Burger Cup Underdogs Upset Big Smoke, Lily's
The quest to find Beijing’s best burger took another step forward this afternoon as sixteen patty-slingers inched ever closer… and another sixteen saw their Burger Cup dreams crushed. Perhaps the most intriguing burger joints to advance include new-comers Ahava and Fatboy’s The Burger Bar (both managing impressive upsets against their higher-seeded counterparts).
Among the establishments that failed to make the cut included the venerable Big Smoke, Lily’s American Diner, and Frost (all three establishments placed in last year’s Top 12). As for the burgers that did make the cut, they’ve arguably taken this year’s Sweet Sixteen to uncharted levels of pure foodie ecstasy. (Trust us: You can’t go wrong with any of the monstrously delicious burgers that made it through.)
Click on the bracket to enlarge
Below is Recap of the Round of 32:
Bracket A
Slow Boat (1) navigated past Loft Eatalicious (8)
Café Flatwhite (4) flattened Stuff'd (5)
Ahava (6) said nada Lily's American Diner (3)
Union Bar & Grille (2) crashed Lush’s (10) party
Bracket B
Great Leap Brewing #12 Brewpub (1) silenced the Chat Room (9)
Luga's Villa (4) froze Frost Coffee, Cocktails and Dining (5)
Plan B (3) shattered BurgerMe’s (6) self-absorption
Let's Burger (2) took Morton's of Chicago for a ride on the L Train (10)
Bracket C
Home Plate (1) said shalom to Biteapitta (8)
Fatboy's The Burger Bar (5) angled by 4corners (4)
Katchup (3) sobered Drunk Craft Beer & Restaurant (11)
Q Mex (2) washed-out Jamaica Blue (10)
Bracket D
blue frog (1) breast-stroked past Billy's Fish & Chips (8)
Jing-A (4) tapped out Kenny's Burgers (5)
Feast (Food By EAST) (6) lit up Big Smoke (3)
The Local (2) said adios amigo to Tim's Texas Bar-B-Q (7)
Now it's on to the Sweet Sixteen: voting is now live and will close noon Sunday, June 12.
Recall that you'll need to return each round to escort your favorites to the finals. Here's the remaining vote schedule:
Elite Eight: Opens 4pm Sunday, June 12; closes noon Wednesday, June 15.
Final Four: Opens 4pm Wednesday, June 15; closes noon Friday, June 17.
Championship Round: Opens 4pm Friday June 17; closes noon Monday, June 20.
And as is our custom, last round we asked you to rank the burgers that did not make it on to the Round of 32. This ranking now serves as their final standings in the 2016 Burger Cup:
33. Paddy O'Shea's
34. Bistrot B, Rosewood Beijing
35. Ramo
36. Blue Marlin
37. 8-Bit
38. Nola
39. 1F
40. Nasca Café
41. The Smokeyard
42. Pinotage
43. Bunny Drop
44. Beer Mania
45. Temple Bar
46. Village Cafe, Opposite House
47. He Kitchen
48. Grandma's Kitchen
49. The Garage
50. Peter's Tex-Mex
51. Laker's
52. Burger Break
53. The Cut, Fairmont Beijing
54. Helen's Café
55. Grinders
56. Burger Counter
57. Eudora Station
58. VSports Bar and Restaurant
59. Park Side Bar & Grill
60. Dongli Brewery
61. Yuppie Yummy
62. Koli’s Camp
63. The Filling Station
64. Paulaner Maximilian
They join our previous rankings from the last round:
65. The Bookworm
66. Irish Volunteer
67. XL Bar
68. Veggie Table
69. Caravan
70. Angel Burger
71. Park Square
72. Serbia Burger
73. Hungry Horse
74. Cannon's Eatery
75. Dr. Cactus
76. Windy City
77. Uncle Sam's
78. Food Studio, Renaissance Beijing Wangfujing Hotel
79. Corner
80. Waspark
81. Pebbles Courtyard
82. Craft, Crowne Plaza Lido
83. One East
84. Rolling Rolling
85. North Capital
86. Kitchen Table, W Beijing Chang'an
87. Must Guette
88. Steak Exchange, InterContinental Hotel
89. MRL
90. Golden Era 50's Diner
91. Hub Kitchen
92. Little Britain
93. Landmark Café
94. Old Bike Café
95. Pentalounge, Penta Hotel
96. Fuel, Langham Place
97. Nanluo Big Burger
The Burger Cup voting is now on the Sweet 16 voting period. Support and vote for your favorite burger venue by scanning/extracting the QR code below.