Inaugural Long Beach ‘Burger Bash’ competition comes with stacked lineup

Burger Bash is coming Sunday, June 29, Long Beach.

Chef Carlos Jurado of Selva—partnering with me at Longbeachize and James Tir (aka LBFoodComa)—has opted to take on the humble and mighty burger for a friendly, Long Beach-only burger competition. The time couldn’t be more ripe: From popups to restaurants, Long Beach’s burger game is incredibly distinguished, diverse, and drool-worthy.

“I was inspired by Brian Addison’s Essential Long Beach Burger list and the V-Room chili cook-off to create a local annual event,” Chef Carlos said. “I love this city so damn much. And what better way to celebrate that than to create a fun burger competition? To bring the people and culinary talent of Long Beach together?”

Can we get an amen?

From top-to-bottom, left-to-right: Olive & Rose. ISM Brewing. Selva. Liv’s. And Dilly’s Sandwiches—just a few of the participants for the inaugural Burger Bash. Photos by Brian Addison.

The lineup for the inaugural Burger Bash.

We understand this is, by no means, a perfectly full slice of Long Beach’s burger game. Buit is a damn worthy attempt. Check out the culinary awesomeness invading the parking lot of Selva on Sunday, June 29, from 1PM to 4PM.

• Selva: Headed by Chef Carlos, Selva has long been the steward of Colombian cuisine here in Long Beach.
• Olive & Rose: Chef Philip Pretty’s more casual sister to his Michelin-recognized Heritage, Olive & Rose doesn’t just offer a stellar dinner date option. It also has one of the best lunch programs (and burgers) in the city.
• Hamburgers Nice: Chef Jairo Bogarín’s genuinely stellar smash-burger operation is one of the best in the city.
• Marlena: Chef Michael Ryan’s solid operation out of Naples has proved the man can handle the melding of Californian and Mediterranean flavors.
• El Barrio Cantina: Chef Ulises Pineda-Alfaro’s much-loved, Mexican-centric, SoCal-inspired restaurant has always been there for the community.
• Liv’s: Chef Rob White’s underrated Belmont Shore gem is known for its seafood—but his other concept, Hartland’s, has one mighty burger.
• Terrible Burger: The genre-bending burger popup from Long Beach residents Nicole and Ryan Ramirez has proved worthy citywide. Check out their terribly awesome story.
• Dilly’s Sandwiches: The humble-but-quality East Long Beach sandwich shop knows its layers thanks to husband-and-wife team Brein and Rory Ann Clements.
• Midnight Oil: The newly minted DTLB Chinese-centric space will dive into the all-American burger for the first time.
• The Good Bar: The vegan-friendly drinkery has long been known for its chili tots, vegan taquitos, and vegan buffalo chicken sandwiches.
• Lemongrass Khmer Grill: One of the shining dishes from last year’s Long Beach Food Scene Week, Lemongrass Khmer Grill is a spin-off of MealsDotKom, owned by Rasmey Kom and Crystal Millar.

How does it work?

There are two types of tickets: General admission and VIP. GA will get a sampling of each burger as well as the ability to vote for the best. VIP will get access to the competition a half-hour early, a shaded private seating area, and buckets of beers and pitchers of margaritas to down while sampling and voting.

The inaugural Burger Bash will take place in the Selva parking lot, located at 4137 E. Anaheim St., on Sunday, June 29, from 1PM to 4PM. (12:30PM entry time for VIP.) For tickets, click here.