I produce or curate a handful of Burger Beast Feasts or events that feature great local restaurants yearly. Some events, like Croqueta Palooza, occur yearly, while others, such as El Main Evento, show up occasionally.
I also partner with festivals throughout the year, like the Visit Lauderdale Food and Wine Festival for Picnic in the Park, the South Beach Wine and Food Festival for Make It Miami: A 305-Inspired Tapas & Craft Cocktail Party or the Gay8 Festival for the Best Miami Sandwich competition.
I also occasionally like to mix it up with Miami Food Trucks events. So, please watch social media to see what I’ll do next.
CURRENT EVENTS
Hamburger House Party
Croqueta Palooza
RETIRED EVENTS
Best Sandwich in Miami
The Best Miami Sandwich competition came from an idea I had where we would crown a Best Miami Sandwich winner and pit them against Best Sandwich competitors in other towns. We would host the final event in a neutral city.
It was too big of an undertaking for Burger Beast to do alone. The City of Hialeah almost hosted it in 2016, but ultimately, the Gay8 Festival partnered with Burger Beast for the event in 2018 and 2019.
Burger Beast Burger Brawl
Burgie Awards by Burger Beast
El Main Evento
What exactly is Burger Beast‘s El Main Evento? The short version is that it’s a celebration of Mexican culture.
Burger Beast, who curated and produced the event, is a giant fan of Mexico. For four years, we celebrated all things Mexican every third Saturday of September at Magic City Casino (450 NW 37th Avenue) in the heart of Miami, Florida. El Main Evento was an all-ages event with FREE admission.
The first El Main Evento in 2012 featured only Lucha Libre and Mexican food. It would grow to include food trucks and restaurants selling Mexican specialty foods, live Lucha Libra, live Mariachis, and Mexican folkloric dancers, plus a Burrito Contest thrown in for good measure.
Burger Beast is considering retooling the event and bringing it back in a different format, so you shouldn’t be surprised if El Main Evento reappears suddenly.
El Main Event Press
- Eater Miami – Celebrate the Real Mexican Independence Day This Weekend
- The Miami Herald – Burger Beast and Independent Championship Wrestling Inc. present EME
- Miami New Times – EME 2013 Slideshow
- Miami New Times – EME 2014 Slideshow
- Soul of Miami – Burger Beast presents EME
- Thrillist – The Weekend Playbook
Frita Showdown
At the Frita Showdown, the “Best Frita en el Mundo” was crowned yearly.
The first three Frita Showdowns were stand-alone events, but due to their growing popularity, they were added to the Croqueta Palooza extravaganza in 2016. El Rey de las Fritas is a five-time Frita Showdown champion.
5 Frita Showdown events have happened, the last being in August 2017. Since then, the Frita Showdown has been on a hiatus, just like El Main Evento.
| EVENT NAME | DATE | LOCATION | WINNER |
| Frita Showdown | Wednesday, August 14th, 2013 | Magic City Casino | El Rey de las Fritas |
| Frita Showdown | Wednesday, August 13th, 2014 | Magic City Casino | El Rey de las Fritas |
| Frita Showdown | Wednesday, August 12th, 2015 | Magic City Casino | El Rey de las Fritas |
| Frita Showdown | Friday, August 19th, 2016 | Magic City Casino | El Rey de las Fritas |
| Frita Showdown | Friday, August 25th, 2017 | Magic City Casino | El Rey de las Fritas |
Hot Dog Fest
The Hot Dog Fest debuted on July 1st, 2012. It was a food truck filled with hot dogs, sausage dishes, and craft beers to quench your thirst.
The event then took a two-year hiatus and returned as Wiener Bash.
Hot Dog Fest History
| EVENT NAME | DATE | LOCATION |
| The Hot Dog Fest | Sunday, July 1st, 2012 | Hollywood ArtsPark |
| The Hot Dog Fest | Saturday, July 13th, 2013 | Tobacco Road |
| The Hot Dog Fest | Sunday, July 21st, 2013 | Abacoa Town Center |
| The Hot Dog Fest | Sunday, July 28th, 2013 | Plantation Heritage Park |
| The Hot Dog Fest | Sunday, July 13th, 2014 | Mardi Gras Casino |
Hot Dog Fest Press
- Miami New Times – The Hot Dog Fest set for Sunday in Hollywood
- Eater Miami – Hollywood Hot Dog Fest
- Miami New Times – Burger Beast Celebrates the Hot Dog at Tobacco Road Saturday
Luv Me Tenders
Everyone loves chicken tenders, so Burger Beast thought it was time to organize an event featuring the best in boneless chicken. So he did, and he named it Luv Me Tenders!
The participating chicken restaurants were The Cafe 72, Caporal Chicken, Chefs on the Run, Crackers Casual Dining, Gilbert’s 17th Street Grill, Latin House, PDQ Chicken, Pollo Campero, Pollo Tropical, and The Waffle Wagon food truck.
But that wasn’t all the food; we also had Chifles Chips, Mac and Chess, Miami Roasted Corn, Mojo Donuts, and Tio Colo.
All attendees at the event were able to vote for their favorite chicken tender. Cafe 72 won the first and only Luv Me Tenders competition with their Samurai Tenders, which featured a Sweet Chili Samurai Sauce.
SugaPie
Burger Beast’s SugaPie event celebrated local desserts, coffee, and craft beer.
The inaugural SugaPie event went off without a hitch on a Sunday afternoon in December 2015. All of the attendees, as well as the participating restaurants, had a great time!
The event was put on the back burner until Burger Beast brought the event back as part of the Hamburger House Party in March 2018. This newly retooled version would include the Best Dessert in Miami competition in which Empanada Harry’s won with their Ganache Flor de Caña Tres Leches.
Top Turkey
How did Top Turkey work? The participating food trucks created Thanksgiving-inspired savory and sweet dishes that were available to the public for sale. Their regular menus were also available if you were not in the Holiday spirit.
Wiener Bash
Wiener Bash began as the Hot Dog Fest in 2012. After a two-year hiatus, It was revamped as a ticketed event and rechristened Wiener Bash.
The main difference between the two festivals is that Wiener Bash is a competition to find the best sausage or cylindrical meat on a bun.
Wiener Bash Winner History
| EVENT NAME | DATE | LOCATION | WINNER |
| Wiener Bash | Saturday, November 12th, 2016 | Magic City Casino | World Famous Egg Roll Truck |
| Wiener Bash | Saturday, November 4th, 2017 | Magic City Casino | Babe’s Meat & Counter |
| Wiener Bash | Saturday, April 6th, 2019 | Magic City Casino | Arbetter Hot Dogs |
Wiener Bash Press
- The Miami Herald – Wiener (not the politician) gets spotlight at Wiener Bash
- Miami New Times – Wiener Bash 2017 Slideshow