Burger Beast Feasts in Miami, Florida

I produce or curate a handful of Burger Beast Feasts or events that feature great local restaurants yearly. Some events occur every year, like Croquetapalooza, while others, such as El Main Evento, show up occasionally.

I also partner with festivals throughout the year, like the South Beach Wine & Food Festival for the Make It Miami: A 305-Inspired Tapas & Craft Cocktail Party or the Gay8 Festival for the Best Miami Sandwich competition.

I also like to mix it up with Miami Food Trucks events from time to me. So, please keep your eyes on social media to see what I’ll do next.

Cruz Diablo Double Cheeseburger
Cruz Diablo Double Cheeseburger

Upcoming Events

Burger Beast Feasts

CURRENT EVENTS

Hamburger House Party

Hamburger House Party 2023
HHP 2023 Poster

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 town.

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.

Latin House Vaca Frita Sandwich, picture by Diandra Lamas
2018 Winner: Latin House Vaca Frita Sandwich (three-cheese blend, Roma tomatoes, chipotle aioli, lime-infused onions, and garlic butter on pressed Cuban bread with a side of black bean dip)
CAO Bakery MedioDia Sandwich
2019 Winner: CAO Bakery MedioDia Sandwich (guava & cream cheese pastelito, ham and Gouda cheese)

Burger Beast Burger Brawl

Burgie Awards by Burger Beast

El Main Evento

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. Every 3rd Saturday of September at Magic City Casino (450 NW 37th Avenue) in the heart of Miami, Florida, we celebrated all things Mexican for four years. 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 interested in 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

El Main Evento 2012 Miami Herald Neighbors Section
September 20, 2012, Miami Herald Neighbors Section

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 its growing popularity, it was added to the Croquetapalooza 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 but could return at any moment.

The 5 Time Frita Showdown Champions, El Rey de las Fritas

EVENT NAMEDATELOCATIONWINNER
Frita ShowdownWednesday, August 14th, 2013Magic City CasinoEl Rey de las Fritas
Frita ShowdownWednesday, August 13th, 2014Magic City CasinoEl Rey de las Fritas
Frita ShowdownWednesday, August 12th, 2015Magic City CasinoEl Rey de las Fritas
Frita ShowdownFriday, August 19th, 2016Magic City CasinoEl Rey de las Fritas
Frita ShowdownFriday, August 25th, 2017Magic City CasinoEl Rey de las Fritas

Hot Dog Fest

The Hot Dog Fest made its debut on July 1st, 2012. It was a food truck creating hot dogs and sausages dishes with craft beers to quench your thirst.

The event then took a two-year hiatus and returned as Wiener Bash.

Hot Dog Fest History

EVENT NAMEDATELOCATION
The Hot Dog FestSunday, July 1st, 2012Hollywood ArtsPark
The Hot Dog FestSaturday, July 13th, 2013Tobacco Road
The Hot Dog FestSunday, July 21st, 2013Abacoa Town Center
The Hot Dog FestSunday, July 28th, 2013Plantation Heritage Park
The Hot Dog FestSunday, July 13th, 2014Mardi Gras Casino

Hot Dog Fest Press

Luv Me Tenders

Everyone loves chicken tenders, so Burger Beast thought it was time to throw together 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 ChickenChefs on the RunCrackers Casual DiningGilbert’s 17th Street GrillLatin HousePDQ ChickenPollo CamperoPollo Tropical, & The Waffle Wagon food truck.

But that wasn’t all the food in attendance; we also had Chifles Chips, Mac & ChessMiami Roasted CornMojo Donuts, & Tio Colo.

All attendees at the event were able to vote for their favorite chicken tender. The Cafe 72 won the first & only Luv Me Tenders competition with their Samurai Tenders featuring a Sweet Chili Samurai Sauce.

SugaPie

Burger Beast’s SugaPie event celebrated local desserts, coffee, and craft beer.

The inaugural event went off on a Sunday afternoon in December 2015 without a hitch. All of the attendees, as well as the participating restaurants, had a great ol’ time!

The event would be placed 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.

SugaPie 2018 - Empanada Harry's Tres Leches
Empanada Harry’s Ganache Flor de Caña Tres Leches

Top Turkey

Burger Beast Feasts Top Turkey
Burger Beast Feasts Top Turkey Trophies

How did Top Turkey work? The participating food trucks created Thanksgiving-inspired savory and sweet dishes available to the public for sale. Their regular menus were also for sale if you were not in the Holiday spirit.

Wiener Bash

Wiener Bash began its life as the Hot Dog Fest in 2012. The event then took a two-year hiatus.

Hot Dog Fest was revamped as a ticketed event and rechristened as 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 NAMEDATELOCATIONWINNER
Wiener BashSaturday, November 12th, 2016Magic City CasinoWorld Famous Egg Roll Truck
Wiener BashSaturday, November 4th, 2017Magic City CasinoBabe’s Meat & Counter
Wiener BashSaturday, April 6th, 2019Magic City CasinoArbetter Hot Dogs

Wiener Bash Press

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