It was a year of firsts for Best Memphis Burger Festival. It was the first year the festival was held at Tiger Lane next to the Liberty Bowl, having outgrown its former space at Minglewood Hall. It was also the first year my BBQ team, the Moody Ques, competed in the burger festival. Our good friends Weekend at Porky’s stepped up and entered the competition for the first time as well.
The weather definitely did not cooperate! There was a north wind all day and the temperature never broke 60. However, this time around we have a cooker that has no problem holding temp. The Moody Ques were fully prepared to make some noise in the Bloody Mary, Veggie Burger, Anything But, Margarita, and Best Memphis Burger competitions.
Head cook Frank likes his buns well done, apparently. No this was not a competition entry.
While my team was cooking veggie burgers, I went down to Weekend at Porky’s for one of Colin’s Bloody Marys with bacon-wrapped garnishes.
Pumpkin spice burgers for our Best Veggie Burger entry. “I hope the veggie burger judges are white girls. If they are, we’re in like Flynn,” I commented.
Frank with our Best Bloody Mary entry, a recipe by our teammate Dusty.
Bardog/Slider Inn team
Our Best Margarita entry
My favorite pair of librarian glasses, the “L” of team FML at the Blind Bear.
Blondes love me
Our entry for Anything But Beef
B-RAD propping Nate up. Brad was wearing Rahul’s jacket in this photo, but he wanted to make it clear that he and Rahul are not dating.
I doubt the shaved ice truck did much business yesterday.
We made Katie a meatless version of our Anything But entry. Vegetarians love the Moody Ques.
Quail eggs, one of the toppings for our Best Memphis Burger entry.
Putting it all together for Best Memphis Burger
B-RAD getting down at Weekend at Porky’s
Katie getting down at Weekend at Porky’s
This is the kind of thing that happens when there’s Fireball.
Whitney and Staci getting down at Weekend at Porky’s
Bales of hay were the seats for the bands and the awards ceremony
Tim and Seth, organizers of this awesome event. Thank you for putting this together.
Our friends the Fabulous Burger Boys made it on stage to collect a trophy.
Full photo album here (150 photos, and I made it public so if you’re not friends with me on Facebook you can still see the album).
THAT WAS A LOT OF FUN. At Tiger Lane there was plenty of space, and despite the weather I had an absolute blast yesterday. I definitely hope we can enter Burger Fest again next year.
I haven’t seen the results yet, but I think the Moody Ques showed a lot of progress in their cooking ability. The vegetarian burger in particular was one where I thought we knocked it out of the park. While not a vegetarian myself, I will occasionally order veggie burgers at Huey’s, and I think the Moody Ques’ entry without a doubt could hold its own against that restaurant. The other burger entries I thought were good too.
Plans for today: It’s a rare Sunday when I have to spend part of the day working. It’s fun work though, so I don’t mind. I will be able to make it out to D-RANKS with B-RAD this morning. I would also be game for a mid-afternoon trip to Station 3 Firehaus if anyone is up for it.