Newcomer Cannon's Blasts Past Home Plate as the 2017 Burger Cup Enters the Final Four

Robynne Tindall, Contributing Editor | Jun 8, 2017 3:55 pm | Add a comment | 2186 reads

Upsets continue in this year's Burger Cup at the hands of newcomer Cannon's Burgers, who continue their strong debut run, this time moving past former three-time Burger Cup winners Home Plate to claim a coveted spot in the Final Four. Cannon's will now face their biggest challenge yet, as they go up against popular burger pushers Great Leap, who placed third in last year's competition. However, with Cannon's having served over 1,000 burgers during the Burger Cup event and with good reviews coming in from all sides, it's really anyone's game.

The other Final Four match will see 2015 and 2016 champs Slow Boat go head-to-head with Q Mex. Both restaurants made it through to the final last year, so there's a lot at stake for Slow Boat to hold their advantage. In addition to Home Plate, we're also waving farewell to The Local, Fatboy's, and Plan B, all of whom put up a strong fight and are well deserving of their spots among Beijing's top 12 burgers.

To recap, the Final Four matches are:

Great Leap vs Cannon's
Slow Boat vs Q Mex

Voting for this round will close at noon on June 12, after which it will come down to a one-on-one battle between the final two burgers. The winner of the Beijinger 2017 Burger Cup will be crowned on June 15.

Vote for your favorite Final Four Beijing burger now!

Here's a full recap of the action in the Elite Eight:

BRACKET A
Slow Boat sailed past The Local

BRACKET B
Q Mex put Fatboy's on a diet

BRACKET C
Great Leap unraveled Plan B

BRACKET D
Cannon's blasted past Home Plate

Burger brands take note: the average price Beijing's Burger Cup voters feel is reasonable to pay for a decent burger (with no sides) is RMB 46.38, with 21.76 percent of voters saying they prefer to pay RMB 46-50 for a burger. Here is a full breakdown of their price preferences:

RMB 46-50 – 21.76 percent
RMB 36-40 – 15.29 percent
RMB 41-45 – 15.29 percent
RMB 31-35 – 12.35 percent
RMB 51-55 – 6.47 percent
RMB 56-60 – 6.47 percent
RMB 61-65 – 5.29 percent
RMB 21-25 – 4.12 percent
RMB 26-30 – 4.12 percent
RMB 66-70 – 4.12 percent
RMB 76-80 – 2.35 percent
RMB 81-85 – 1.18 percent
RMB 86-90 – 1.18 percent
RMB 71-75 – 0.59 percent

Speaking of sides, we also asked you to choose your favorite side dish(es) to pair with a burger and, unsurprisingly, fries came out on top by a mile. On the healthy side of things, salad performed surprisingly well, placing third. Your editor is a fan of the salad side; more space in your stomach for the burger, I say.

1. French fries
2. Pickles
3. Salad
4. Onion rings
5. Coleslaw
6. Baked potato
7. Kimchi
8. Carrot sticks
9. Nachos
10. Corn
11. Paihuanggua

Finally, as is our custom, we also asked you to rank the field that did not make it into the Elite Eight. Here they are along their final rankings in the 2017 Burger Cup: 

9. Blue Frog
10. Jing-A
11. Katchup
12. The Big Smoke
13. Lily's American Diner
14. Biteapitta
15. Let's Burger
16. North Capital
17. Stuff'd  
18. 4corners  
19. Tim's Texas Bar-B-Q  
20. Burger Break 
21. Paddy O'Shea's
 22. Caravan
 23. Feast  
24. Grandma's Kitchen
 25. Lush  
26. XL Bar
 27. High Town  
28. Ramo  
29. Morton's of Chicago
30. Kenny's Burgers
 31. 1F  
32. VSports Bar and Restaurant  

They join the previously ranked burgers from last round, to complete the "best of" list right through to 102 (asterisks indicate venue is currently remodeling, in the process of opening, or in the process of adding burgers served at the 2017 Burger Fest to their menus):

33. *Common Burger  
34. Luga's Villa
 35. 8-Bit  
36. Andy's Craft Sausages  
37. *Panda Brew  
38. Nola
 39. Dirty Duck  
40. Bistrot B  
41. Laker's  
42. *Punjabi  
43. Regain Element
 44. Molly Malone's  
45. Beer Mania  
46. Grinders  
47. Peter's Tex-Mex
 48. Waspark
 49. Blue Marlin  
50. Veggie Table  
51. *Frost Coffee, Cocktails and Dining  
52. Village Cafe, Opposite House
 53. Irish Volunteer
 54. Drunk Craft Beer & Restaurant  
55. Burger Counter  
56. Café Flatwhite  
57. He Kitchen  
58. Eudora Station  
59. The Bookworm
 60. Tiger Pancake House  
61. Uburgers  
62. NBeer Pub
 63. Dongli Brewery
 64. Chat Room
 65. Steamrhino Brewery Restaurant  
66. The Granary Bar & Bistro  
67. Hungry Horse  
68. Park Side Bar & Grill  
69. Old Bike Café  
70. Four Ace  
71. Beersmith Gastropub  
72. The Cut, Fairmont Beijing  
73. Ahava Bistro and Cafe  
74. Buddy Bar  
75. The Kitchen Table, W Beijing Chang'an  
76. *Root Pop  
77. Balmain Gourmet Meat & Grill  
78. Fella's  
79. Bunny Drop  
80. *Mr. Charcoal  
81. Nasca Café  
82. City Wall Bistro, Marriott  
83. The Garage
 84. Nanluo Big Burger  
85. O'Leary's  
86. Landmark Café
 87. Renaissance Beijing Wangfujing Hotel Food Studio  
88. MustGuette  
89. Paulaner Maximilian  
90. Bobo  
91. Rolling Rolling Craft Brewing  
92. Park Square
 93. Yuppie Yummy
 94. Galleria  
95. Fuel, Langham Place  
96. Windy City  
97. Hub Kitchen  
98. Angel Burger  
99. Craft, Crowne Plaza Lido  
100. Steak Exchange, InterContinental Hotel  
101. Loft Eatalicious
 102. Pentalounge, Penta Hotel