Got Beef?: The Claws (and Deals) Come Out as the Crowning of Beijing's Best Burger Nears

It's not fight night but it might as well be. With only four days to go until the crowning of Beijing's Best Burger, it seems like everyone has an opinion as to who should, who shouldn't, and who definitely shouldn't win.

A competition wouldn't be a competition without some good-hearted fun, cheap shots, and jibes. And then there's Q Mex's ingenious tactic of embracing their direct competition to lure in voters while simultaneously shooting the brewery down: "We think Slow Boat is great ... at brewing beer. We might have hurt their feelings a bit by knocking the former champs out last year, but we are not going to apologize for making Beijing’s best burgers. To soften the upcoming blow, we are going out of our way to help promote the part of Slowboat’s business that is really outstanding – their beer." How are they doing that, you ask? Giving away a free pint of Slow Boat's beer with every burger is how.

Lest we forget that Slow Boat has actually won the accolade of Beijing's Best Burger twice previously in 2015 and 2016 before the Tex-Mex establishment usurped them. That loss led Slow Boat to lament that they "probably didn’t stand a chance against the restaurant whose fare hails from Mexico, a place renowned for its … burgers?" and that they were "going to build a wall between us and Q Mex. And make them pay for it."

While it's uncertain as to whether the wall was ever built, the beef rages on and is currently fueling one of the biggest showdowns we've witnessed in the Burger Cup's seven-year existence. But how about the other competitors?

Well, Great Leap continues with their silent but deadly approach, subsisting on the legions of fans they've hooked over the years with their big, juicy buns. Despite the knock they took earlier in the year by losing their #12 Xingfucun flagship space, the team have taken it in their stride, moving their burger bounty to their #45 location and selling them alongside their gigantic pizzas.

However, the real upset this year may come from our newest contender, Side Street, who didn't even exist until January of this year. Their popularity is in some part due to the fact that they landed in a Jiaodaokou-located space that was already reasonably well-regarded (namely: Ron Mexico), but to overlook what has made this new venture perhaps even more admired would be a great disservice to these underdogs. Side Street have found their own footing by focussing on a creative pub grub menu that honors vegetarians as much as it does meat-eaters. Add to that a little Indian twist, fun events that get people through the door, and some great daily deals, and you have yourself a winning formula. If you've yet to try this newbie's wares, they're currently offering buy-one-get-one-free burgers with purchase of any drink, 11.30am-8pm.

Read all of our Burger Cup content here as well as how the Final Four made it this far here. You have until midday Friday (Jul 7) to decide who should get your all-important vote – just about enough time to try one burger from each of this year's Final Four, we'd say!*

*The Beijinger is not responsible for significant weight gain that may be experienced during the Burger Cup.

Images: the Beijinger