It's Come to This: Vote Now in the 2020 Burger Cup Championship Round

It's Come to This: Side Street, Slow Boat for All the Marbles in 2020 Burger Cup

The Beijingers | Oct 19, 2020 4:00 pm | Add a comment | 342 reads

My, how time races by like a speeding burger – we’ve already arrived at the final round of the 2020 Burger Cup, in which defending champ Slow Boat tries to fend off a strong challenge from young upstart Side Street, the winner to be crowned with the highest honor a beef-and-bun slinger in the capital can strive for.

Scan the QR Code to vote for your
favorite burger in the championship round!

The Final Four kicked off just last Friday, and in the battle of former champions, Slow Boat cast Q Mex aside. In another photo finish, Side Street edged past the last remaining underdog, Beersmith Gastropub, to punch its ticket for the championship.

Slow Boat has won the championship more than any other competitor – a whopping four times, including the past two years. They face a competitor that didn't even exist at the time of their first Burger Cup victory in 2015: Side Street.

Though newish, Side Street has been no slouch in the Cup – debuting in the 2018 contest, when they landed in a respectable third place behind Slow Boat and runner-up Great Leap Brewing. Last year, Side Street dropped to fourth, behind Slow Boat, Crafters, and Q Mex, but their reinvented Cholo burger seems to have done them well thus far.

Both venues satiated the hungry masses at this year's Burger Fest, with the experienced and efficient Slow Boat slinging at their mega-booth at the entrance of the venue, and Side Street beating back a line that didn't end in the middle of the fest.

Will it be a three-peat for Slow Boat or will the always-the-bridesmaid, never-the-bride Side Street pull off the upset and finally reign supreme? Only you can decide by voting now – you only have until noon Thursday, Oct 22 to cast your ballot.

Be sure to taste before you vote – both burgers are available for delivery via our lovely sponsor, JSS Delivery!

Our previous champions

2011: Blue Frog
2012: Home Plate BBQ
2013: Home Plate BBQ
2014: Home Plate BBQ
2015: Slow Boat Brewery
2016: Slow Boat Brewery
2017: Q Mex
2018: Slow Boat Brewery
2019: Slow Boat Brewery

More burger fun

Once again the Burger Fest and the Burger Cup has done its part to further the love of burgers in Beijing.

Survey respondents overwhelmingly say the past month has been an orgy of consumption, both in terms of knowledge and actual chowing down: 86% say they have learned about new burger places they had previously never heard of, and 80% went out and actually tried them.

Meanwhile, 85% of respondents have eaten more burgers than usual, and 71% have downed more beer (the perfect accompaniment).

And the Burger Cup has also once again changed hearts and minds – more than half of respondents say they’ve changed their opinion on the best burgers in Beijing since last time around.

As for the others...

Finally, as is our custom, we asked you last round to rank those that didn't make the Final 4. Here's what you collectively told us – and thus these are the venues' final rankings in the 2020 Burger Cup:

5. Great Leap Brewing 大跃啤酒
6. Jing-A 京A
7. 3 Little Pigs by Andy's Craft Sausages
8. Home Plate BBQ本垒美式烤肉

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

9. Blue Frog蓝蛙
10. Boxing Cat Brewery拳击猫精酿啤酒馆
11. Arrow Factory Brewing箭厂啤酒
12. The Great Outdoors野友趣
13. Plan B
14. That One Place那个地方
15. Prodigy Brewpub醴吉精酿
16. HULU琥禄
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
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