YYC Burger Week 2013

YYC Burger Week.  16 restaurants making 16 UNIQUE burgers.  8 charities.  Sounds so simple, eh?  I can tell you from first hand experience, it ain’t. 

The brainchild of ex-Montrealer Sabahat Naureen, who observed that Montreal held such a simple idea as a Burger Week, and wondered why Calgary didn’t have it’s own.  After all, Calgary has a dynamic culinary scene comprised of some of the best chefs in the country, with 8 of the Vacay top 50 restaurants all coming from Calgary.  But if you knew her, you’d also know that she’s not one to just wait around and hope.  She took the burger by the bun and assembled her burger ninja strike team of her fiance Chris Karaplis and friend Terry Lo.

Over the months, a list of restaurants was assembled, all especially known for their burgers.  Only 2 rules were applied in the selection:

• No corporate chains, must be a locally owned business;
• Must source their food primarily from local suppliers and farms;

Downtown restaurants include: Anju, downtownfood & Black Betty Burger & Wine Bar

An unofficial rule that we applied was to give the lesser known hidden gems of Calgary a chance for some exposure as well, whether it be a restaurant or a charity.

As for the burgers themselves, we applied 3 rules:

• Can use virtually any bun, protein and toppings;
• Must be unique;
• Must have a price point of $15 for a platter, of which $1 will go to the restaurant’s assigned charity;

Why $15?  We were looking for a price point that would enable the restaurant to be creative with their masterpieces, yet still be easily accessible to the average Calgarian.  And as you will find out over the week, the restaurants have outdone themselves with some of the most fantastic burgers ever on this planet.  Veal sweetbreads?  Apple?  Kimchi? Foie?  These are just some of the burgers you’re going to find!

As for the charities, we had asked Calgary to offer suggestions to us over the winter months, and then paired off the selection.  There’s 8 in all, and they’re all worthy causes.

So, all we ask from you all is to have a burger and enjoy.  This is our gift to the YYC culinary scene, and it looks like it’s going to be an annual event as other restaurants have asked to join in. And most importantly, the more you eat, the more you give!

This has been a guest blog post from Terry Lo. If you’d like more information about how to become a contributor, please email [email protected]

PS: There’s an INSTAGRAM contest for daily prizes.  Send your pic of you and your burger to @LoveCDNBeef and add “I love my #loveCDNbeef at (insert restaurant)” and best picture will win a gift certificate to a local Calgary business or restaurant!

Tagged as: burger week yyc, Calgary, dining, downtown, food, foodiesyyc, yyc