SBWFF 2011: The Unofficial Short Order Burger Bash Awards

By Riki Altman Fri., Feb. 25 2011 at 9:34 AM

Photo by Riki Altman

No we're not all professionally trained in the culinary arts like those who handed out the official honors last night, but we know our way around food and the celebrities who hawk it. Therefore we deem ourselves qualified to bestow upon last night's Burger Bash entrants the following Unofficial Miami New Times' Short Order Awards:

Photo by Riki Altman

Weirdest Comment
Uttered by Rachael Ray as she accepted a framed poster: "I love Lee [Schrager] as much as burgers."

Photo by Riki Altman

The "What Were You Thinking?" Award goes to Spike Mendelsohn. Yeah, the Hamburglar costume was cute, but hiding your handsome face from the meat-lovin' celebrity stalkers probably cost him some love.

Photo by Riki Altman

Messiest Burger
Morimoto's offering had a runny egg and gravy sauce on it. It looked seriously unappealing, but even us critics had to give it a thumbs up for flavor after we got brave enough to take a bite.

Photo by Riki Altman

Weirdest Accompaniment
Town Kitchen & Bar's Milk Stout Float (milk stout beer with a scoop of vanilla ice cream). It looked good and wins Chef Altman points for originality, but we're still scratching our heads trying to decide if we actually liked the flavors together.

Photo by Riki Altman

Worst Thing to Pass Our Lips
Société's Chocolate & Roquefort Cheese Bites. Picture a spoonful of stinky cheese rolled in chocolate Pop Rocks. Our mouths were mortified.

Photo by Riki Altman

Michael Symon (left) and Allen Susser

Biggest Schmoozer
Michael Symon. We knew he would win, not because his burger was otherworldly but because the line to take a photo with him snaked way out. He was undoubtedly the smartest marketer in the tent.

Photo by Riki Altman

Most Unlikely, Unsuccessful Pairing
Whipped potatoes and mango chutney from the Idaho Potato folks. Big disappointment, especially for those who thought those little parfait glasses held ice cream with fruit topping.

Photo by Riki Altman

Cutest Chef with the Spunkiest Burger
We can't help it: We just adore Ingrid Hofmann. Her Simply Delicioso Latin Burger with chorizo, Oaxaca cheese, and caramelized jalapeños and onions won our hearts.

Photo by Riki Altman

Smartest Assembly Scenario
Bistro One LR at the Ritz-Carlton had FIU students working with a conveyor belt.

Photo by Riki Altman

Most Unappetizing Giveaway
We were all about the free Amstel, Fiji water, Pepsi, Cape Cod potato chips and especially the Havaianas, but dog food? Seriously, RR? Not what we wanted to think about as we waited in line at the entrance.

Photo by Riki Altman

Best Attempt at Representing the 305
El Mago de las Fritas: Even though we almost didn't forgive them for switching the spicy and mild El Mago sauce bottles on us, their burger with matchstick potatoes made Cubans proud.

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Location Info

Venue

Map

The Ritz-Carlton, South Beach

1 Lincoln Road, Miami Beach, FL

Category: General

5 user reviews	Write A Review
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Tags:

Burger Bash, El Mago de las Fritas, Ingrid Hoffman, South Beach Wine & Food Festival, Town Kitchen & Bar

We Recommend

Bryan

I have to agree with "The Baron", the burger pictured was from Morimoto. I didnt think it was nasty looking, but it was pretty hard to work with one free hand. Regardless, it was an amazing burger.

Riki

Thanks for finding my error! I'll make the correction. That's what I get for writing this story while suffering from a food coma.

But I did think it was delish, once I got past the drippy, runny, sloppiness of it all. (Love Shack's was my fave, though.) Which of the burgers did you vote for?

The Baron

You are in error. The burger pictured as "messiest" is the Morimoto burger, which was toped with a fried egg and accompanied by a pickle. The Umami burger had neither. The Umami burger was the best of the event while Morimoto's entry disappointed.

Brianjbowdish

Morimoto's was much better. The secret was not to look at it, just eat it. It was delicious.

SteveBM

The Baron is correct - that is Morimoto's burger and it was not good at all. Symon's was best in show. Phenomenal flavor going on there. I will admit that I didnt get to try the Umami Burger cuz the line was beyond ridiculous all night.