The first rule of Burger Club: Burgers are made of beef. The team of sandwich eating professionals that brought you Winnipeg’s Best Club House, Reuben and Gyro, now embark on a life long quest to find Winnipeg’s best burgers. Yes, burgers – we’re going to rate the best Bacon, Cheese, Chili, Fatboy, Greek and Mushroom burgers. I know what you’re thinking – there are already several lists for Winnipeg’s Best Burger – but we bring the science – we have spreadsheets!
Steakhouse Burger: 4.4 Hamborgari Cheese Crisp: 4.1 Aussi Burger: 4.3 Not So Caesar: 4.4 33: 4.1
Platter: $12 single, $16 double
Come for the burgers and stay for the beer at Brogue Gastropub. The Round Table Steakhouse at 800 Pembina Hwy has a history as Winnipeg’s prime rib destination, and since taking up the reins from his father in 2010, Kristjan Kristjansson has named the pub side and given it a life of its own.
Burger Club had a record turnout with 30 of us taking over the bar on a Tuesday evening when 20 oz. craft beers are only $3.95. The Brogue came to our attention as a burger destination during Burger Week 2015 with the Not So Caesar. Chef Peter reprised the juicy stack and created the 33 in addition to their three regular menu offerings. The 33 was loaded with Buff Spice in honour of Dustin Byfuglien who Peter told us polishes off a 33 oz. prime rib when he dines at the Round Table.
We filled the bar-hallway, leaving the great space for other patrons to enjoy. It was noisy, crowded and complete mayhem. I liked it :) It was Kayla’s first shift and she did an amazing job serving despite having to navigate our fluid and impeding mass of people. Some of us arrived early and had Elliot busy serving beers before they’d had a chance to put out menus so not everyone knew about the special burger offerings, but word spread quickly. Kristjan and Peter each found a few minutes to come out and talk to our group.
The burger and side were served on dimensional lumber for those at the bar rail - which worked well as they couldn’t lean over their food as easily as those of us at tall tables who received our meals on a ceramic platter. Scott quipped “it made it easier to bridge the gap between the bar and my mouth.”
The regular menu Steakhouse Burger and the Not So Caesar special were the big winners with Burger Club. The Hamborgari Cheese Crisp Burger could win an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. The 1/4 lb. single was a bit small for some people, so have a double if you're hungry. The sweet & peppery house smoked bacon was the star of the show. You could get a piping hot little bucket of bacon as an appetizer which Cary did and passed around to anyone lucky enough to be within reach. The shiny baked in-house Brioche bun was perfectly sized to the double burger - buttered and toasted crispy hot and delicious. Nat had a single and remarked: “Nice bun, but I ran out of burger to finish it!”
Geoff scribed “The Hamborgari's selling point was the large piece of fried cheese on top. It didn't overwhelm the patty, but augmented the flavour nicely. The ingredients were fresh, but I could have eaten a double.” The more diminutive Nicole wrote that hers was “a perfectly sized burger. I was able to put it down without it exploding! It was all around delicious, nicely balanced flavour and no dripping.“
I had a double 33. It made for an impressive stack with two good sized patties, a large crispy onion ring and easily an inch of Arugula – all enveloped in a Brioche that was up to the task. Tonia noted “The 33 was scrumptious! I really enjoyed the seasoning & onion ring on it. Fries were great too!” Dave wrote “seasoning was too salty and detracted from the otherwise good meat flavour.” Jonathan echoed “Burger was very salty. Beef was seasoned nicely, however flavour profile was limited.”
April had the Steakhouse: “The ingredients were good quality and the price was reasonable. Good company!” The single with a side is usually $12, with a double priced at $16, but our host Kristjan gave our group the V.I.P. treatment and knocked $2 off.
The jury’s still out on the Aussi Burger. Only two people had it – one loved it and the other not so much. That may have been because a key ingredient – the pineapple - was omitted in all the kitchen chaos of cooking 45 patties and preparing 30 burgers!
Russ had the Not So Caesar – he also had it during Burger Week when it came standard as a double. “I think the burger was better as a double, but the patty was excellent and the taste fantastic.” Jeff commented “I loved this burger. Such a unique flavour palette - the sweetness of the Caesar sauce with the smokiness of the bacon was fantastic ... And the cucumber's flavour and texture just topped it off. Add this to the menu!!!”
The list of guest beers included Britisher English Brown Ale which a number of our group jumped at the chance to try. Geoff wrote “Beer selection was impressive. I enjoyed the Britisher, and we just happened to be at one of 5 places in the city where you could get it.”
The burger and side were served on dimensional lumber for those at the bar rail - which worked well as they couldn’t lean over their food as easily as those of us at tall tables who received our meals on a ceramic platter. Scott quipped “it made it easier to bridge the gap between the bar and my mouth.”
I had a double 33. It made for an impressive stack with two good sized patties, a large crispy onion ring and easily an inch of Arugula – all enveloped in a Brioche that was up to the task. Tonia noted “The 33 was scrumptious! I really enjoyed the seasoning & onion ring on it. Fries were great too!” Dave wrote “seasoning was too salty and detracted from the otherwise good meat flavour.” Jonathan echoed “Burger was very salty. Beef was seasoned nicely, however flavour profile was limited.”
