Here It is: Vote in the Juicy Burger Cup Championship Round!

Vincent R. Vinci, Contributing Editor | Nov 15, 2023 4:26 pm | Add a comment | 173 reads

The ballots have been tallied, the votes are all in, and but two of Beijing’s best burger places remain to face off in the Championship round – Q MEX Bar & Grill and Jing-A Brewing Co.

Both restaurants were high in the rankings following last year’s Juicy Burger Cup, with Q MEX and Jing-A coming in at #3 and #5, respectively. Well-deserved spots considering their tasty burgers.

A self-described Mexican-American establishment, Q MEX keeps their burger formula simple, with just a few choices on the menu, headlined by their fan favorite, the Classic Double Cheeseburger (RMB 78). But they’ve gotten creative as well, with their Truffle and Parma Ham Double Cheeseburger (RMB 88) being Exhibit A.

They also made a splash at Burger Fest with their new Birria Burger (RMB 88, also available in-store for the duration of Burger Cup) – a burger topped with special marinated beef and tortilla chips.

Meanwhile, Jing-A not only does a mean classic cheeseburger, but they add a bit of their brewing expertise into their specialty burger, the Stout Bacon Cheeseburger (RMB 95) – which comes topped with cheese, crispy bacon, red onions, house made pickled gherkins, and special Black Velvet Stout sauce.

The duo has had a long way to come to make it to the Finals, but before we look at their path to the championship round, let's take a look back at the impact the Juicy Burger Festival and the Juicy Burger Cup has made so far:

Judging by the results from last round's ballots, it seems Juicy has once again cooked up quite a storm in Beijing's food scene.

A hearty 82 percent of you have tried new burgers for the first time as a result of these events, and an impressive 81 percent are eating more burgers than usual.

These events have also served as your culinary compass, guiding 88 percent of you to discover burger joints you hadn’t heard of before – while a whopping 73 percent of you changed your opinion on your favorite burgers as a result.

And let's not forget the brews: 71 percent of you raised your beer mugs more often than usual over the past three weeks.

So, dear burger lovers, it's clear – the Juicy Burger Festival and Juicy Burger Cup annually reshapes Beijing's burger landscape one bite (and sip) at a time.

Plus, we asked you to caption a meme whilst voting in the Elite 8. These are the best of the best:

Now that you've had a good chuckle, it's back to the action at hand:

Q MEX started things off in the Round of 64 against Panorama, fighting through to then oust Paddy O'Shea's and 3 Little Pigs by Andy's Craft Sausages.

Then it was on to the Elite 8, where they faced off against six-time Burger Cup Champion SLOWBOAT. The voting was close, but in the end, Q MEX came out on top, making it through to the Final Four where they defeated Home Plate to earn themselves a spot in the final. Q MEX is no stranger to the final, having won the cup back in 2017.

To book their spot in the final, Jing-A went through Park Side, TIGERS and newbie Benlo’s Burger before squaring off against Burge’s Bistro & Bar in the Elite 8. Burge’s had entered the Cup as a top seed, but Jing-A pulled through into the Final Four where they outpaced Wild Kite Brewing to make it into the championship.

Now, both face off against one another in the Final! You’ll have until this Friday, Nov 17, after which a champion will be named!

As is our custom, we asked you to rank the contestants that did not make it to the Final Four. Here's how you ranked them:

5. SLOWBOAT 悠航
6. Side Street 街旁
7. Burge's Bistro & Bar 小伯格酒馆
8. DOSH GASTROPUB 到时精酿餐吧

They join the previously ranked contestants, rounding out the Top 100:

9. Goose Island Taproom 鹅岛精酿啤酒餐厅
10. Great Leap Brewing 大跃啤酒
11. 3 Little Pigs by Andy’s Craft Sausages 三小猪
12. Beersmith Gastropub 鲜啤吧
13. Slider Nation 小堡邦
14. Benlo's Burger 本楼汉堡
15. Lily’s American Diner 莉莉斯美式西餐厅
16. Arrow Factory 箭厂啤酒
17. blue frog 蓝蛙
18. Malbec & Beef 阿根廷牛排馆
19. The Cheesecake Factory 芝乐坊
20. COMMUNE RESERVE 幻师臻选
21. LA PLATEA 兰蒂地中海餐吧
22. Messy Burger 汉堡探索中心
23. Take A Bite TAB汉堡
24. Paddy O'Shea's 爱尔兰酒吧
25. TIGERS 老虎西餐
26. NBeer Pub 牛啤堂
27. Plan B
28. The Great Outdoor 野友趣精酿餐吧
29. SOLDOUT
30. Circle Urban 圆场
31. Brotzeit German Bier Restaurant 博璨德国啤酒餐厅
32. LARRY THE BIRD
33. Shake Shack
34. FATBURGER 特富客汉堡
35. COMMUNE•X幻师主题店（北京太古里）
36. The Local
37. Ye Brewing 野鹅微醺
38. Tastiens Chinese Burger 塔斯汀中国汉堡
39. APOLLO 阿波罗餐厅
40. THE ROOTS 欧伴
41. Paulaner Bräuhaus - Kempinski Hotel Beijing Yansha Center 北京燕莎中心凯宾斯基饭店 - 普拉那啤酒坊
42. LUSH
43. SUSU 苏苏
44. Let's BURGER plus 非常创意汉堡
45. Peach
46. Tough Tongue 硬舌酒肉
47. Spacelab 失重餐厅
48. Park Side 园景
49. ye lounge 野路子
50. Nashville 乡谣音乐餐吧
51. Burp 堡嗝儿
52. Bullshit Food 饱是福
53. Market Cafe, Hyatt Regency Beijing Wangjing咖啡厅•北京望京凯悦酒店
54. MORROW 墨佬墨西哥餐厅
55. Panorama 葩诺
56. Kitty & Daniel Hollywood Grill & Bar 大牛好莱坞餐吧
57. The Rug Café
58. HUZI Lunch Bar 虎滋精酿餐吧
59. VINN 维恩餐吧
60. Fire Works 北焰•美式扒房
61. CAUTION Bistro 靠山餐吧
62. MEDI 地中海餐吧
63. Hi-Town Bistro 海塘无国界餐吧
64. Bay Area Bar & Restaurant 湾区酒吧
65. Peking Yard 北平花园
66. Lenbach 兰巴赫西餐啤酒坊
67. Cafe Ruhe 如何餐厅
68. Rich Burger 发财汉堡
69. Bodensee Kitchen 德南餐厅
70. Grandma's Kitchen 祖母的厨房美式西餐厅
71. 4Corners 肆角餐吧
72. Shang Brew 香啤坊
73. CHAR Bar & Grill 恰牛扒房
74. WasPark
75. Legend 老牌餐吧
76. Xian Bar/Domain, EAST Beijing 仙酒吧/Domain 域，北京东隅酒店
77. Gou Taproom 苟市精酿
78. Simon’s Bar 西门餐吧
79. Wiggly Jiggly‘s 欧也
80. The VEGGIE TABLE 吃素的西餐
81. Meat by Ernest 吃肉
82. Leben Burger 乐本汉堡
83. TRIPS Burger
84. Bistro 108 巴黎餐吧
85. Bistrot B 怡庭
86. QS 奎妮餐吧
87. Laker's
88. Pinotage
89. GOLDEN HILL ALE HOUSE 秋山艾尔酒馆
90. Dongli Brewery 东里手工啤酒•精酿餐厅
91. Eudora Station 亿多瑞站
92. Manchester United Theater of Dreams Restaurant 曼联梦剧场
93. TRIPLE B 3B
94. Great Cosmos 大宇宙
95. Walnut 23 胡桃
96. Wobbit
97. King Park
98. Vinup Brunch & Bistro 薇葡
99. T-FOUR
100. Ibarrel bistro and brunch 爱杯

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