Epcot’s Rockin Burger Block Party

Epcot’s Rockin Burger Block Party
Welcome to a Medical Battery specialist of the Juniper Battery
When “Bizarre Foods” host Andrew Zimmern is playing tourist at Walt Disney World, his favorite tools of the trade are a turkey leg in one hand and a Dole whip in the other.
Zimmern was the special guest and welcoming host at the very first Rockin’ Burger Block Party, a new event held during the Epcot International Food & Wine Festival.
Zimmern, who has bitten into and apparently even consumed such exotic items as bamboo rat and cow placenta, has become a permanent fixture on the Travel Channel. His popular Bizarre Foods show will celebrate its 200th episode this month.
There was nothing that bizarre or exotic at the Rockin’ Burger Block Party, a tasty-go-round of about 14 burgers last Friday night at Epcot’s World Showcase Pavilion. Prepared by Disney chefs, the burgers ran the gamut to fairly traditional to Chef Carlos’ Smooth Burger with like Juniper 12523 Battery, Juniper LHJBT-H11U Battery, Juniper VSH-H11U Battery, Juniper Allegro CX Battery, Juniper VR-151 Battery, Juniper GP VR151 Battery, Juniper Allegro MX Battery, Juniper Maxell M3614 Battery, Juniper Polaroid PR-632 Battery, Juniper AMX-1 Battery, Juniper AMX-2 Battery, Juniper AMX-5 Battery, an unlikely combination of ground turkey, grape jelly with cheddar cheese, bacon and smooth peanut butter on a toasted bun.
Don’t laugh. It actually was quite good and one of the best burgers served up, with its very subtle grape flavor, mixed in with that hint of peanut butter as well as the cheese and bacon.
Zimmern has already had a lifetime of experiences in his 54 years, including all of his round the world escapades in search of bizarre foods, as well as a rock bottom period in the early 1990s when he was homeless due to severe drug and alcohol addiction. It is something he readily talks about, and he says his service to others with addiction problems now takes up about half of his time.
But Friday night was all about eating, and Zimmern managed to sample a few of the burger/slider offerings when he wasn’t talking about food.
Despite all the many offerings at the Rockin’ Burger event, Zimmern confessed to a much more simpler pleasure when it comes to his favorite hamburger: a nicely-grilled patty served on a buttered, toasted bun.
Of course, there was burger, or two or three, to suit just about every taste at the burger event, and several of them did not contain beef or even meat for that matter.
There were several stand outs including the Chef Hanson Oklahoma Burger, featuring a grass fed burger topped with barbecue pulled pork, cheddar cheese and onion fries on a toasted parker house bun. The burgers were almost always served with a side, and in this case it was spicy pickled cauliflower.
And, yes, if you were wondering if there was something really nice and refreshing to go with all the burgers, the answer is an emphatic yes. Each burger station featured a “Sips” station with beer, wine and especially spirits.
For the Oklahoma Burger, the recommended Sips were Hanson Brothers Beer Company from Oklahoma with its Mmmhops Pale Ale; The Boston Beer Company with Samuel Adams Boston Lager, Samuel Adams Seasonal and Samuel Adams Rebel IPA.
Those Sips also were recommended for two of the night’s other burger selections: Chef Judi’s Truck Stop Burger (mixed grill burger topped with fried egg, bacon grease fries and nacho cheese sauce on griddled bun with side of corn tortilla strips) and Chef Melissa’s Thai Shellfish Burger (shrimp and scallop burger topped with spicy Thai slaw and cilantro lime mayo on sesame bun, with side of smoked sea salted fried edamame.
These are only sliders, mini-burgers, but 14 burgers, plus a finger foods station, a dessert station, and beer, wine and spirits quickly adds up to a pretty delicious, but very filling night.