If you asked me last week if I was a Burgers & Beer kinda girl, my answer would have been an abrupt “NO” (with an eye roll); however, if you ask me today, after the most amazing LA Weekly event this past weekend, my answer is an enthusiastic “HELL YES” (probably with another eye roll, let’s be real).

The first ever, and better be annual (come on LA Weekly- give us some good news…), Burgers & Beer event happened last Saturday at the LA Memorial Coliseum and SUCCESS is the word.  With over 35 of Los Angeles’ best burgers and over 30 craft breweries, along with the perfect setting, weather, and crowd (SOLD-OUT we must add)…  and then BOOM one of the best days of Summer 2015 for the books.

The name itself is a wet dream for dudes; but for us ladies, not so much (is there a skinny marg and gluten-free cupcake festival coming soon?).  Or so I thought.  Many vendors kept us girls happy (and drunk) by offering lighter beers, ciders, jello shots and even some vino.  And for the burgers, well, everyone’s got to cheat sometimes (better this than in your love life – am i right?) and why not cross over to the bad side when you know the BEST of LA are all in one spot, for one day only.  And when you know you’ll be surrounded by a plethora of fun peeps who do chill shit like spend their weekend afternoon eating and drinking.  How have we not found boyfriends at these things yet?

When they said all you can eat AND all you can drink they meant it; so the pricey $75 ticket proved to be a good deal.  All the vendors were ready and prepared for the rush; even ANIMAL with the longest line all damn day was still grilling and fulfilling in that last hour — and after attending many festivals where stands run out of food fast, this was MUCH appreciated.

Because you are already convinced to go to the 2nd annual; here are a few pointers:

1. Wear loose, light clothing and comfy shoes.  You are going to feel fat (and hot) — there is no way around it.  And not only will you be on your feet all day, but also with all that alcohol in your system you may end up on that dance floor.
2. Bring your tote bag to store the freebies, coupons, napkins, etc. (a food festival lesson we have learned the hard way).
3. Choose your partner wisely.  Obviously they must eat meat.  And no Debbie Downers or winers (been there, dumped that) — the potential for fun is exponential and the amount of fun you will have is directly related to how fun the person you bring is (EDDR gets nerdy yet again).

“How can one eat that many burgers” you ask.  The answer is “you JUST DO IT” (shout out to Nike).  I attempted to eat healthy all week, juiced in the AM and gave it 100%.  We don’t half-ass anything in life and neither should you…

FAVORITE BURGERS: 

Myke’s Café (TOP BURGER OF THE DAY!)-  Snicker Burger!  I am not pulling your arm here.  Snickers and bacon inside a hamburger patty, topped with cheddar cheese, sliced green apple, lettuce, even more bacon and honey habanero.  With these ingredients this could have been straight out of one of our fav food network shows Chopped- you know how the judges always say ‘it’s delicious’ and you call B.S.; well I actually believe them now.

Animal –  duh.  If you follow our insta you have seen us rave about this burger before; if you don’t follow our insta, what are you waiting for?   The off-menu Boner Burger is perfection and it is served rare- no exceptions (as every burger should be).

Barrel & Ashes –  this spot has been on our list to try since it opened.  I can appreciate them leaving it topless… topless is always a good thing (in more was than one, but hello, we’re talking burgers here), especially when you’re on slider #26.

Seoul Sausage Company –  I now know first-hand why they won Season 3 of The Great Food Truck Race.  With a restaurant in West LA’s “Little Osaka” and two food trucks truckin’ around town- we will be tracking them down.  Can your trucks download “Find My Friends” please?

The Tripel –  duck, pork and beef patty with truffle cheese, apricot and arugula.  And that sweet onion bun was the icing on the cake (ok there was no cake, but you get what we mean here).  Simply delicious without being simple at all.

Honorable mentions:  Messhall Kitchen, Rush Street and Little Dom’s.

FAVORITE BREWERYS: 

Elysian Brewing Company (TOP BEER OF THE DAY!)-  The Blood Orange Pale is fully responsible for my new found love of the hops.  Technically you should only go to each station once, to give all people a chance to try, but 1.  we don’t typically follow the rules and 2.  this was so good it had me coming back for more and more… and then some more.  Thank you to them for fully supporting the addiction and filling up my little mug multiple times.

Ace Cider–  The Pineapple cider was the light, fruity and bubbly drank I needed to add in the mix.  I’ll be looking for this on menus as of now.

Craft Beer Kings–  Hell or High Watermelon Wheat.  Ok so solely based on the flavors, it’s looking like I found the most girlie beers there…

EDDR LIFE LESSON:  You can do anything you put your mind to.  Even if it’s eating what is probably equivalent to 7 full burgers and 12 whole beers.  What did you accomplish this weekend?

Juicing all week,

Alex