The Big Grill Burger Bash

This is a fantastic event. Burgers, beer, ice cream, chocolate, corn hole, music, voting, shopping and photo booths. What’s not to like?
Upon entry, you get a tasting glass (giving drunk people glassware was not a great idea) beer sample tickets and voting cards. I was very thankful for the rinsing stations and proper indoor bathrooms. VIP entry was an hour earlier than general admission and thanks for that! It was very crowded an hour after main doors.
When handed a flier, we were excited at the prospect of a couple sour beers and assortment of mac n cheese, fries and other sides. Unfortunately, the flier or the vendors were mistaken — no sour beers to be had, only one mac n cheese, and only two burger spots had fries. Which made the voting for best fries and best mac n cheese a bit puzzling.
There were turkey burgers, Asian-​fusion flavors, and traditional patties with minimal toppings. Something for every burger-​lover.
Our favorite came down to Mt. Chalet. The burger was cooked perfectly, minimal toppings but so flavorful. Their mac n cheese was excellent too though the only one there. I think the secret ingredient is pork. Shredded pork in the mac n cheese and fried pieces of ham on the burger, but just a tiny bit to compliment the flavor. Bfree had my vote for best desserts and gluten free items. The Guernsey ice cream was pretty rich and perfect on the little cones. There was also a chocolate company that was on point, but cannot recall their name.
If you are on the fence about going — the icing on cake for this event was NO KIDS!

I had a wonderful evening, delicious burgers and beer! There were also some great sweet treats. The photo booths and Unilocal table were great additions to the event as well!

I had the BEST time here! Thanks so much to Annette, Chelcie and Unilocal for the opportunity to attend!
The burger bash was a belly busting adventure in all things burger, mac and cheese, fries, beer and cider. What is not to like about that? It was an embarrassment of riches and even the veriest glutton wouldn’t have been able to sample every item. My husband and I quickly determined even the slider sizes were too much and the only whole burgers we ate were Red Crown and Lazybones Smokehouse (which were the two clear best), the rest we split in half or each just took a big bite.
Lazybones, which won best overall, was the hub’s fave. I quite liked it too. Pulled pork, cheese and Better Made chips on a burger? Delicious. Red Crown won my heart though, as well as winning most flavorful according to the other attendees, with the crispy pork belly, kimchee and avocado mousse. It was sooooo good. I voted it best burger. Other favorites were the Novi Chophouse burger which featured excellent bacon and paper thin long slivers of grilled onion and the burger with the coney on top of it (I cannot be sure whose this was but kudos all the same).
As for mac and cheese, Onyx took the prize and it was good but I preferred the Red Crown version myself. We had quite a few misses on mac. These two were the standouts. The seasoned fries from Blackfinn were awesome, thanks so much to the woman in line behind me who let me sample some of hers, I was not tempted at all but she insisted and they were amazing. I also liked the garlic dip that accompanied the perfectly thin and crispy fries from Lucky Strike myself.
The beer was fun. I am not much of a beer person myself but if you were it was right up your alley. I had a suprising maple concoction from Tommy Knockers that held my interest. I was most into cider though, which I have had before but really discovered a love for here. I liked the blueberry apple varietal (Blue Gold) from Vander Mills Cider but I fell in absolute love with Woodchuck’s Belgian White. Like a marriage and kids type love.
The clear winner of desserts for me and the rest of the crowd was Serendipity Cakery of Wyandotte. They had huge variety and it was seriously tasty. Cake balls? That is some triple yum stuff; good cake, excellent frosting and fun decorations. The chocolate banana and the creamsicle versions made James and I extremely happy. Desserts though were a huge disappointment because many vendors were out so quickly. Poor planning as there was no more Peteet’s (I love them though and have sampled plenty before and will again), Cacao Tree or Slice of Heaven (which I was DYING to try). This was relatively early in the night too, at nine-​ish. The event ended at 11. Sad. The Detroit Mini Donut people were awesome though, sweet people and fresh tasty donuts. We all know I am a doughnut snob and I really liked them. The Chez Chloe lava cake was so sinfully good, not for my husband who gets dark chocolate headaches but for me. I could have eaten it all day long.
The crowd was so friendly and fun. So many people just talked to us, gave recommendations and opinions, welcomed us to seating areas, even shared some food. I mean I was not expecting that at all. Despite the lines and waits it was just peaceful and happy. Well done to the farmer’s market, the organizers and the participating businesses for making it so easy and well organized. If you bought additional beverages it was reasonably priced and all, no silly gouging. They even had a smoking area so my husband did not have to leave or feel uncomfy. Overall it was just a great night. I rolled home fat and happy. We will definitely return next year! I also have a new list of local places to patronize, so more reviews to come. Win/​win.