This past Saturday was the LA Weekly Burgers & Beer festival. In addition to being a weekly alternative paper, the LA Weekly is also a food festival churning machine. The weather was great, the crowds were manageable, I received free tickets from the Weekly, and I somehow snagged free parking. What more could I ask for?

One of the better burgers was Barrel & Ashes’ burger bite. With so many stands offering burgers and so little stomach space, I appreciated that they did away with the top bun to focus on the main ingredient: a great patty.

Unlike most of the vendors here, Badmaash didn’t play it safe. Instead, they went with a full-flavored, aggressively spiced lamb patty burger. Their strategy paid off because it was one of the burgers that stood out.

Word on the street is that Cassell’s has a really good, no frills burger. Their rendition of it at the festival may have looked plain compared to that of Animal’s or Pink’s, but they stuck with the basics and excelled.

Another bite of something different was El Cristalazo’s shrimp slider. The perfectly cooked shrimp went surprisingly well with the usual burger accouterment.

Overall, the festival was a success. The venue was perfect, with enough room and shade to be comfortable. Most of the lines were manageable. The beer selection had a little something for everyone, instead of being super heavy on IPA’s. My two favorite beer vendors there were McLeod’s and Phantom Carriage. Will would have preferred at least one stand doing a veggie burger, but I can see how that would be a risky gamble for a vendor.

I thought that an afternoon full of eating burgers would put me off them for a while, but going through the pictures today, I wouldn’t have a repeat of a few of the bites I had yesterday.