Burger Bash Was A Smash

I didn't know what to expect from an 1800 person burger scrum and was pleasantly surprised when I had a great time. Friday night's Blue Moon Burger Bash was a blast. The beer flowed freely and the burgers for the most part were amazing. I tasted 14 of the 17 visiting restaurants and went back for 2nds and 3rds at the Minetta Tavern and Bobby Flay tents. They really were my faves by far. Seemed like too many burgers out there were downright RAW. I don't mind a lot of pink in my burger (Minetta had pink 'n juicy down) but cold and raw is just not my thing. I like the reaction the meat gets when it spends another 45 seconds on the griddle...

We ran the 250 image 'Never Ending Burger Slideshow' on one of the tent walls Friday night (the best of my burger research) and auctioned off a 30"x30" framed photo (from the book) of a Jucy Lucy from Matt's Bar in Minneapolis to benefit the Food Bank for NYC (pictured with Seth Unger, photo by Kelly Neal). There were old burger buddies there, meat celebs, and a few new friendships were born (I'm looking forward to a promised tour of the Burger Maker meatpacking facility in NJ). I also got to personally thank Martha for having me on her show last month and Rachel Ray commented that she loved my photography.

It was quite an event. Next year Lee Schrager, the promoter and mastermind behind the bash, plans to hold the 3rd annual Burger Bash followed by a Hot Dog Bash the next night. Pure genius.