The perfect patty: Free Press food geeks tackle burger week

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This article was published 01/09/2017 (2937 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

What makes a burger great?

Is it the texture of the bun, or the quality of the protein? Do you crave a classic construction with all the traditional fixings, or do you delight in the unexpected? How important are condiment ratios? And is lettuce ever necessary?

These were the important questions rattling around the heads of an intrepid crew of burger tasters from the Free Press Arts & Life department. Their mission? To prepare Winnipeg for the fifth annual Le Burger Week, which runs until Thursday.

More than 100 local restaurants are leaving it all on out the grill, so to speak, getting their creative juices flowing and engaging in a little friendly competition for burger supremacy. The Free Press couldn’t realistically try all the limited-edition burgers on offer — that’s a task best left to the Jughead Joneses of the world. But Erin Lebar, Ben MacPhee-Sigurdson, Sarah Lilleyman, Randall and Wendy King, and Jen Zoratti put on their stretchiest pants and went on a little burger crawl through the Exchange District to see how five of the patties stacked up.

They are happy to report there wasn’t a bad burg in the bunch. See our reviews below, in order of ingestion.

— Jen Zoratti

 

Peasant Cookery: Rustic Bacon Bison Burger

Bison and bacon burger served on a pumpernickel bun with grainy mustard and a shiitake cream sauce.

Bun integrity: The pumpernickel bun is an unorthodox choice but holds up well with the creamy sauce and sizable scoop of grainy Dijon mustard.

Biteability: With the minimal toppings on a solid, meatloaf-like patty, this burger is easy to eat and to divide amongst friends. The sauce does leak out a bit, however.

Creativity: Creative flavours, yes; creative look, not so much.

Overall flavour: The earthy, rich flavour more than makes up for the simple look of this burger, which lives up to its rustic name. The server mentioned there was also maple syrup in one of the burger components, but none of us tasted it.

Tasting notes: While not the prettiest burger to look at (deep brown pumpernickel bun, brown patty and brown mushroom sauce — it’s pretty monochromatic), most of the tasters were impressed with the cohesive, strong flavours.

“It definitely has an umami thing going on, with the mushrooms and the sauce and the mustard and seedy bun.” — BMS

“The grainy mustard makes it bright, there’s a real sharp brightness to it that kind of offsets all the toastiness and earthiness of the mushroom sauce and makes the bacon pop in the mix.” — WK

 

King + Bannatyne: The King + Bronutyne 2.0

House-made brisket/chuck patty, house applewood-smoked boar bacon, Canadian cheddar, frisée lettuce and house-made Manitoba raspberry jam between two peanut-butter glazed Bronuts.

Bun integrity: Surprisingly, the Bronuts make excellent burger bookends. They press down nicely, which helps biteability, and the porousness soaks up extra juices.

Biteability: It’s intimidatingly large, but once the Bronuts get compressed a bit, it’s a doable bite if you try hard enough. But this is a messy one, so grab extra napkins. As Ben says, it’s “not a first date burger.”

Creativity: Full points on this front. We were all wary of the “doughnuts as buns” premise, but as it turns out, it’s a brilliant idea.

Overall flavour: This is almost a dessert burger — between the doughnut and the raspberry jam, it’s definitely more sweet than savoury. The perfectly salty boar bacon and house-made Manitoba raspberry jam, however, are to die for.

Tasting notes:

The panel was divided — some thoroughly loved it while others enjoyed it but felt it was a little too niche.

“It had no right to be as good as it was. I admire its uniqueness and the provocation of its invention. But I wouldn’t try it more than once.” — RK

“I think the fact that the only saucy part of it was the raspberry jam and the peanut butter glaze really worked in its favour, otherwise it would have been too soggy and even more messy… would definitely eat this again.” — EL

 

Chosabi: Cho Mama

Bao bun, calamari and fresh shrimp seafood patty, creamy crab meat, guacamole, spicy mayo, Thai chili sauce, sweet soya, romaine lettuce, cilantro, Vietnamese pickle

Bun integrity: The freshly made bao bun is gorgeous and has a perfectly light, spongy and doughy texture.

Biteability: A little difficult; the term used to describe this burger was “slidey,” as the toppings tended to leak out as you ate. As Jen noted, a “lettuce and spicy mayo slick” sits at the bottom of the burger, which could be the catalyst to the sliding.

Creativity: A+ here, no question; the calamari and shrimp patty is unique and perfect in terms of taste and texture, and the array of flavours, though a bit overwhelming at first, are well balanced.

Tasting notes:

There was unanimous love for this burger, both for its flavour and its stunning, colourful appearance.

“The shrimp/calamari patty was light-tasting, delectable and lightly fried to perfection…The guacamole and spicy mayo brought flavour and texture to offset the crispness of the patty.” – WK

“It’s so fresh. With most burgers, I mean there’s fresh ingredients on them, but this feels fresh to eat… love the texture contrast between the bun and the fried patty.” — BMS

 

Shawarma Khan: Burger Khan

Sweet potato-poppyseed egg bun, roasted red pepper and seven-bean hummus, beef & lamb burger mix with an added falafel ball, melted mozzarella, pickled turnips, sriracha coleslaw, caramelized onions and garlic sauce. Vegetarian option available with a freshly grilled falafel patty.

Bun integrity: This sweet-potato bun from Stella’s is delicious and successful at containing the massive amount of toppings on this burger.

Biteability: A clean bite; despite its appearance, this is not a sloppy burger.

Creativity: High marks again here; creating an authentically Middle Eastern flavour profile in a burger is impressive.

Overall flavour: The lamb flavour of the patty is at the forefront and the falafel mixed in adds a really nice texture. There’s a good amount of spice on this one too, perhaps from the red pepper/bean hummus, but it’s a pleasant heat, not an overwhelming one.

Tasting notes: The group was loving the immense amount of flavour in every bite, and, as an aside, the fries served up with the burger were amazing.

“It’s almost aggressively flavourful, a falafel for carnivores. But for me, the match — lamb, beef, hummus — worked really well. There may be Persian music being played in the restaurant, but this particular burger is all rock ‘n’ roll.” — RK

“There’s a lot of good textures happening here and they all complement each other really well… and those turnips, man, people find them polarizing because of their colour (bright pink) but these are great. And I would eat that patty on its own.” — JZ

 

Vicky’s Diner: The Vick Poppa

Locally sourced 100 per cent Canadian hand-pressed beef patty, melted cheddar cheese, crisp lettuce, tomatoes, homemade secret sauce, two slices of bacon, topped off with crispy onion rings between two toasted buns.

Bun integrity: Again, the bun held up well; it didn’t fall apart while eating or cutting. If the burger had sat for a while, it likely would have been a soggy situation, but eaten fresh, it was good to go.

Biteability: It’s a saucy number, with the secret sauce (which has a nice spicy kick to it) dripping out the sides, but it’s relatively easy to get a full bite in without too much mess.

Creativity: This was easily the most traditional of the five we tried, which was a sour point for a few tasters, given the unusual and unexpected flavour combinations we had tried earlier in the day.

Overall flavour: Meaty, saucy, satisfying — exactly what you want from a classic burger. The onion rings gave it a good crunch, and that secret sauce? So tasty.

Tasting notes:

This is a solid effort. It’s not wacky or unusual, but for most of us, the simple nature of it was a nice reprieve.

“This was the most classic of all the ones we had today, but there’s something to really be said for doing a classic thing well, and adding a little something extra with that spicy sauce.”— SL

“I feel like this could benefit from some acidity — a pickle or some mustard.”— JZ