There is no other way to start other than to say thank you; first, to all of the restaurants for their amazingly delicious creations and for their participation in the event, you truly outdid yourselves and we couldn’t be more grateful. Secondly, to all of the customers that stuffed their faces with burgers for an entire week and took the time to go online and vote, this event relied on your enthusiasm and you definitely rose to the challenge. Last but not least to the nation-wide organizers in Montreal who without their passion for food and the humble hamburger, Burger Week would never have been created in the first place. So who took the championship as voted by Winnipeg and all of its participants? UnBurger with the Shang-Awesome! (APPLAUSE APPLAUSE APPLAUSE) In a close second we have Saigon Jon’s with the mother-effin royale with cheese and third on the podium is the boys with no restaurant at Table Manners with their delightful creation dubbed the Ryan Gosling.

Unburger’s Shang-Awesome! – Free-range Manitoban Beef, Canadian Goats Cheese, Inhouse Asian slaw, hot damn! mushrooms, & sweet chili aioli.

Saigon Jon’s Mothe Effin’ Royale with Cheese – Half pound of 100% natural hand-pressed beef and bacon patty with a Bothwell cheese curd center on a Kaiser bun topped with lettuce, tomato, crispy onions, peanut butter, house pickled cucumbers, and motha effin’ royale sauce. BOOM!

Table Manners’ Ryan Gosling – Smoked meat Patty, Dill pickle bun, house smoked gouda, Special sauce, Lettuce coleslaw

Caranaval’s Picanha De Luxo – A quarter pound of in house ground Picanha covered in smoked Queijo de Coalho, Bacon, ash-roasted corn and red pepper aioli, pineapple corn beet slaw and top with a fried egg all on top of our fresh baked in house burger bun.

Deseo’s Umami Burger – 100% beef patty, Oven-roast tomatoes, caramelized onions, shitake mushrooms, crisp parmesan, japanese mayo

Boon Burger’s Bacun Cheese Burger – Grilled Boon patty, mayo, dijon, daiya cheese, smokey bacun, pickles, red onion, tomato and lettuce. *Vegan

Deer + Almond’s Le Grande Mac

Fitzroy’s Griddle Burger with Melted Onions and American Cheese – Custom quarter pound ‘Certified Angus Beef’ patty. A blend of short rib, brisket and clod. Served burnt or bloody. Topped with schmaltz onions and our American cheese on soft yellow bread centre cuts.

Neechi Commons’ The North Ender – Bison burger stuffed with spinach and Mb goat cheese topped with lettuce, tomato and mozzarella from White Shell Dairy, on a house made bun.

Elements’ Curried Goat Burger – Curried goat burger w/ tomato ginger chutney and fried paneer.

Bistro 7 1/4 – 8 oz grass fed angus chuck, roasted peaches, house smoked berkshire back bacon, bourbon bbq sauce, bothwell maple smoked cheddar, brioche bun.

Pizzeria Gusto’s The Papa Bear – 100% Manitoba Beef Ground Striploin burger w/ Truffled Moltinero (Cheese), mushroom Oka (Cheese), roasted garlic aioli, baby romaine, grilled brioche bun

Segovia’s The Springsteen – Patty made from Beef and Bacon, Sesame Bun, American Cheese, Special Sauce, Sweet Pickles.

The Underground Cafe’s Fabulous Sun-Burger – Our burger is a compilation of toasted sesame and sunflower seeds, vegetable protein, mozza and cheddar cheeses, rice, eggs, and assorted spices, baked to perfection. Served on a toasted bagel with lime-dill sauce, romaine, green peppers, onion and tomato.

Market Burger’s Grilled Cheeseburger – Meet The Grilled Cheeseburger – made with Manitoba products. We’ve taken two classics and melded them to create a perfect combination of fabulous flavours. Imagine this: A buttery, grilled cheese sandwich made with Bothwell Green Peppercorn Monterey Jack cheese between two slices of sour dough bread made by our friends at Stella’s Bakery grilled to golden crispy perfection. Next layer is a freshly ground beef patty provided, by the Lintott family farm near Oakbank, a delicious seasoned blend of chuck and sirloin. The patty is smothered in a house-made chipotle mayo and topped with crisp lettuce provided by Neva Hydroponic Farms and fresh tomato grown at Greenland Gardens. All this, rests on a second grilled cheese sandwhich, also grilled to golden perfection, stuffed with a thick, savoury slice of fried haloumi from DeLuca’s Specialty Foods. The final touch, served with a side of cool, fresh sour cream and dill for dipping.

Red River Culinary Institute’s The South African – A Classic South African Sausage recipe for Boervorest channeled into a burger. Allspice, Nutmeg and Coriander accents. Served with smoked Bothwell Mozza, tangy chutney and grilled onions.

Inferno’s The Jerk Burger – Jerk beef patty, grilled pear, brie cheese, lettuce, tomato, jerk mayo, and pickled onion on a kaiser bun

Burger Week was not only a friendly culinary competition, but also a way to celebrate Winnipeg’s culinary greatness and to bring all of our incredible locally owned restaurants together. We only hope that next year it becomes bigger and better, not only for restaurants and customers but also for the community at large.  Throughout the week we here at Charcoal did our best to eat and photograph as many burgers as possible, luckily we had the help of all of you lovely people to eat and photograph the rest. If you feel like getting a little sentimental about the burgers that once was, you are in for a treat. Very big thanks again to everyone and we look forward to your participation in the years to come. Much Love from the Charcoal Collaborative – Daniel, Sarah & Arielle