Roly Masferrer's winning burger. Photo by: Marcela Gonzalez

Now that I’ve awaken from my Memorial Day fat kid coma, I can clearly and consciously say that judging food is a lot more difficult than judging people.

For my first official seat on a panel of judges for Monday’s Burger Throw down, I got to pick apart six different burgers, from six different professional and amateur chefs, and then rate them. The 80 other people in attendance just got to eat in enjoyment that it was Monday and they weren’t at work.

As judges, The Burger Beast, Chef Dennis Ortiz from The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale and I ate, dissected, and finally crowned Roly Masferrer with first place. His winning burger was actually the closest thing to a simple cheeseburger. A light cream sauce, a slice of cheese, and a hot burger: it was the epitome of Memorial Day.

But we didn’t just give the burgers a yay or nay. We had to dig into why the burger wasn’t worth taking the extra bites or why it was. Why did I put it down and move on as opposed to taking another bite? My stomach was really pissed at my psyche.

The building of a burger is a double-edged sword: its biggest advantage is also its biggest downfall. You can make absolutely anything into a burger. With that being said, not absolutely everything should be made into a burger.

I’m a simple girl: I don’t need much to make me happy. While other entries were doused with barbecue sauce or bland guacamole, Roly’s Brioche Burger was easy, which is probably why he was so surprised to see that he had one first place. Other competitors seemed like they piled high the ingredients because it would make them stand out. In reality, Roly had the least-complicated burger of them all. Definitely worth the extra bites and slipping me into my fat kid coma.

Whoever said being a food blogger was easy clearly hasn’t ever agreed to judging a burger competition.

This Memorial Day, I will be one of three judges in a Burger Throwdown, where Chef Jorge Luis Montes will compete against five other amateur chefs for ultimate burger making bragging rights. Wanna come? Only a couple tickets left!

Not only do I get to stuff my face with six different burgers, but I also get to judge a side dish and dessert competition, which is open to the public to enter. While friends and some attendees have told me how lucky I am, I tell them I’m exhausted at the mere thought.

“But you’re a food blogger! You get to eat, for free!”

“Yes, but do you know how much food that is? I’ll be napping in the car before you can announce the winners!”

While I sure do love to eat, with six burgers and countless other food entries, here’s to hoping I don’t pass out on my judging card.

For more information about the event, the judges, and ticket prices, visit the official Burger Throwdown website.

Tweeting during the event? Use #burgerthrowdown

Winner Mike LaMonica had a total of 31 votes (including himself) out of nearly 70 that were cast at the First Annual Great Pizza Cook-off.

With a not-so-surprising, overwhelming majority, Team Mike LaMonica took home the inaugural victory of the Great Pizza Cook-off on Tuesday night. The contest was sponsored by Worst Pizza and the Sun-Sentinel held at Anthony’s Coal Fired Pizza in Aventura.

With 31 votes, 25 t-shirts, and a “Vegetarian’s Nightmare” pizza, LaMonica not only brought the swag, he also brought 4 pounds of meat per pizza, including meatballs pepperoni, sausage, and two different kinds of cheese. The crust, while thin, was crunchy perfection.

“No vegetables were harmed in the making of this pizza,” he assured the crowd of nearly 70 pizza enthusiasts, many of whom wore LaMonica’s “Here’s the Beef” shirts he handed out early in the night.

LaMonica was one of five finalists hand-picked by Craig Agranoff (@Lapp) from Worst Pizza and Sun-Sentinel food critic John Tanasychuk More than 50 people entered the contest through the Sun-Sentinel website last month for a chance to compete.

All finalists directed chefs on toppings, amounts, and cooking times for their pizzas. While the last-minute switch-up by Anthony’s to hold the finalists from making their own pizzas, that didn’t deter their good-natured spirits, or their good pizza. The Fat Kids Club – who openly endorsed Team LaMonica – congratulates him on his spectacular victory.

Want to follow more of the over-flowing coverage of last night’s competition? Visit worstpizza.com often for continuous updates!

I can count on one hand the things that are better than food. One of them is free food. Last week, Tilson Communications so graciously invited yours truly to the 152nd store opening of Bonefish Grill in Plantation. It was my first time entering a Bonefish Grill (shocking, I know), and believe me, I was not disappointed. In fact, I liked it so much I took it upon myself to build you your next Bonefish Grill menu selection, from appetizers all the way to dessert, so you can experience the greatness for yourself.

Bang Bang Shrimp. It's just amazing. That is all.

Appetizer: Bang Bang Shrimp

Yes, they are everything they are cracked up to be. Seven ounces of lightly breaded shrimp tossed in a homemade spicy cream sauce, the Bang Bang Shrimp has heat without making you gulp for air (or water). Not overcooked, not over-spiced, and definitely not over-powering, I would probably order this for an appetizer and an entrée, it is that good.

Fun fact: The employees at Bonefish Grill say that the spiciness changes with the seasons. During the hotter months, the spicier the sauce gets.

Cocktail: Ocean Trust Martini

It’s like saving a sea turtle every time you drink! Every time you purchase an Ocean Trust Martini – made with Absolut Citron vodka combined with freshly muddled mango and orange – $1 goes to the Ocean Trust Foundation. The year-old project donates money from all stores nationwide. In case you needed a deciding factor in drink ordering, take into consideration our loving ocean. Not only is the drink fantastic, but you’re also saving our ocean’s living beings. Good for you!

Dinner: Fontina Chop with Mashed Potatoes

Skip the apple sauce, Peter Brady, I’m a meat-and-potatoes kinda girl, and this chop is no exception. A tender boneless pork chop doused with fontina cheese, garlic, prosciutto, a mushroom marsala wine sauce and served with garlic mashed potatoes. Sorry, Alice, you can keep your homemade chops. Even General Manager Joe DeCaro says the meal is “one of [his] favorites” on the menu.

“We offer such a variety of seafood and that’s great, but people don’t always realize that the pork chops are delicious,” DeCaro says, who has been at Bonefish Grill for more than three years. That they are, Joe — that they are.

The gluten-free Macadamia-nut Brownie. Have I ever steered you wrong?

Dessert and After-Dinner Drink: Macadamia-nut Brownie and Espresso Martini

If you’ve been keeping up with my blog, you know my stance on desserts with nuts. Yes, I’ll say it again: I’m not a fan of brownies any other way than plain. So when the plate sat in front of me with nut-filled brownies, ice cream, whipped cream and raspberry sauce, it took me a minute to find a starting point. But since I’m in no place to judge a dessert by its nuts, I eventually started. The thing is, I didn’t really stop. Even with nuts, the brownie was moist, rich, and (thankfully!) not over-cooked, which is something I encounter a lot with restaurant brownies.

To make you feel better about yourself, the brownie is actually a flourless, gluten-free dessert. If you ignore the ice cream, whipped cream and raspberry sauce, the brownie itself may actually be good for you. Check out the rest of their gluten-free menu.

To make up for it, you can drink the amazing espresso martini. Made with Svedka Vanilla Vodka, Kahlua, crème de cacao, and made-to-order espresso, the dessert martini is the perfect ending to a great meal. Since it doesn’t carry the foam of a cappuccino or the heaviness of milk from a latté, it’s actually pretty light in taste… but that could just be from the vodka.

Still skeptical about Bonefish Grill? Check out the menu of the new Plantation location.

Don’t forget to follow Bonefish Grill on Twitter for up-to-date specials for your location, as well as reviews, news, and new menu features.

Hungry Howie's large cheese pizza for just $5 on Wednesdays. Try the flavored crusts, too!

There are $5 footlongs, $5 combo meals, and even $5 cookies that are the size of small children. But nothing beats a $5 large cheese pizza from Hungry Howie’s for a mid-week hunger attack.

Every Wednesday, Hungry Howie’s offers a plain cheese pizza for the same price as a sub at one of those other places. Only in this case, you can feed more people than just yourself… unless you’re, of course, a super-size fat kid and can eat the entire thing.

Don’t do it. Get a pie, with some butter-cheese crust, and give some to a buddy. Even fat kids can share.

Toppings and goodies are extra, of course. With a $5 pie for the night, I’m sure you can splurge on some pepperoni, right?

On Twitter? Follow Hungry Howie’s.

I love you, Monster, no matter how ginormous you are...

Anything that’s named “the Monster” was obviously named for people like me. Rare roast beef, ham, and turkey… it’s like it was created from the Fat Kid Gods above.

Or maybe they’re not above. Maybe they’re the master meat slicers at Laspada’s Original Hoagies who toss sandwich meat like it’s a professional sport rather than building a sub.

But maybe that’s what makes the Monster so godforsaken delicious – the way it’s created. The meat isn’t pre-sliced and in a mini-fridge. It doesn’t sit in a metal bucket on ice. It sits whole, as if you’re at a deli counter, before meat-slicer man creates hoagie sub heaven with his own two hands.

Your special toppings are exactly that: your special toppings. Make it however your little heart desires. But remember the base is exactly like the top. The cut-to-order meat sets the foundation and closes in the extras on the hoagie. Making it, in fact, a monster. Or, in some cases, a bitch. Can you really stuff that that sucker in your mouth?

Exactly. But once you get started, monster hoagie craving takes over and you find yourself unable to stop. I’ve eaten a foot-long to the point of sheer expansion, on the brink of explosion. It’s not a sickness. In fact, I consider it a love – a love of food that only Laspada’s can provide. I’m OK with that realization, as long as the meat slicers keep creating sweet monster sub salvation.

I visit the Coral Springs location on Sample Rd., but click here to see which Broward County shop is closest to you.