When I went to the NYCWFF Blue Moon Burger Bash last year, I gave myself a ridiculous amount of ground rules and then posted about my experience at the event for weeks after the fact. This year, I gave myself zero rules and resolved to write just this one piece about the event. Being as you most likely came to this blog to read about the burgers, I’ll talk about them first.
Colonie: The Colonie Burger was a grass-fed beef patty, topped with beet ketchup, aged cheddar, bacon, and cucumbers. It came with a side of grilled corn. It was a lot of grilled corn. At an event like this, I prefer smaller sides, though the corn and burger were both tasty. The bacon was a little tough, however. Pictured above, top right.
il Mulino Prime: The Caprese Burger might as well have skipped the beef patty altogether, for all I could taste it. As a caprese salad on a bun, it was delicious. As a burger, it fell victim to the common burger trap of putting cold mozzarella on what should be a warm sandwich. Pictured above, center left.
Costata: The Costata Burger was a dry-aged beef blend with bacon marmalade and cheese. Though it’s vertical-to-horizontal ratio made this burger bite fall apart on me, it’s flavor was undeniably excellent. The dry-aged patty really knocked my socks off. Pictured above, center right.
Dirty Burger: I never get out to Long Island, so I was excited to get the Dirty Burger from Plainview. I have to say, it was a solid leap over the Dirty Burger I had at Murray Bar. Both the red and white Dirty Sauces were tasty, and quite different from each other. It even came with a pouch of Dirty Dust, which I’ll be sure to use soon. Pictured above, bottom left.
Hudson Malone: “El” Burger was a dry-aged blend topped with a bit of cheese and a sizable pickle chip. I’m a big pickle fan, and it carried this burger for me. The meatball-shaped patty was a tad under-seasoned, but the beef’s quality was evident in spades. Pictured above, bottom right.
Those were the five burgers I sampled that I had never tried before. I also napped burgers from Ramen Burger, Brindle Room, 5 Napkin Burger, Burger & Barrel, and Breakroom. All four were as good as I remembered from dining in the proper restaurants, and 5 Napkin even brought out their Oktoberfest Special burger!
Now, I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that this year it felt a bit like the Burger Bash had jumped the shark. The event was overcrowded in a way that topped last year’s madness. Most of the event staff was kind, but they were on different pages and giving guests conflicting instructions. And sadly, a few people who have been attending the Burger Bash for years told me that some event staff were very rude to them. This is an incredibly popular and expensive event, so I’m hoping they can iron out the kinks that their success is imposing upon them.
