Pretty good event at a wonderful location, but it wasn't without its missteps…read more
This is the second annual Safety Harbor Beer & Burger Throw Down event, so it seems a little odd to me that the event staff was not 100% prepared for the day. So let's start with the bad.
First off, I can't think of anything that makes people piss faster than beer, except Mountain Dew, so for there to only be one set of restrooms seemed borderline cruel. There definitely needs to be some portable Johns setup somewhere on site because the lines were really long, especially for the ladies. In the corporate world, we call this a "missed opportunity."
Second, not sure how there can be a beer throw down with only 3 craft beer vendors. Crooked Thumb from Safety Harbor was there along with Backdrafts Brewing, who won the beer competition. I couldn't see the name of the 3rd brewery due to the position of their banner, which was covered by folks standing in line. There was also a keg truck selling Sierra Nevada, Oskar Blues and Bell's, and because it was the first beer vendor people would see upon entering, they had the longest line all day. That truck and Crooked Thumb were the only vendors that didn't run out of beer by 6 PM.
Lastly, someone thought it would be a brilliant fucking idea for the DJ to be 50 paces from the live music stage. So from where we were sitting in the "VIP" tent, it sounded like pure shit. Left ear, pop music. Right ear, live rock cover songs. Absolutely terrible planning.
Now for the good.
There were only 8 burger vendors setup at the event, and at first I thought it was not going to be enough, but they proved me wrong. They were busy the entire time, and with the corn dog, potato tornado and sausage vendors there, it all worked out really well. I absolutely loved the fact that all of the vendors were offering sliders for $3 in addition to their full-sized burgers. When I'm out a tasting event like this, I crave samples and not full meals. It's a brilliant idea, and I've always wondered why food trucks do not do this at food truck rallies. So kudos to the staff for getting that right. Eats! American Grill won the burger competition, though my favorite was the Frybread burger (Navajo burger) served up by Bilagáana's. Truly unique and new to this region of the U.S.
VIP tent staff, Crooked Thumb and Eats! were on point in the hospitality area. Steven kept the guttersnipes out, despite their repeated attempts to get in, Crooked Thumb kept us sufficiently lubricated with their Amber Ale and IPA pours and Eats! kept the burgers steady flowin'.
Overall, I really enjoyed the event. The venue was perfect, the weather cooperated and the food and beers were great. Suggestions for next year, separate the DJ from the band, add port-a-potties, throw in some more beer vendors and make sure they bring enough brew to last for the entire event. Maybe even separate the burger vendors from each other too. Having them all in one row caused for confusion as to what lines were going where.
