It felt a little like 1997 in Greenpoint this past Saturday, as one-time Nickelodeon star Kel Mitchell—most famously, from the “Good Burger” sketch on the show All That—hosted, what else, but a burger festival at that long and narrow BK Backyard Bar space next to Caffe Panna on Banker Street. There was lots of Good Burger-evoking orange soda (with or without booze), retro video games, old school hip-hop bangers, and everything was decked out in that crazy, candy-colored ’90s-style design.
Seven different burger outfits set up their grills for the event, and each was slinging at least one of their signature sandwiches. They came from as far away as Los Angeles and as close as Havemeyer Street, and, although all the burgers were certainly good, there were three or four that really stood out.
The Oh Boy burger (Photo by Scott Lynch)
Team BKMAG‘s absolute favorite on the day was from Williamsburg’s own Oh Boy, a (relatively) thick and juicy beef patty–made with a proprietary short rib and chuck blend–topped with housemade pickles, melted American, and, the clincher, a healthy glopping of some stellar, slightly spicy Old Boy sauce. Just a perfect daytime cheeseburger.
Charburger from Burgerhead (Photo by Scott Lynch)
Also terrific (and also not smashburger), was the classic charburger from Burgerhead, the beef blanketed in American cheese and placed on a bed of shredded lettuce, onions, and pickles, the special sauce bringing a touch of sweetness to the party. Burgerhead has a storefront in the West Village and another coming soon to the East Village, so definitely check these guys out if you’re ever in Manhattan.
Sweet and spicy oyster mushroom burger from Next Stop Vegan (Photo by Scott Lynch)
Another Brooklyn-based winner came from the Next Stop Vegan tent, a towering sandwich made with deep fried oyster mushrooms, sauced up nicely and co-starring several thick-cut pickles for a welcome acid bite. “We were honored and privileged to be standing for the vegan community here today,” Blenlly Mena, the founder and co-owner of Next Stop Vegan, told BKMAG. “We’re representing the plant-based community, the Latinos, and the small business owners of Brooklyn.”
Double smash from Fat Sal’s (Photo by Scott Lynch)
Our favorite smashburger on the day came from the LA chainlet Fat Sal’s, which is apparently more known for its insanely overstuffed sandwiches than its straight-up burgers, but clearly the crew know how to crank out the latter as well.
The Lacey Burger smash (Photo by Scott Lynch)
The Bear Burger slider (Photo by Scott Lynch)
Double smash from No Good Burger (Photo by Scott Lynch)
Rounding out our overindulgent midday burger feast was a decent smash from Bushwick’s Lacey Burger, an equally acceptable slider with pepper jack from Canarsie’s Bear Burgers, and a double-smash, loaded with grilled onions, from a Long Island operation called the No Good Burger Joint.
Kel Mitchell himself was of course a big draw for most of the ’90s kids on hand, but for me the biggest celebrity thrill of the day was hanging for a minute with Darryl McDaniels, aka DMC of Run-DMC, who was on hand passing out samples from his cookie line and, just in general, being fun and patient with a steady stream of fans that came his way. The king of rock indeed!
Check out more scenes from the day below.
DMC in the house! (Photo by Scott Lynch)
(Photo by Scott Lynch)
(Photo by Scott Lynch)
(Photo by Scott Lynch)
(Photo by Scott Lynch)
(Photo by Scott Lynch)
(Photo by Scott Lynch)
(Photo by Scott Lynch)
The post All The (Good) Burgers at Kel’s Burger Fest appeared first on BKMAG.
