Had to recover from a weeklong burger-coma, so without further delay, the WINNER of the BT Burger Battle was none other than:
Boogie’s Burgers!
Hello, says my mouth to the giant, head-sized Boogie's burger.
It was a close call with Boogie’s taking the win by 0.5 points, followed by Fatburger, Burger Inn and Five Guys.
WATCH the recap video here. (I know I’m chomping on that celery like there’s no tomorrow, but four days straight of morning burger makes for a hungry judge)
Boogie’s Jebb burger scored the most points overall (for taste, value, presentation). I love the ambiance and the fact that the burger is a double-hander, for sure.
Fatburger was like the Royal Wedding burger–it pulled out all the stops. The King Supreme burger was meat-heavy but well balanced by veggie elements.
Burger Inn scored the highest for value. We loved the seasoned beef patty and perfect texture of the bacon. This is a comforting, backyard BBQ burger.
Five Guys was the Braveheart burger. There are so many toppings to choose from that the eater has the freedom to make (or break) the burger.
Congrats to Noel & Kipp at Boogie’s for making a Calgary burger joint that I think should be profiled on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. Be forewarned; the Jebb burger has already sold-out once after its BT appearance. Get it while you can!
Happy Jugheading!
-Anh Chu
Breakfast Television Burger Battle, Day 4: Fatburger, Calgary
WATCH the Fatburger video recap on BT Calgary.
Time: 7:20 am. Roll out the red carpet. This burger is all pomp and circumstance.
Judges: Me (the new Metro Calgary Lunch Rush columnist), Cheap Eats author and food critic John Gilchrist, Kitchen Scraps author and illustrator Pierre Lamielle.
Criteria: 5 points each for Taste, Presentation, Value.
Eats: King Supreme. 8 oz. of 100% lean beef, with 2 slices of bacon, real cheddar cheese, onions, centre-cut tomato, pickles, and a lateral slice of lettuce ($8.99).
Scoring: The results are in! Find out the WINNER of the BT Burger Battle.
King Supreme at Fat burger. Click to enlarge.
This burger “had me at fat.” It was an amazing burger to end on. The beef patty is thick, juicy and beefy. The bacon slices are thick and wide. There’s real cheese. Good quality beef, bacon and cheese–there’s my equation for awesome. There are long slices of pickles, which I prefer over the circle slices. The sesame bun is toasted (although the bun on John Gilchrist’s burger was dry). But the best part? The 2 cm lateral slice of iceberg lettuce. If you’ve been following this blog, you know that I’m not a fan of shredded iceberg lettuce. It’s 100% filler. Most of it ends up falling out of the burger anyway. I think it cheapens the whole burger eating experience (remind anybody of McD’s?) Read More
Breakfast Television Burger Battle, Day 3: Burger Inn, Calgary
Time: 7:20 am. Breakfast that takes the term meat-gasm, literally.
Judges: Me (the new Metro Calgary Lunch Rush columnist), Cheap Eats author and food critic John Gilchrist, Kitchen Scraps author and illustrator Pierre Lamielle.
Criteria: 5 points each for Taste, Presentation, Value.
Eats: B.I.G. burger: flamebroiled 1/4 lb. beef patty (no fillers) with 2 slices of bacon, grilled onions, thick slice of beefsteak tomato, pickles, and shredded lettuce ($5.50).
Scoring: Tune in to BT Calgary on Friday May 13th for the burger battle winner. Results will also be posted here thereafter.
Burger Inn's B.I.G. with one patty to save room for impending burger feast.
Thoughts: First off, this burger has an amazing aroma that transports you to a backyard BBQ. The patty stands out right away as being thick and juicy, and sure enough, the first bite has meat juice spilling onto the plate. But overall, this is the least messy burger we’ve had so far. No “burger hands” (post-burger-eating smell) to scrub off. Hooray. Read More
Breakfast Television Burger Battle, Day 2: Boogie’s Burgers, Calgary
WATCH the Boogie’s video recap on BT’s site.
Time: 7:20 am. Breakfast of gluttons. Or the indecisive, who can’t decide between a hot dog or a hamburger.
Judges: Me (the newly minted Metro Calgary Lunch Rush columnist), Cheap Eats author and critic John Gilchrist, Kitchen Scraps author and illustrator Pierre Lamielle.
Criteria: 5 points each for Taste, Presentation, Value.
Eats: Jebb’s Doggie burger, named after former Breakfast Television host and standup comedian, Jebb Fink. The burger consists of: one patty (we added a second), cheddar, bacon, 100% all beef weiner, Boogie’s signature red sauce, tomatoes, shredded lettuce, pickles on the side. Unlike at Five Guys’, extra bacon and extra cheese costs more here.
Scoring: Tune in to BT Calgary on Friday May 13th for the burger battle winner. Results will also be posted here thereafter.
Back row: Boogies owners Noel, Kipp, Jill Belland. Front row: Pierre Lamielle, Anh Chu, John Gilchrist, Citytv camera supernova and secret judge, Nick Blakeney.
Thoughts: Toasted and heavily-sesame-d bun: check. Burger circumference: nearly the size of my head (I do like that the burger is spread out though). Caloric intake: more than anyone should experience immediately upon waking. This burger contains shredded lettuce, aka, the bane of my existence; however, the slice of real cheddar cheese compensated for this fact. Read More
Breakfast Television Burger Battle, Day 1: Five Guys Burger and Fries in Airdrie.
Time: 7:20 am. Breakfast of champions. Or sumo wrestlers.
Judges: Me, John Gilchrist, Pierre Lamielle.
Criteria: 5 points each for Taste, Presentation, Value.
Eats: Double-bacon cheeseburger ($8.49). Mine had all the toppings sans lettuce (iceberg lettuce is filler with no nutritional value, whatsoever). Added green peppers. Argued with Pierre about the merits of green peppers versus lettuce off-camera.
Scoring: Tune in to BT Calgary on Friday for the results-show. Results will also be posted here thereafter.
Burgers for brekkie. L to R:Five Guys' staff, Jill Belland, Pierre Lamielle, Anh Chu, John Gilchrist, secret burger judge Nick Blakeney.
Thoughts: Toasted bun: check. I agree with Gilchrist–the bun is pretty neutral and exists to hold the burger together. The texture is nice though as it’s neither dense nor sticky nor is it so soft the burger falls apart. I am a fan of the sauteed mushrooms, onions. Eating the burger upside down mitigates the messiness. Post-a.m. burger-eating, my thoughts waver between sleeping off the calories or using this “energy” to get some work done. UPDATE: extra cheese (processed) and extra bacon do not cost any extra. In the money sense, anyhow. Read More
Never, in my wildest dreams, did I think I’d be getting my Jughead-on. In the morning. On live TV, to boot. Woohoo!
Jughead is getting the meat-sweats from all those hamburgers.
From May 9th to 13th on Breakfast Television Calgary, I will be judging burgers alongside Kitchen Scraps author Pierre Lamielle and Cheap Eats author and Calgary Herald’s food reviewer John Gilchrist.
The burgers will be judged on taste, presentation and value.
The schedule is as follows:
- Monday May 9: Five Guys Burgers and Fries
- Tuesday May 10: Boogies Burgers
- Wednesday May 11: Burger Inn
- Thursday May 12: Fatburger
- Friday May 13: Kulinary Kids (to reveal the winner!)
I hope you’ll tune in to see the early meat-eating.
To prepare for these horrifically early mornings, I’ve put myself on a modified sleep schedule. Today I woke up at 8:00 a.m. I have two more days to change that to 5:30 a.m….wish me luck.
If you love burgers, please comment and let me know why you love them so.
Thank you to Joelk75 for the photo.
Happy eating!
-Anh Chu
The regal red velvet cupcake.
The premise: Food battles it out. In our mouths. Apples should be compared to apples, cupcakes to cupcakes. One winner is crowned. We do the judging to save you time and money.
The eats: Three red velvet cupcakes from three Calgary cupcake shops.
The players: Six judges who live to eat, with occupations in IT, engineering, communications and education. These people are opinionated.
Where’s the best red velvet cupcake in Calgary?
Cupcakes are a trend that food analysts agree has seen its day, but the long lineups I still see at some Calgary cupcake shops suggest the public feels otherwise.
Red velvet cupcakes are vanilla or chocolate flavoured, in varying shades of red, and topped with a cream cheese icing. I know it’s merely food colouring, but I find them visually stunning. Had never heard the term “blood blisters” associated with them until now…read on. Read More
Chicken wings battle it out.
Any successful party hinges on the food. Is everything tasty? Was there enough to go around? Will it be memorable? For Jason’s birthday, he wanted our friends to battle it out, via chicken wings. Thus, the “wing-off” was borne. The premise was simple: each guest would create a chicken wing that would make the Colonel weep, bringing enough wings for each guest to have one. We knew people would try to outdo each other. Our stomachs were ready for an assault.
Some of the wings, like the fish-wing and taco-wing, were ingenious in concept, brilliant in execution. Read More
