2011 South Beach Burger Bash Predictions
The 2011 Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival is fast approaching (Feb. 24th-27th). And there's no bigger event than the Amstel Light Burger Bash presented by Allen Brothers hosted by Rachael Ray. If you're interested in an in-depth look at this year's menu trends and predictions, read the 2011 South Beach Burger Bash Preview.
If you need a quick primer on past winners and this year's burger entries, check out these 2011 Burger Bash predictions and take the quiz below. Who is the dark horse? Whose burger has the most hype? Who will have the longest line? Who has the biggest chance of flying high, or falling far?
2011 PREDICTIONS:
Longest Line:
Shake Shack or Bobby Flay.
Best Cheerleaders/Recruiting:
Spike Mendelsohn knows how to cop some 'tude and get attention.
Most Hyped:
Michael White's "White Label" burger capitalizes on LaFrieda love and Minetta "Black Label" notability. Sounds good, if a little pandering.
Busiest:
Qsine, Town Kitchen & Bar, and Food Network's Ingrid Hoffman are all doing some really busy burgers. Town's use of apple butter means their burger is also likely to be sweet.
Most Out-There:
Tim Love's elk and foie burger with huckleberry jam is a shoo-in. If anyone can pull it off, Love can.
Least Interesting:
The South Beach Diet chicken satay burger is the skip of the night. And you worry about the Simply Delicioso burger — mixing in chorizo sounds like a recipe for a tough patty.
Local Burger Does Good:
At long last Burger Bash will feature El Mago de Las Fritas' Latin burger with raw onions, matchstick potatoes, and El Mago sauce.
Third Time's a Charm:
There are four chefs who are participating for a third time at South Beach, and of them two have never won either the Judges' Award or the People's Choice Award in either New York or South Beach (see quiz). They include big names. This could be the year. Hey, if Katie Lee could win...
Icarus Factor:
Bistro One LR at The Ritz-Carlton is doing a bacon and foie burger with leeks on a potato bun, and Michael's Genuine is doing a burger with quail egg on a biscuit. These both sound great, but could be tough to mass-produce and keep the quality high.
Dark Horse:
Morimoto, or Jonathan Sawyer (no burger description!).
Top Five:
You always have to look out for Shake Shack, but this year's winner will most likely be one of the following: Ai Fiori, El Mago, B Spot, Radius, or BLT Miami.
Winner:
Going with the underdog local hero: El Mago.