Burgerliscious 2018 is the eighth year of this Coral Gables Burger Festival.  After missing it last year (I was on a cruise; shame on me!), I went this year determined to make up for lost time.  Once again, my event timing interfered, as my trip to the Epcot Food and Wine Festival this past weekend left my stomach and palate feeling overloaded.  Still, I was determined to go and taste every single burger available.  And, what is exactly what I did.

My review of each burger is purely subjective and based on my own personal preferences.  As I hate mayo, pickles, and pairing sweet with savory, burgers that had any of these probably didn’t rate very highly with me.  This is not a reflection of the restaurant or the quality of their food, and should not discourage anyone from checking them out.  That being said, here are my thoughts on all of the offerings this year…

Burgers 1-4

• Burger 1: The Spartan by Clutch Burger
  • Lamb and wagyu blended patty with merguez sausage, Tzatziki sauce, roasted pepper Harissa sauce, feta cheese, and cucumber
  • Mediterranean/Greek flavors are not really my thing, but this burger was actually pretty good.  The meat was moist and the patty didn’t taste gamey, despite the lamb.
• Burger 2: Sweet Thai Sliders by The Mighty Spark
  • Thai seasoned chicken patty with peanut sauce and broccoli slaw on brioche
  • This is, quite possibly, the first time that a non-beef burger has caught my attention at one of these events.  It really did pay homage to Thai flavors in a way that brought out the sweet undertones of the cuisine without ruining the savory aspects of a burger.  Plus, they shared the recipe!
• Burger 3: The Frita by Off the Mile
  • A chorizo burger with potato sticks, Sriracha mayo, and sweet plantain
  • I appreciated the effort, but this burger kind of missed the mark for me.  The patty was a little bit dry, and the plantain kind of overtook the rest of the burger, so the flavors never really came together.
• Burger 4: The Tarpon Bend Burger from Tarpon Bend
  • A burger with white cheddar cheese and bacon onion jam on a Challah bun
  • This was a solid burger, and likely a burger that I would order when it shows up on a menu.  Though, for a competition, I feel like they played it a little bit safe.

Burgers 5-8

• Burger 5: Untitled Burger by Morton’s Steakhouse
  • A burger with bacon jam and blue cheese butter on a brioche bun
  • I’ll be honest, I was not excited at all about this burger when I saw them assembling them.  It just sounded so plain.  Then, I took a bite, and as the juicy patty gave way in my mouth, the flavors just exploded everywhere.  Not many ingredients, but each executed with such perfection and precision that I just couldn’t stop eating.  Not only did they get my vote, but I call for blue cheese butter to become a pantry staple.
• Burger 6: The Maple Bacon Cheddar Cheese Burger from Books and Books
  • A burger with caramelized onions, maple bacon, and cheddar cheese
  • This burger was a huge departure from my previous festival experiences with Books and Books.  Normally, their burgers are “out of the box” creations like turkey in pita, vegan burgers, and so on.  This was actually a great, simple burger that was enjoyable to eat.
• Burger 7: The Bacon Jam Burger by House Kitchen and Bar
  • A burger with bacon jam, white cheddar cheese, red pepper aioli, lettuce, and pickles
  • The patty on this burger was juicy and flavorful, but unfortunately as a mouthful all I tasted was pickles and mayo (two of the burger toppings that I dislike the most).
• Burger 8: La Bestia by Pizco y Nazca
  • A blended beef burger with potato sticks, spring mix, rocoto pepper aioli, and tomato jam on a pretzel bun
  • As with the previous time that they entered their signature burger, Pizco y Nazca stands out with a successful interpretation of Peruvian-inspired flavors on a bun.  The “mayo” flavor of the aioli did stand out more than I remember, which is mostly just nitpicking.

Burgers 9-12

• Burger 9: The Ranchero Burger by Miller’s Ale House
  • A burger patty stuffed with bacon, cheddar, and jalapeño and topped with pico de gallo and garlic aioli
  • I think that there was some thought put into each component of the burger, but not into how to tie all of them together.  What we ended up with was a burger where the individual components were at war with each other to stand out, but they never quite came together as a cohesive burger.
• Burger 10: Untitled Burger from Shula’s 347
  • A burger with Manchego cheese, maple bacon jam, and guava sauce
  • I think that this was the first time that I actually enjoyed guava on a burger.  The sauce was tangy sweet, but not so sweet that you wondered by there is dessert on your burger.
• Burger 11: Untitled Burger from Doctor’s Hospital
  • A burger with honey cured bacon, potato gallette,Monterey Jack cheese, and secret sauce.
  • If you’re curious, a potato galette is sort of like a savory pancake made of potato.  Also, it is quite delicious on a burger.
• Burger 12: McFoie Sliders from Bulla Gastrobar (Burgerliscious 2018 Best in Bun Winner)
  • A burger with Mahon cheese foam and served on a handmade steamed bun
  • This burger was absolutely surreal, but not in a bad way.  The steamed bun really made this burger stand out.  Biting it was like biting into bread-flavored air.  The name of the burger seemed to suggest that the burger might have Foie Gras on it, but if it did then I couldn’t taste it (which is a good thing).

Burgers 13-16

• Burger 13: Untitled Burger from Dune at The Ritz Carlton Key Biscayne
  • A bison and Foie Gras burger with bacon demi glace and truffle aioli
  • The pairing of bison and Foie Gras is actually a smart move.  Bison is a very lean meat, so adding the fatty richness of the Foie Gras would help to prevent a dry patty.  Despite this, the burger just didn’t work for me.  I think that the foie gras just made it taste too “earthy.”
• Burger 14: The Knaus Berry Burger by 109 Burger Joint
  • An Angus beef burger with caramelized apple, Swiss cheese, and bacon on a Knaus Berry Farms sticky bun.
  • If you are a fan of sweet/savory pairings, then this burger is for you.  As I am not, I was unable to wrap my head around it.  But hey, there must be a reason why McGriddles are still on the McDonald’s breakfast menu.  This is just taking the gourmet approach to them.
• Burger 15: Burger and the Beast by Jr’s Gourmet Burgers (Burgerliscious 2018 People’s Choice Winner)
  • A burger with grilled onions, signature homemade pink sauce, and American cheese on a slider bun
  • As usual, I am apparently the only human being in all of South Florida who hates mayo, and therefore hates all variations of “pink sauce” that appear on burgers around here.  This burger didn’t do it for me, but the public felt otherwise.
• Burger 16: The Fritanga Especial by Pincho Factory
  • An all natural Angus beef patty with fried cheese, tangy cilantro slaw, guacamole and aji amarillo sauce on toasted brioche
  • This burger was a bit misleading.  The name implies Nicaraguan-inspired ingredients, but they sneak the Peruvian aji amarillo in there as if we won’t notice that you’ll never see that in any fritanga.  It threw the burger a little off balance.

Burger 17 and desserts

• Burger 17: The Pub Burger from Carolina Ale House
  • A burger with cheddar cheese, secret sauce, onion strings, and bacon
  • Poor Carolina Ale House.  I almost left without tasting them because they arrived late and then had issues getting their grill going.  The burger was good, but didn’t stand out in any way.  Still, for all of the issues that they ran into during the event, they should be very proud of what they put out.
• Cookies from Night Owl Cookies: Night Owl Cookies seems to be a foodie fest regular, as I think I have seen them at almost any local festival.  Their cookies are a bit too sweet and dense for my tastes, but they seem to be quite popular.
• Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream Sundae from Frice Cream: This was Seminole Squash ice cream with bourbon caramel sauce, vanilla whipped cream, and a brown sugar waffle cone.  For starters, I would like to say that I have made pumpkin ice cream at home.  It has NEVER turned out as creamy and luscious as this ice cream was.  However, the waffle bowl that they served it in was hopelessly brittle.  Using the tiny wooden paddle that we were given in lieu of a spoon, each attempt at scooping the ice cream resulted in breaking the waffle cone bowl until I was basically holding the ice cream itself in the palm of my hand.  I ate it right out of my hands without a second thought, because it was THAT good, but in the future they might want to think about putting them in a small plate or bowl for more stability.  And, maybe giving actual spoons.
• Mini Dessert Bar from Seasons 52: The Seasons 52 dessert bar also makes a comeback, and adds some different flavors.  Last night we had pecan pie, pumpkin pie, key lime pie, and S’mores brownie.

Congratulations to the winners of Burgerliscious 2018, and I am looking forward to next year!