NYC Wine & Food Festival 2011: Burger Bash

When I woke up this morning, I was filled with a sense of dread. Why, you ask? Because tonight, I attended both the Blue Moon Burger Bash, as well as Fried (at Hill Country)...back to back...and if I had remembered anything from yesterday's Meatball Madness, I knew I would be beyond full...from one event alone.

Walking into Burger Bash (early access again - yay, thanks Gilt City!), we were greeted with the aromas of burgers on hot grills, a gentle breeze wafting over from the river, as well as a promising line-up of what would surely be amazing burgers. In order to fully prepare for this event, I had avoided eating burgers for over 2 weeks (a major feat for me), so by now I was ready to dive in!

Burger Bash had slightly fewer participating restaurants than Meatball Madness, but given that we would be served burgers - complete with requisite bun, a.k.a. instant stomach filler - I knew I would have to eat swiftly (so that I would not realize I was full) and wisely (because again, I had another event to attend afterward). First stop: Quality Meats!

The F*ck Fancy Cheese Burger from Quality Meats

Quality Meats served a solid burger, with a satisfying patty and delicious broccoli and cheese bites on the side. I also liked that it was served on something more interesting than a potato bun - bonus points in my book (I really don't like potato buns). To market themselves, Quality Meats handed out pins (both normal and profane) and if you voted for them, you received a t-shirt. Hooray for these extra little special touches!

Knowing that the crowd around Marc Forgione would be enormous, I deftly meandered over to his booth where, thankfully, a line had not yet formed and I was easily able to say hello, grab my burger, and eat in peace. His Hangover Burger was quite intricate and satisfying, even going so far as to include a poached egg, but unfortunately for me, I am absolutely incapable of eating spicy food and had to immediately search for the nearest bottle of water. If I continue attending these food events, I really need to work on my spicy foods tolerance...

The Hangover Burger from Restaurant Marc Forgione

I have no idea what or where Custom Burgers is from, but all I know is that their Americana burger - though exceedingly simple - hit the spot. Plus it helps that a handful of fried pickles were served alongside the burger, allowing me to finally satisfy my curiosity towards this mysterious food (Snooki makes them sound as if they are life-changing) without actually having to buy a portion (especially given that...I'm not a big fan of pickles).

Americana Burger from Custom Burgers

DBGB Kitchen and Bar served a spectacular "Piggie," with the sweetness of the BBQ pulled pork contrasting beautifully against the juicy, salty burger. The surprising part about me liking the burger was that I actually am not traditionally a fan of BBQ pulled pork and usually find the flavors to be overwhelming, but in this burger, all I can say is that DBGB found a way to really make it work.

The Piggie from DBGB Kitchen and Bar

Dropping by Abe & Arthur's, I saw the chefs preparing normal-sized burgers and I have to say, I really panicked. But fortunately, we were served their "Wisconsin" Cheese Burger in the form of sliders and I fairly enjoyed this burger (makes sense, they were chosen by the judges as this evening's winner). But in all honesty, I was more engrossed by the delicious truffle fries served alongside our burger. To me, a good fry will always beat out a good burger.

The "Wisconsin" Cheese Burger from Abe & Arthur's

The people's choice winner went to the B&B Bison Burger from Burger & Barrel. I do remember being served a good burger from them, but...it didn't really stick in my mind. But after eating 20 burgers (and 1 hot dog!), it really becomes quite hard to distinguish the burgers from one another.

Unfortunately, I did encounter a number of let-downs this evening. Biggest one: Bobby's Burger Palace. The burger was dressed well and I loved the addition of potato chips to add a sparkle of texture and liveliness to the burger, but boy was the meat salty.

Carolina Burger Crunchified from Bobby's Burger Palace

 After sampling all the burgers (minus the Shack Burger from Shake Shack because, well, I live and work right outside a Shake Shack), I headed over to the main tent to explore the dessert array. The middle of the room housed a giant spread of pies and milkshakes, but I chose to forego the pies (though I definitely tried the milkshakes). I actually quite liked the milkshakes (provided by Duff Goldman's Shakes) and found the mint julep milkshake to be very satisfying, despite assuming that the addition of alcohol would surely overwhelm any other flavors present.

All in all, this was a very satisfying event and I'm glad I was able to try so many different burgers from around the city. But if I ever attend this event in the future, I will be sure to prepare a consolidated list of max 10 burgers to sample...and force myself to stick with it.