Are you hungry? Between the Buns, a new Manitoba-wide burger competition, runs from September 1–8 and two Niverville restaurants are getting in on the action. Both the local Smitty’s and Santa Lucia locations are ready to present their unique burger creations.
The Chip n’ Dip (Santa Lucia)
Santa Lucia is normally known for their award-winning Italian food, but their takeout options offer a lot more than just pizza and pasta. They also feature a variety of handheld items, including two burgers.
And now, for a limited time only, customers can try their new Chip n’ Dip Burger, which has been custom-created for the Between the Buns competition.
This creamy and crunchy burger features two savoury house-made patties with locally sourced mozzarella cheese stacked between them. Then it’s loaded up with crispy bacon, French onion dip, crunchy ruffle-style chips, lettuce, tomatoes, and house-made onion rings. Served on a garlic-toasted bun, this burger has been designed to ooze with flavour. The chips provide a satisfying salty crunch to complement the burger.
For the staff and cooks at Santa Lucia, coming up with this creative entry was a team effort.
“We all love chips and dip and wanted to find something that was unique but also had just a heck of a lot of flavour,” says Dean Delorme, co-owner of Santa Lucia Niverville. “So this is what we came up with and it just tastes amazing.”
The Maharaja Chicken (Smitty’s)
Smitty’s in Niverville has both a full-service restaurant and sports bar. They pride themselves on offering a classic diner-style menu full of what they call “comfort crave-ability.”
But their burger entry for Between the Buns had them stepping right to the edge of their comfort zone.
Dinner cook Harkirat Khattra is the mastermind behind the Maharaja Chicken Burger, a sandwich that is lovingly inspired by the tastes of his homeland.
“I wanted to bring my Indian heritage and its flavours to Niverville,” says Khattra, who moved to Niverville this past May. “In my burger, I have incorporated traditional spices, as well as paneer.”
In this burger, the crispy chicken patty is topped with lettuce, tomato, pico de gallo, caramelized onions, and Khattra’s signature deep-fried paneer, a white cheese that is firm, milky, fresh, and very mild in taste. Because of its texture, panner can be grilled or fried to enhance its creamy flavour, similar to halloumi cheese.
To top it off, this crispy, crunchy creation is drizzled with a top secret, not-too-spicy “Maharaja sauce” and served on a toasted bun.
Khattra says that he moved to Niverville because it’s a great place to live and work. He has made many friends here—and after people try his burger, he may make even more.
“I want people to try the different flavours,” says Khattra. “Nobody else is using these flavours. I wanted to create a fusion and celebrate both Canadian and Indian culture. It was super cool that the managers [of Smitty’s] gave me a chance to create something unique.”
Between the Buns vs. Le Burger Week
Representatives from the Manitoba Restaurant and Foodservices Association (MRFA) are administering the contest, which has been created as an alternative to the Le Burger Week, an annual event that many Manitobans are already familiar with.
According to Smitty’s marketing director Jessica Saprowich-McGregor, there are many factors behind their decision to go with Between the Buns instead of Le Burger Week.
“The MRFA created Between the Buns in an attempt to keep Burger Week local,” Saprowich-McGregor says. “Le Burger Week, which was created in Winnipeg, is actually owned by a company in Quebec now, so Manitoba restaurants aren’t highlighted as much by the company throughout the week of selling burgers. The MRFA’s goal was to keep everything as local as possible, by only allowing a certain amount of entries and by having all dollars stay in the province.”
The goal of Between the Buns is to expand on that warm feeling of an organic backyard burger competition, where friends gather informally to contrast and compare their favourite recipes, or create entirely new creations.
The MRFA hopes that the contest will serve as a fitting end to another amazing summer in Manitoba. More than 100 participating businesses are registered this year, featuring eateries both inside and outside of Winnipeg, ranging as far west as Brandon and all the way east to Steinbach.
As long as there’s some kind of protein sandwiched between two buns, any entry is accepted. The variety helps celebrate the vast number of made-in-Manitoba restaurants that call this province home. It’s an opportunity for local restaurants to flex their creative muscles and showcase what makes them special.
The costs of running the contest are offset by restaurant registration fees as well as corporate sponsors such as SkipTheDishes, The Print Shop Winnipeg, Little Brown Jug, and Strangers Media.
The MRFA is also donating a portion of each restaurant’s registration fee to The Dream Factory, a Manitoba-based children’s charity dedicated to creating unforgettable experiences for children in Manitoba battling life-threatening illnesses and providing their families with an ongoing community of support.
To see all participating restaurants, visit www.betweenthebunsmb.ca.
