Call it a meating of hamburger royalty.
A sizzling SoFlo dream team of serious patty purveyors will unite at this weekend’s Hamburger House Party on the campus of MAD Arts in Dania Beach.
Less a competitive brawl than a salute to local beef, the May 2 event will assemble 12 joints (many with “best burger” bona fides from local fests, including South Beach Wine & Food Festival), all handpicked by organizer Sef Gonzalez, aka food blogger Burger Beast.
The walkaround tasting will feature unlimited eats, from smash burgers — the trendy pancake-flat kind with cheese dribbling down a latticework of crispy edges — to classically juicy, skyscraper-thick patties, paired with snacks, liquor and desserts, Gonzalez says.
“I’ve watched a ton of great burger restaurants torn down over the years,” says Gonzalez, a tastemaker who throws meetups, revisits hamburger history and champions underappreciated joints on his BurgerBeast.com blog. “I’m still passionate about old-school places and the people who have their heart in it, the people who just want what the community loves.”
Hamburger House Party, he adds, is “the event we were always building toward” in South Florida, adapted from his Miami event of the same name. Sponsor Visit Lauderdale Food & Wine Festival began collaborating with Gonzalez in 2024 with a series of 954 Burger Month meetups to highlight Broward County’s top burgers.
This event is far more ambitious, uniting joints from all three counties, he says.
That Hamburger House Party evokes early-’90s nostalgia, Kid ‘N Play and Vanilla Ice is less an accident than a feature, says Gonzalez, who asserts that his party will bump to a strictly throwback soundtrack “of my youth.”
Sef Gonzalez / Courtesy
Pig Beach BBQ’s Smash Burger includes griddled onions, dill pickles, secret sauce and yellow American cheese on a Martin’s potato roll. (Sef Gonzalez/Courtesy)
Broward County’s hamburger heavyweights include BMC Smash Burgers, Charm City Burger Co., Even Keel Fish Shack, Jack’s Old Fashion Hamburger House, Mai-Kai Restaurant & Polynesian Show and PINCHO. Palm Beach County is represented with The Office, Pzza and Pig Beach BBQ. There’s also La Birra Bar, with multiple South Florida locations.
All hamburger samples will be served as half-portions (3 ounces), and event proceeds will benefit Ronald McDonald House Charities. Look for snacks and sweets from Night Owl Cookies, Chifles and Sweet Aloha Ice Cream, and for drinks from Ironbeer, Johnny Cuba, Polar Seltzer, Two Drums rum seltzer, Funky Buddha Brewery, Tripping Animals Brewing Co. and Gulf Stream Distilling Co.
“I like to tell people, if you’re living in Dade, try the Palm Beach and Broward burgers first, and if you’re further north, try the things outside of your county that you can fall in love with, so you can make a special trip there on a Saturday,” Gonzalez says.
One of the boldfaced names that may be unfamiliar to non-Miamians: Ted’s Burgers, a Wynwood shack making its Broward debut with a handheld that owner Ted Armas calls the Big Bak. A smashed twist on McDonald’s Big Mac, Ted’s double-beef patty is crowned with American cheese, lettuce, pickle, onion and special sauce on a Martin’s potato roll.
Sef Gonzalez / Courtesy
The Big Bak from Ted’s Burgers has double beef patties, American cheese, lettuce, pickles, onions and special “Sarge” sauce.
(Sef Gonzalez/Courtesy)
Before Armas’ brick-and-mortar opened in December, the Hialeah-raised cook smashed burgers on a Blackstone two-burner griddle under his red tent in Miami. Word of mouth drew droves to his pop-up starting in 2020, and he’s credited with kickstarting South Florida’s obsession with smash-burger joints. His burger has racked up countless accolades since, from winning SOBEWFF’s Burger Bash in 2021 to its inclusion in Food & Wine’s top U.S. burger spots list.
“We won’t have a bun in the middle like a Big Mac, but it’s our take on a fast-food favorite,” Armas says. “Some people think you need to have tremendo cojones to call yourself the best burger, but I don’t. I just like cooking things simply. Smash it up and let the people come.”
The 2026 Hamburger House Party will be from 3 to 6 p.m. Saturday, May 2, at MAD Yard at MAD Arts, 481 S. Federal Highway, Dania Beach. Cost: $75 via Eventbrite.com. For information, visit HamburgerHouseParty.com.
THE LINEUP
BMC Smash Burgers
BMC Double Smash: Onions smashed into two patties plus BMC “saus,” American cheese and house pickles.
Charm City Burger Co.
The Good Ole: Chuck-brisket-short rib blended patty topped with American cheese, lettuce, tomato, raw onion, pickle and Charm Sauce.
Even Keel
Even Keel Burger: Benton’s bacon and sweet onion jam, New School American Cheese, fancy sauce.
Zach Perl for Even Keel / Courtesy
The Even Keel Burger features Benton’s bacon and sweet onion jam, New School American Cheese and fancy sauce. (Zach Perl for Even Keel/Courtesy)
Hate Mondays Tavern
The Therapy Melt: A brisket and short-rib blend charred over open fire, covered in cheese sauce with pickles and caramelized onions.
Jack’s Old Fashion Hamburger House
Jack’s signature blend cheeseburger will include a toppings bar so guests can customize their sandwich.
La Birra Bar
Crispy Dubai: Black Angus Prime Argentine beef patties with white American cheese, signature crispy onions and truffle-chimichurri mayo.
Mai-Kai
Big Pani Burger: Maui onions, guava-smoked bacon, guava-sriracha ketchup, American cheese on a Big Marty’s sesame seed bun.
The Office
Truff’d up: Marinated mushroom, caramelized onion, Gruyère, bacon and truffle aioli.
Pig Beach BBQ
Pig Beach Smash Burger: Griddled onions, dill pickles, secret sauce and yellow American cheese on a Martin’s potato roll.
PINCHO
The Crispy Smash: Double smash Black Angus patties topped with New School American Cheese, crispy onions, aji aioli and sweet onion bacon jam, served on a Martin’s potato roll.
PZZA
Classic Wagyu Smash (Oklahoma style): Wagyu patties with New School American Cheese, special burger sauce using kewpie mayo, smashed onions and pickles on a Martin’s potato roll.
Ted’s Burgers
Big Bak: Double beef patty, American cheese, lettuce, pickle, onion and special “Sarge” sauce
Staff writer Phillip Valys can be reached at pvalys@sunsentinel.com or on X/Twitter @PhilValys.