Vino Mundo Burger Fest Competition Night

Review by Jackie Head Editor, PuraVidaGuide

There´s quite a buzz around town with the news of Costa Rica´s first ever Burger-Fest which started at the weekend, so I was delighted to be invited to one of the competing restaurants, Vino Mundo on Friday. For those who are unfamiliar to this new concept, the idea is to celebrate the burger and bring in the top chefs from around San José to produce a dish that epitomizes their unique style at gourmet level. Fifteen restaurants were hand-picked to compete and during the 3 week festival, they will offer the customer the chance to try out their entry in the hope of their vote before the closing date of the 8th November. At the end of this period, there is going to be a public vote along with a live final in front of a panel of expert judges where prestigious awards will be given at the Sabores in Escazú, Costa Rica.

So to kick-off this exciting competition was the turn of the extremely talented chef, Rodrigo Salazar Loría whose burger was inspired by the concept of Vino Mundo´s avant-garde Mediterranean fusion cuisine. The restaurant itself is situated in the most beautiful landscape with breathtaking views over the city, where I received a warm and friendly welcome on my arrival. I immediately loved this place for the subtle lighting which bounced off all the wine bottle displays and with the lights from beyond in San José, it all looked rather enchanting and magical.

I was shown to a center table and sat down with my fellow guests where we were all presented with Vino Mundo´s entry burger. I liked the simple and effective board display where the array of colours from the vegetables oozed from under the homemade bun. Deciding that it was just about manageable to eat with the hands, I took my first tentative bite and to say that this burger was made in heaven is an understatement. The deliciousness of the combined Mediterranean sweet flavors along with prime grilled juicy beef is going to be extremely hard to beat. But don´t just take my word for it. During the evening 60 burgers were ordered that night from paying diners, with two tables of 14 all deciding to sample Rodrigo´s masterpiece.

For more information about the superb restaurant Vino Mundo in Cuidad Colon, Costa Rica, go to their website http://www.vinomundocr.com/

Although I have to say in fairness, I have read and heard from a few of the contending restaurants who certainly have just as scrumptious recipes up their sleeves and are equally enthusiastic that their burger is going to be the winning dish!

IS 8ctavo Rooftop THE WINNING ENTRY?

Mike Katz who owns Costa Rica’s stylish 8CTAVO Roof Top restaurant told me only yesterday that he was under no doubt, his burger was going to be voted as the best. He described his Burger Fest concept and the reasons for his confidence saying,
“We wanted to put together a burger that showed who we are as a business. We decided to go with a Brunch Burger… It’s breakfast and lunch in between our house-made brioche bun. Every aspect of our burger is made from scratch. We used our special blend of beef, we house-smoke our bacon and glaze in the same ginger cane syrup we make for our brunch service. We also add a house-made hash brunch to give it some crunch and top it with a fried egg.”

Sounds delish Mike and I can´t wait to get over and try it! If you fancy 8ctavo´s burger go to http://8vo.com/ to check out their menu.

OR MAYBE Alma de Amón WILL WIN?

Another entry to the Burger-Fest that I was able to have a chat with is the newly opened
Alma de Amón, telephone +506 2222 3232. The owner, Manny Morales said, “Since we are a restaurant specializing in Latino soul food, we wanted to make a burger that represented a region in the country. We chose the “Frita Cubana”, a burger that’s part beef, part chorizo and stuffed with fried potato sticks and banana ketchup. We serve it on special buns we had made for the competition that are just like the bread used in our Cuban sandwich.”

So it´s going to be a tough competition with fighting talk from all the chef´s by the sounds of things, and in the coming weeks the competing restaurants to follow in the first ever Burger-Fest are –

8CTAVO ROOF TOP
ALMA DE AMÓN
VINO MUNDO
COSTA RICA BEER FACTORY
ESTACIÓN ATOCHA
HAMBURGUESIA
HARD ROCK CAFÉ
IL GATTO PARDO
JURGEN´S
LA DIVINA COMIDA
LA MASIA
MARRIOTT SAN JOSÉ
QUATTRO
STUDIO BAR & GRILL
FACTORY STEAK & LOBSTER

The Burger-Fest Competition runs from 14th October-8th November where you can sample all the competing Burger´s at each of the restaurants above for this limited time only. Winner will be announced on Pura Vida Guide.

Enjoying the Burger-Fest evening with a few happy customers @Vino Mundo are the organizers, 4Dementes with Head Chef, Rodrigo Salazar Loría. To follow the competition go to their websitehttp://www.4dementes.com/

SEE FACEBOOK EVENT for more details!

Pura Vida…. Jackie Head Editor

PURAVIDA COSTA RICA!

Comments

comments