Burger Brief: Jing-A's Slider Trio

Kyle Mullin | Sep 3, 2015 11:00 am | Add a comment | 1655 reads

Burger Brief takes a look at some of the top seeds in the Beijinger 2015 Burger Cup. This time around, we talk to Alex Acker and Kristian Li of Jing-A to see what pushed their sliders into the top 32 in the tournament seedings.

Name: Alex Acker and Kristian Li, co-founders and brewers at Jing-A Brewing Co.
Nationality: American and Canadian, respectively.
Number of years living in Beijing: 12+, each
Name of signature burger: 京A Slider Trio

Tell us about your signature burger. What makes it the best burger in Beijing?
Our all-beef sliders come topped with a thick slab of seasoned Yunnan cheese, sweet and sour onions, our "awesome sauce," and pickles. Most people also choose to add-on smoky, decadent bacon made by our neighbors at Traitor Zhou's. The crispy pan-fried Yunnan cheese really elevates our bite-sized sliders, and while there's plenty of burgers in Beijing, our sliders are definitely number one if you're sharing with a friend!

What does the burger come with?
Our sliders are tasty enough to stand up for themselves. They don't need no sides! We do have a wide range of sides available a-la-carte like sweet potato fries, house-brined olives, and our kale and pumpkin salad, to name a few.

What drink from your menu goes best with the burger?
Our flagship brew – Flying Fist IPA. What could possibly be better?

What other burgers do you have on the menu?
None, but we do have a killer Reuben sandwich that comes with a mountain of corned beef that we cure in-house, as well as kimchi from Palms L.A.

Aside from your own restaurant's burger, what was the best burger you’ve ever had?
The burger at Craigie on Main in Boston! Their philosophy is to make everything from scratch, from the milk bun to ketchup, to the blend of ground beef cuts, bone marrow and suet. In the end you're still left with a classic burger – your childhood memory of a burger, but built from the ground up with an impeccable eye for detail.

Like this burger? Vote to push it through to the last 16 via thebeijinger.com/2015burgercup or catch up on the stiff competition through the rest of our Burger Briefs.