Who Can Survive in the Burger Cup Elite 8?

The Beijingers | Oct 12, 2020 4:00 pm | 6 comments | 610 reads

After a holiday hiatus that allowed voters plenty of time to try the Beijing burgers tasty enough to push through to the Sweet 16, the ballot boxes have closed and the results tabulated in the Sweet 16 round of the 2020 Burger Cup, presented by the Beijinger JSS Delivery.

As any artisan baker knows, a fine bun requires that the wheat be separated from the chaff, and so we are left with none but eight most elite contestants.

There were some tight races this round, and not everything played out the way burger fans may have scribbled in their prediction brackets. While all #1 seeds moved on, two #2 seeds were knocked out: Third-ranked Beersmith toppled #2 Blue Frog, and The Great Outdoors, who were also an #2 seed in their bracket, were narroely edged out by 3 Little Pigs by Andy’s Craft Sausages, a three seed.

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Meanwhile, the slate of heavyweights in the Sweet 16 made mincemeat of the last newcomer that remained alive in top 16, Prodigy Brewpub. While they put up a fight (fueled in part from their triumphant performance at the 2020 Burger Fest), in the end 2017 champion Q Mex pushed them aside.

The full Sweet 16 full results are as follows (with their initial bracket seeding indicated in parentheses):

Bracket A
Slow Boat Brewery (1) sashayed Hulu (4)
Jing-A (2) slung Arrow Factory (3)

Bracket B
Q Mex (1) outsmarted Prodigy Brewpub (4)
3 Little Pigs by Andy’s Craft Sausages (3) narrowly squealed past The Great Outdoors (2)

Bracket C
Side Street (1) derailed Plan B (4)
Great Leap Brewing (2) knocked out Boxing Cat Brewery (3)

Bracket D
Home Plate BBQ (1) smacked down That One Place (4)
Beersmith Gastropub (3) leaped over Blue Frog (2)

Now, here are the matchups for the Elite 8

Bracket A Final:
Slow Boat (1) vs Jing A (2)

Bracket B Final:
Q Mex (1) vs 3 Little Pigs by Andy’s Craft Sausages (3)

Bracket C Final:
Side Street (1) vs Great Leap Brewing (2)

Bracket D Final:
Home Plate BBQ (1) vs Beersmith Gastropub (3)

You have until Friday, Oct 16 to cast your ballot, so don’t delay!

And as is our custom, we asked you last round to rank those that didn't make the Sweet 16. Here's what you collectively told us -- and thus these are these venues' final rankings in the 2020 Burger Cup:

17. The Local
18. Fatburger
19. Shake Shack
20. De Refter
21. Lily’s American Diner
22. Turkish Feast
23. The Cheesecake Factory
24. Katchup
25. 4corners
26. Domain, EAST Beijing
27. Let's Burger Plus
28. Sliders by Henry
29. Miam Miam
30. QS
31. Migas Mercado
32. The Rug Café

They join the other previously announced finalists in our annual Best Burger ballot, rouding out the list of the 99 best places for burgers in the city:

33. Paddy O’Shea’s 爱尔兰酒吧
34. Lush
35. NBeer Pub 牛啤堂精酿啤酒餐吧
36. Bistrot B 怡庭
37. Aurora Aurora墨西哥餐吧
38. XL Bar and Restaurant
39. Grandma's Kitchen 祖母的厨房
40. Laker's 湖人餐厅
41. Legend Beer 老牌酒廠
42. Veggie Table 吃素的西餐
43. Peiping Machine 北平机器
44. Cafe Ruhe 如何餐厅
45. Panda Brew 熊猫精酿
46. Market Café, Hyatt Regency Beijing 北京望京凯悦酒店 - 咖啡厅
47. Angel Burger 天使汉堡
48. Tiger's 老虎西餐
49. La Rosee 枫丹露原福楼新概念
50. Steamrhino Brewery Restaurant 蒸汽犀牛精酿啤酒餐吧
51. Lucky Las Vegas Restaurant&Bar Lucky餐吧
52. 1F 壹楼餐吧
53. BLT American Restaurant Salad & Grill BLT美式西餐厅
54. Eudora Station 亿多瑞站
55. Rodeo 山顶
56. Meat by Ernest 吃肉西餐厅
57. Wiggly Jiggly 欧也
58. Bodensee Kitchen 德南餐厅
59. Park Side 园景
60. Irish Volunteer
61. The Music Bar, Hyatt Regency Beijing 北京望京凯悦酒店 - 音乐吧
62. Rolling Rolling Craft Brewing 滚滚精酿
63. Café Flatwhite
64. Spacelab 失重餐厅
65. The Roots 香海西厨
66. The Bell x TERRAZZA MARTINI
67. Dongli Brewery 东里手工啤酒
68. Peking Garden 北平花园
69. CHAR Bar & Grill 恰牛扒房
70. World of Beer WOB 北京精酿餐厅
71. TagYOU
72. Fire Works Fire Works 美式扒房·手工啤酒
73. RE 而意
74. Ricci 睿奇餐厅
75. Kimo Premium Kids Café 星漠亲子餐厅
76. Merci
77. Xuan House 翾House精酿啤酒餐吧
78. Hey Burger 堡嗝汉堡
79. The Virtue 五德酒场
80. 40+ Club 40+精酿啤酒俱乐部
81. Living Room, CHAO
82. Vinn
83. He Kitchen Co
84. Blinding Elephant 盲区
85. Funky Temple Bar
86. Molly Malone’s 美食吧&烤坊
87. Miss Deer's Bar 鹿舍
88. Fiesta Burger 翻翻家
89. Burgermood 堡格曼
90. Signature's, Kempinski Hotel 新典餐厅
91. Park Square Restaurant & Lounge 园庭
92. Alpha Omega Club 甲丁坊新德餐吧
93. Windy City 风渡嘉荷西餐厅
94. Su Zui 素醉精酿
95. Tough Tongue 硬舌酒肉
96. O’Learys
97. Ravens
98. Arpanda 阿潘答
99. Gold Rush 淘金餐吧

READ: Spot Yourself: The 2020 Beijing Burger Fest in Photos

Images: The Beijingers