Scottsdale Culinary Festival’s Burger Battle

Wow! This was my first Burger Battle and what a great time it was!
It was exactly what you would expect at a burger battle! Burgers everywhere! There were 18 restaurants competing for the best burger in town, music from the Walkens, LeinenKugel Beer, and even desserts. I had a great time tasting burgers, listening to music, and meeting new people, did I mention eating burgers…
The best burger chosen by the people was from El Hefe! The judges choice was Zinburger! As I agree to both of these being the best, I would also add Lenny’s Burger to the list. We met Lenny and his family near the end of the night and tried his burger. It was scrumptious! Lenny had my vote! :-)
If you get a chance, I would check this event out, as it was a success!

Last night Scottsdale Stadium in Old Town was transformed into burger nirvana! The Culinary Festival had their first annual Burger Battle and I was so thrilled to be in attendance. My girlfriend and I were excited to try all of the local burger joints at the event, especially since most of them were places we have never been to before. For a first year event we were thoroughly impressed with how smoothly everything was run. From the burger tents, Leinenkugel’s Beer, live music, and even desserts, everything was topnotch! Here’s my rundown on the 2012 Culinary Festival Burger Battle:
The Best Burgers:
El Hefe: One of the first burgers we tried and surprisingly, probably the best. Most people we spoke to felt the same way. Winner of the best burger voted by the people.
Zinburger: Another crowd favorite. A great sloppy burger! Judge’s choice for best burger.
Lenny’s: This is a family owned burger joint and the family was in attendance last night. We even got to meet and speak with Lenny himself! Really nice people and we had to give this place our vote.
Modern Burger: Another great one, very unique with lobster and bacon on the burger.
The Very Goods:
La Grande Orange: I dug this one which had green chili on their great English Muffins.
Omaha Steakhouse: Surprisingly good and spicy!
The Decents:
Bourbon Steak: This was definitely the most photogenic burger of the night. It looked amazing, but it had a million toppings on it and was just too rich.
Cold Beers and Burgers: My girlfriend was a big fan of this one, but I wasn’t crazy about it. I thought the burger meat was a bit too dense and had some weird flavoring. Maybe it was the cheese.
Capital Grille: Again was expecting a lot from this one. It was good, but didn’t wow me.
And The Not So Greats:
Bueno Burger: Heard good things, but was disappointed with this one.
RnR: No surprise here. I have never been a fan of this place.
Old Town Whiskey: Forgettable.
Chelsea’s Kitchen: Was expecting a lot from this one since I have heard such great things about this place. The onions were too overpowering and the bread was too doughy. I still want to go to this restaurant and try one of their other dishes though.
The only burger I didn’t get to try was Indulge Burger. I had them before and thought they were decent. I just couldn’t eat one more bite of burger that night.
Drinks:
I have been a fan of Leinenkugal’s beer so I was happy to try some of their brews that I never had before. I tried their wheat beer and a berry beer. Not my typical choices, but they were both good. I had to switch over to wine with my last drink ticket since I didn’t wanna fill up too much on beer. Free Dasani water was a life saver after consuming all those salty burgers!
Desserts:
Whoopie Baking Company: These were some damn tasty whoopie pies! I wanted more, but they ran out and I can see why!
Peterson’s Old Fashion Ice Cream: Really good Chicago based ice cream. The guys working their tent said they’ll be opening up a shop in Old Town soon. Check it out when they do!
It is easy to give this event five stars! A job well done by everyone involved. This is an event that every burger lover should attend at least once in their lifetime!