A new food competition/food festival is coming to Orange, and this one is all about the burger. Not just any burgers, but ones that comes from the local pop-up scene, the ones that don’t get the attention they deserved compared to their celebrity-driven or chain-born brethren.
Christened Old Towne Burger Fest, the inaugural event will take place Saturday, Sept. 13. The mastermind behind the inaugural event, El Brewjo’s Cesar Cortez, says the idea for the festival came from an unlikely place: El Reno, a small town in Oklahoma.
“I was there during their annual burger day, and it really reminded me of Old Towne Orange,” he said, ” the aesthetics of everything, and how nearly every shop was in on the burger day.” This sense of community stuck with Cortez, and his plans finalized after participating in the LAist Tournament of Cheeseburgers in Los Angeles, where El Brewjo, which he founded in 2021, took second place and third place in 2024 and 2025, respectively (but ranked best in Orange County both years).
“Being there was really cool,” he added. “I’d never really seen that amount of food vendors and the amount of love and support.”
Cortez noted that the vendors at the LA event constantly encouraged one another. He saw an opportunity to create something similar in Orange County. “We don’t have this,” he thought. “We should do something like this.”
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As the chef/founder of El Brewjo, Cortez understands the struggle of getting your name out there. And with that, he created Old Towne Burger Fest as a way to give back and provide a platform for other talented pop-up chefs/ He’s collaborating with Chapman Crafted Beer to host the event in the heart of Old Towne.
Cortez was specific about his vendor selection, which means guests will get to try unique creations from burger-makers like Banger Lumpia, which specializes in Filipino fusion; Pork & the Pickle, which brings Hawaiian influence to its fare; Jolly Burger, MoBites and Brew Krew Catering are among those vying for county-wide burger supremacy.
Besides the friendly burger throwdown, the free festival will have live music from all-female rock band Thelma and Louise, as well as other crafts from vendors selling such fare as pies, vintages goods and more. Each vendor will be selling their signature burgers (you will have to pay for burgers and other food and drink), and every guest will get a ticket to vote for the People’s Choice award.
Among the judges deciding the top burger in O.C. will be Orange Mayor Dan Slater, Made in Orange County founder Sergio Contreras Jr., Brandy Romero, who runs the Instagram account @theresnoplacelikeorange, popular food content creator Lily of @OCfeed, Cortez and, yours truly, Brock Keeling.
Cortez hopes the launching of the initial Burger Fest will be the first of many. “If this could turn into an annual event and just get bigger and bigger, that would be pretty cool,” he said. He envisions it one day becoming the official burger fest of Orange County, a large-scale event similar to the county’s Brew Ha Ha events.
Show up for burgers galore and community vibes aplenty at the very first Old Towne Burger Fest happening Saturday, Sept. 13 from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m.
Find it: Chapman Crafted, 123 N. Cypress St., Orange