- Local
- Community
- Journalism
Support the independent voice of South Florida and help keep the future of New Times free.
Friday night's Burger Battle continued the ongoing debate over which Fort Lauderdale restaurant is the champion of the chuck. And for the second year in a row, that champ is...
Click here for a full slide show from the event.
The veteran Wilton Manors restaurant and bar wowed the judges yet again
with its deceptively simple take on a bacon cheeseburger. The scores
from six celebrity guest judges combined to give the winner a slight
edge over Capital Grille's char-grilled cheeseburger.
Judge Sef Gonzalez -- also known as the Burger Beast -- was one person who thought Georgie's hit it out of the park yet again.
"We voted blind, so I had no idea who I was voting for," says Gonzalez.
"But as soon as I bit into it, I felt like 'I don't
know if I can get a better burger than this right now.'"
Gonzalez described the burger as having crisp bacon, a really nice bun,
and meat that was perfectly balanced between medium and medium-well.
"Some people like their burgers rarer, but I think if you're going to
win a contest like this, you've got to cook it at least medium."
The judge's love for Georgie's didn't even take into account the
restaurant's side dish, a Jack Daniel's vanilla shake garnished with
pieces of bacon dipped in chocolate. (Sounds like someone's been
watching Epic Meal Time.) The shake was missing from their plates, according to Gonzalez.
Attendees at the event did get the shake, but they had some other ideas about who made the best burger. They gave Rok:Brgr's bacon-and-onion cheeseburger the People's Choice award for best of the battle.
But by claiming its second win in a row, Georgie's has pretty much cemented its status as the burger to beat in Fort Lauderdale. Sure, there will be scrutiny. People will pontificate on whether or not Georgie's serves as good a burger in its restaurant as it did at the battle, just as many will likely trumpet the patty as the greatest thing ever put between two buns.
But one thing is clear: That Jack Daniel's shake better be on the menu.
Keep New Times Broward-Palm Beach Free... Since we started New Times Broward-Palm Beach, it has been defined as the free, independent voice of South Florida, and we would like to keep it that way. Offering our readers free access to incisive coverage of local news, food and culture. Producing stories on everything from political scandals to the hottest new bands, with gutsy reporting, stylish writing, and staffers who've won everything from the Society of Professional Journalists' Sigma Delta Chi feature-writing award to the Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism. But with local journalism's existence under siege and advertising revenue setbacks having a larger impact, it is important now more than ever for us to rally support behind funding our local journalism. You can help by participating in our "I Support" membership program, allowing us to keep covering South Florida with no paywalls.
