Battle 2017. Pretty thin crowd on a nice Saturday afternoon. It smelled pretty good but not worth $45 for some awful wine (Barefoot) and 2 or 3 good burgers out of 16.

Bb2017 logo

It's time for the Burger Battle once again; this year it's $45 because $40 was already too much. But the kind of people who go to these things year after year are willing to pay any amount for the right to sample ground beef and drink beer from venues they probably wouldn't go to for a burger.

Adding insult to injury, the field gets worse every year as key Venues choose not to participate. This year, there are 4 hotels, 3 sports bars not known for their food, a gay club , a diner from Coral Springs and a kabab house. Big City Tavern is the only real restaurant to participate this year.

They don't even tell us who the judges are, because they don't want us making fun of them.

Additionally, they're having it on Saturday this year; inexplicably in the late afternoon, when a Thunderstorm is more likely (NO REFUNDS). Do they think that people are going to eat the equivalent of 8 burgers and 3 drinks and are then going to hit Las Olas for a night on the town?

When: Saturday May 21, 4pm-7pm

To bone up on your Burger Battle History, I recommend the following reading:

Burger Battle Conspiracy Theories

Burger Battle Rejects Call For Transparency

Burger Battle 2016

Burgerbattle 2016

What started out as "The Best Burger in Fort Lauderdale"; with 300 restaurants serving burgers in Fort Lauderdale they now have to reach out to Boca Raton, Coral Springs and Deerfield beach along with 2 hotel restaurants to fill the field.

No gay bars this year; they've finally figured out that no matter how many burger battles they win; we're not going to Wilton Manors for a burger.

Burger Battle 2015

Burger Battle 2015

burgers from a bunch of places you'd never go to have a burger. It's the same tired format as every other Burger Battle with a french fry bar and a burger eating contest. (Can you hear me YAWNING?). They had to categorize Gulfstream Park as a restaurant this year to fill out the field. Two Gay bar/restaurants are in this year; Georgi's is back and a 37 seat lounge, Mind Your Manors, fills in the second gay slot. Big City Tavern is inexplicably back; No Morton's, Johnny V, Capital Grille; no ROK:BRGR and none of Tim Petrillo's 5 restaurants have any interest in supporting the Riverwalk Trust. Funny that Tap 42, Smashburger, Burger 21, BGR, Five Guys, Knucklehead, Burger & Suds, Char Hut or Jack's ever participated, considering that they're places that are actually marketing themselves as places that sell good burgers. BurgerFi is supplying the feed for the burger eating contest, as even Krystal has had enough of the Burger Battle.

History

The first Burger Battle was a fun event for 2 major reasons: First, it was something new, and God only knows how badly we need something new in Fort Lauderdale. Second, most of the top restaurants in Fort Lauderdale participated: Smith and Jones, Capital Grille, Mortons, Big City Tavern, ROK:BRGR, Johnny V's and Council Oak. I remember hanging out until the end to see who won; and the total shock from everyone when they announced that Georgi's Alibi had won. It's been all downhill from there.

Controversies

There was utter shock when Georgi's won the first year, and outrage when they won AGAIN the 2nd year. The 3rd year was won by Charm City Burgers; a business that had a curious relationship with the judge's "liaison", Renee Korbel Quinn. The next year Rosie's won, catapulting the contest from a controversy into a downright embarrassment.

After the first 2 years, we asked the Riverwalk Trust to release the judge's ballots so that we could publish them. We suggested that releasing the ballots would add credibility to the event, and also provide some insight as to the judges individual preferences, as well as act as a deterrent to any funny business. But the Riverwalk Trust wanted no part of transparency and refused to release them for a reason that was equivalent to " because we don't want to".

Morton's Burger from Burger Battle I

Judges

They're not disclosing the names of the judges this year, probably so I can't make fun of them (Pounds Chest).

The Riverwalk Trust

My personal view is that the Riverwalk Trust is a lobbying organization that serves very little useful purpose and I see no reason to overpay for an event to support them. You can see their "accomplishments" on their website; it sounds like a forced resume. They even include the events they put on to raise money for themselves as accomplishments.

The Riverwalk is as big a disaster as it could be; the Riverfront is empty and the last time I walked the Riverwalk at night (about a month ago) most of the lights were out and there was a bum sleeping every 50 yards or so. Why people continue to support them is something I don't understand. The RT's delusional view of Fort Lauderdale is as big a part of the problem as anything.

I might have considered attending this year if there was a good lineup, but it's just a potpourri of random places that were somehow convinced that participating would help their business. I think it's fairly obvious that most places are no longer interested, and neither am I.