The Challengers:

• Fatburger
• Five Guys Burgers and Fries
• Baron’s Fresh Grill (The artist previously known as Burger Baron)

I love burgers. One could say (I would) that I have an almost unhealthy desire for them. Beef burgers, bison burgers, veggie burgers, chicken burgers, boar burgers… I love them all. So it is with great excitement that I present to you our second challenge – the best “gourmet” fast food burger in Regina!

I used the quotation marks around “gourmet” because, in reality, these burgers are far from gourmet. The most defining quality about them is that they are more expensive and take longer to make. However, it would be hard to argue that the quality isn’t significantly increased as compared to our friends at McDonalds or BK. So, with the newly opened Fatburger in the city expanding our “gourmet” burger market (and our waistlines), it was decided that this would be a fun challenge to tackle.

Just a note before getting really into it. I know that Burger Baron might seem like the odd duck amongst the challengers. However, because the burgers are made to order and they are a bit more expensive (and an important local institution!), I thought that I should include them in the challenge.

So with stained shirts and greasy fingers, let the challenge begin!

CHALLENGER #1: FATBURGER

People in Regina seem to be going crazy over this place. I realize that it has just opened, but this place was absolutely loco at 11:30 AM. We got lucky, because after we placed our order, the line was going out the door onto the rainy, rainy sidewalk. But since the realm of “gourmet” burgers hasn’t been expanded since the first Five Guy’s opened a couple of years back, I don’t blame anyone for the enthusiasm.

I decided that for this challenge to work, I needed consistency in the burgers being ordered at each of the restaurants. I decided that the ol’ classic, the bacon cheeseburger, would be the food of choice! So, this meant at while at Fatburger I would be ordering the Kingburger with cheddar and maple bacon. With fries, it came to over $14. Damn.

Now for the burger itself. It had a fresh taste, with the beef being a little chewy. The toppings on the burger were crispy and nice – though there were a lot of them, and they overpowered the actual patty. The bacon, though. OH the bacon. The maple bacon was out of this world. It’s perfectly done… a little chewy, a little crispy, and a lot maple-y. The flavors worked so nicely with the rest of the burger – it was easily a highlight for me.

Pet peeve time. I lose my mind (well, more like become mildly frustrated) when my bun disintegrates as I am eating it. When I am left clutching my small pinch of bun, somehow defeating physics itself by continuing to contain the overflowing mess of beef and toppings – I get a little sad. I like a good bun that can stand up to the burger it was sworn to protect. And unfortunately, my meat bested my bun.

Overall, I was happy I visited. But since my time spent at Fatburger, I hadn’t craved another since. It was a fine burger, but for $14 when including fries, I think that I could upgrade for a nicer atmo (or downgrade and pay a lot less). They do serve beer though – which I am sure I would thoroughly appreciate if the time was right.

FULL DISCLOSURE: I did try a couple of bites of the Hawaiian burger, which had a thicker patty, more cheese, and included pineapple rings on top. DAMN. That was a tasty bite. Perhaps the gems of Fatburger lie with the specialty menu.

CHALLENGER 2: FIVE GUYS BURGERS AND FRIES

This city went crazy when Five Guys first arrived a little while back. For good reason, too. They make a damn good burger – and they’re known for their tasty meat disks and outrageous servings of fries across North America. But despite the legacy, the real question is: how does it stack up against these other two competitors?

The burger was legit – and it should be for $10. If I’m paying “sit down restaurant” types of prices for my burger, it had better be good. And let’s just say that the atmosphere leaves something to be desired. Free peanuts though!

Honestly, I think the best part of the entire burger was the crust formed around it after it spent some time sweating away on the grill. The outside edges had that wonderful smoky flavor that can be quickly lost on fast food burgers. The crunch was a nice change of texture as well – as many big burgers can quickly become soggy messes which fall apart in front of your weeping eyes.

The bun was quite nice, I found, despite reading some reviews of buns becoming too soggy. I didn’t find it was the case, and I thought it held up to the meaty monstrosity in front of me. The bacon was fine as well, adding that smoky, salty element which needs to be invited to the flavour party. The cheese wasn’t quite as melty that I had liked, but hey – no one’s perfect.

Overall, a solid showing by Five Guys which had me rolling out of the restaurant a little bit more bulbous than when I had entered half an hour before.

CHALLENGER 3: BARON’S FRESH GRILL

Burger Ba-… I mean Baron’s Fresh Grill is certainly the most low-brow of the challengers. No matter how fancy the name and how fresh my grill is (what?), BFG will always be that dim, greasy burger joint with the handful of elderly couples reading their Coffee Times and Java Jabber while the world changes around them. But you know what? They make absolutely killer burgers. A couple of months ago, I had my very first mushroom burger from BFG, and my world was changed. Unfortunately, this challenge isn’t about the best burger with a bunch of canned cream o’ mushroom dumped on top, it is about the best “gourmet” bacon cheeseburger. And I’m not one to leave my favorite readers disappointed.

The session began with me being handed a brown bag containing my burger masterpiece. $6 was paid for my purchase. Immediately I was hit by that quintessential Burger Baron smell… onion-y, mustard-y goodness. I drove home as quickly as I could. When I unwrapped it I was hit again with that distinct, delicious smell, and a messy burger was sitting, ready and waiting in front of me. I sunk my teeth in.

The bun was thick – perhaps a bit too thick for a thinner burger patty like this one. But it also allowed it to keep its structural integrity with the heaps of Baron sauce squishing out from the insides. Taking my next bite, I was getting hit with a serious onion flavor as the maple bacon aroma washed over my palate. The beef itself was average – nothing particularly stood out about it. It was all about the sauce and the fix’ns, baby. Dripping all over, I continued to devour my burger until it was gone. I was left with a confused feeling in my mind, but a satisfied feeling in my stomach. This was the cheap burger. The write-off. But why did I feel so satisfied comparatively to the others? Could it have been its relative value in tastiness vs. cost? 5 Guys had a tasty burger on its hands, but it was a lot more expensive and a totally different experience. I almost felt like a tourist at the other burger joints… but not at the Baron. Baron’s Fresh Grill came with an authentic burger experience, for a relatively low price, and they delivered an incredibly satisfying burger. Maybe even better than the other two.

So while I am surprising myself by saying this, I believe the winner of this round is BARON’S FRESH GRILL.