Whistle Pig Drive-Inn: 3/5

Whistle Burger
Score: 3.0, $6.60

Banquet Burger
Score: 3.0, $5.80

Fatboy
Score: 2.6, $5.30

Bacon Burger
Score: 3.0, $6.30

This week our mission of burgering under the sun led us to the Whistle Pig Drive-Inn (WPD) at 102 Victoria Ave E. Unicity tried and failed to assimilate Downtown Transcona, and as we passed under the arch, we knew we were leaving Winnipeg and journeying to some faraway land.

The WPD is a bonafide burger shack with a long history in the far east of Winnipeg. It’s had multiple owners and when asked, our window server said she didn't know where the name “Whistle Pig” came from. With a little research I learned it refers to a Groundhog. “Outside their burrow, individuals are alert when not actively feeding. It is common to see one or more nearly-motionless, standing erect on their hind feet watching for danger. When alarmed, they use a high-pitched whistle to warn the rest of the colony.” This seems like a sound survival technique and Burger Club will designate a Whistle Pig from now on while we loll in our meat comas.

The WPD offers a wide selection of burgers with all the standards plus a few that needed explaining:

• The basic burgers come with mustard, ketchup and relish with cheese\bacon options.
• The Chili Burger has chili sauce on it.
• The Whistle Burger has chili, cheese, double bacon and onions (no lettuce or tomato).
• The Banquet Burger has lettuce, tomato, cheese and bacon.
• The Fatboy is a banquet minus the bacon.
• The Chili Box Burger is a chili burger buried in chili.

The WPD suggested we pre-order to save time and that worked out well. When we arrived our burgers were ready and waiting, wrapped in foil-paper and delivered in splendid brown paper bags. Dani commented it was a “Beautiful, sunny day in Transcona. A great day for a window service burger.” There were lots of picnic tables with umbrellas for us to dine at. The patio’s overlooked by the Beatles and a mural of past icons that challenged our memories.

A few of us opted for the Whistle Burger which turned out to be a beef patty wrapped in chili wrapped in a bun. The chili was pleasant and there was lots of it. The beef patty provided some texture in the sandwich; otherwise it was uninteresting. I couldn't discern the cheese or bacon flavours. The chopped white onion added some depth to the burger foundation. The bun was very dry and flaky. Bill commented “More chili on burger than burger.” Mike wrote “This burger was all about chili. All other flavour was lost.” Victor agreed “Whistle Burger needed something other than chili to make it more memorable.”

The Banquet Burger was also a popular choice. April wrote “Burger was a little messy, lots of mayo and even though the patty itself was large, the bun overpowered the burger. If you skip the chili, you miss where the flavour's at.” Stephanie exclaimed “Banquet Burger reminded me of a Big Mac because of the overloaded Mayo.” Brian contemplated the characteristics with “The burger was good overall. It was tasty but fell apart making eating messy; the bun stayed together. The sauce added flavor without too much grease, the bacon was crisp and fresh, but the cheese, lettuce and other toppings were almost invisible.”

Karen reviewed the Fatboy “It had a soft Kaiser roll with tons of saucy lettuce and big tomato. The burger is chewy-thin and really dark coloured. I think it's most likely a bought burger. A filling burger for someone with a modest appetite.”

Finally, a couple of burgerettes had the bacon burger. “The patty looked like a frozen burger patty and kind of tasted like one as well but the bacon was nice and crispy” said Mireille. Dani wrote “Patty looks like it was preformed and frozen. It tastes okay, but no noticeable spicing. This was just a run-of-the-mill burger.”

Opinions varied on the fries and I suspect they tasted best when they were hot. Mike thought “the fries were great!” Brian wrote “Fries where below average.”

A wonderful feature of the WPD is that it shares the parking lot with a DQ and as everyone knows, burgers should always be followed up with ice-cream. A few folks opted for a strawberry cheesecake flavoured mini-Blizzard. All’s well, that ends well!