Expert Panel Crowns Side Street as Their Personal 2026 Juicy Burger Cup Champion
Yesterday, we announced that Slowboat reclaimed victory as the 2026 Juicy Burger Cup Champion. However, we have a second champion: Side Street! They have been crowned as the champion by our Burger Expert Panel, who you can read more about here.
After the panel submitted their rankings, Side Street narrowly came out just a hair ahead of Slowboat, the people's champion, in one of the closest expert panels we've ever tabulated.
Why two systems? Because neither is perfect on its own. An expert panel can be accused of elitism, out of touch with what ordinary diners actually want. A general vote, on the other hand, can be swayed by populism, get-out-the-vote campaigns, and ballot stuffing. By balancing both, we aim for a fairer overall picture.
While there was general agreement on the top two, with Side Street and Slowboat placing #1 or #2 on a majority of panelists' ballots, several notable differences emerged beyond the very top.
The biggest gap came from Wolfgang's Steakhouse. Experts loved it, placing it at #5, while readers were cooler, ranking it #18. On the flip side, readers adored Beersmith Gastropub, voting it up to #3, while experts had it at #15.
A few other venues showed meaningful splits. Experts rated Burge's Bistro And Bar, Slider Nation, and Huddler Diner and Bar higher than readers did, while the general public favored Great Leap Brewing, Goose Island Taproom, and Plan B over the experts.
Beyond those differences, the two groups largely saw eye to eye. Most venues landed within a few spots of each other.
Several venues received first-place votes from expert panelists, showing that the experts saw a deeper field at the very top: Burge's Bistro And Bar, Wild Kite Brewing, Wagyu Kaiju, Q Mex, Home Plate BBQ, Great Leap Brewing, and Goose Island Taproom.
In the race for the top two, the experts were nearly split. Thirteen of the 21 panelists had either Side Street or Slowboat in their top two.
The experts' full top 20 rankings were as follows with reader ranking in brackets:
- 1. Side Street (#2)
- 2. Slowboat (#1)
- 3. Wild Kite Brewing (#6)
- 4. Burge's Bistro And Bar (#9)
- 5. Wolfgang's Steakhouse (#18)
- 6. Jing-A Brewing Co (#5)
- 7. Wagyu Kaiju (#4)
- 8. Slider Nation (#14)
- 9. Q Mex Bar And Grill (#8)
- 10. Huddler Diner and Bar (#16)
- 11. WhyNot (#15)
- 12. Home Plate BBQ (#10)
- 13. Great Leap Brewing (#7)
- 14. Circle Burger (#11)
- 15. Beersmith Gastropub (#3)
- 16. Goose Island Taproom (#12)
- 17. Deli NYC (#17)
- 18. Plan B (#13)
- 19. Rich Burger (#20)
- 20. Take A Bite (#19)
Unsung Heroes
We also asked the Expert Panel for their "Unsung Heroes" — venues that did not make the Top 20 but deserve a shout-out. Here are the venues they mentioned, listed with their final reader rankings in brackets:
- Overtone Taproom (Reader Rank: #21)
- Hunger Dog (Reader Rank: #22)
- Dosh Gastropub (Reader Rank: #26)
- Blue Frog (Reader Rank: #27)
- The Cheesecake Factory (Reader Rank: #30)
- Commune Reserve (Reader Rank: #33)
- Trips Burger (Reader Rank: #37)
- Burp (Reader Rank: #48)
- Steak Factory (Reader Rank: #50)
- Burning Wood BBQ (Reader Rank: #59)
- Wake and Bite (Reader Rank: #61)
- The Roots (unranked)
- 桔Taproom (unranked)
These venues may not have cracked the Top 20, but the experts believe they are worth a visit. Sometimes the best bites are found off the beaten path.
