Burger Wars: Battle for the Burger of the Day

With the warmer weather upon us and May being National Hamburger Month, we finally decided now is the time to break out the burgers. This week, we are competing to see who will have the honour of serving the esteemed Burger of the Day in our Bob’s Burgers inspired dinner party.

The Menu: Eat Your Heart Out

Sliders will serve as the blank canvas for our chefs. Each competitor brought their own toppings to assemble the sliders, and presented them with a cocktail pairing. We judged on creativity and taste.

We served the sliders with a couple of salads on the side to keep things lighter. For dessert, we had a rhubarb pie from a local farmers’ market.

The Competition: Channel Your Moody Foodie

To avoid a big pile up in the kitchen, each couple took turns assembling their sliders and drinks. Some brought signs for their burgers, one brought a blender from home, and another brought handmade burger sunglasses.

Our first contender was the “Say Jalo to my Little Friend” Burger. They made a jalapeno popper cheese spread with bacon and barbequed jalapenos burger served with a spicy jalapeno mango margarita.

Next, was our “Get Wellington Soon” Burger served with Sangria. This has been the best sangria recipe I have ever tried (I like to think Linda would be a fan).

My husband prepared a mushroom duxelles spread ahead of time. Just before he put the burgers on the BBQ, he cooked some puffed pastries which were used to top the burger. To assemble, he wrapped the burgers in prosciutto, spread on the mushroom duxelles, and added a mixture of mayo and mustards he had put together. We did add some Swiss cheese to it, which strays a bit from the Beef Wellington idea, but it added to the burger.

Third, we had the “Grill me Everything Tonight” Burger. This was a Pitbull-themed burger with Boursin cheese, deep-fried onions and spicy chimichurri, topped with their own sunglasses. The burger featured international ingredients, for Mr. International. These burgers were paired with Fireball Sangria, and the song Give Me Everything Tonight by Pitbull. If you still have your bald cap from the Hot Ones Dinner Party, now is the time to pull it out.

Last but not least, we had the “Don’t be an Aioli” Burger paired with a vodka cranberry. I was worried about being able to eat the fourth slider, until I actually tried it. It was a non issue, just don’t ask my opinion on any of the salads. Everyone was so full we didn’t even break out the rhubarb pie!

The Winner: Our Burger of the Day

All of the burgers turned out completely delicious. The margarita and fireball sangria were the only drinks that were a little bit divisive.

We voted on Best Pun, Best Drink, Best Burger and Best Overall. The results are:

1. Best Pun: Get Wellington Soon Burger
2. Best Drink: Spicy Jalapeño Mango Margarita (this was controversial)
3. Best Burger: Grill Me Everything Tonight
4. Best Overall: Tied between Grill Me Everything Tonight and the Say Jalo to My Little Friend

How did we decide on a final winner? We thought up a tiebreaker that Louise would be a fan of. Each couple select a shooter to compete in a western duel. After a single shot, The Grill Me Everything Tonight ended up taking the win and becoming our Burger of the Day!

Burger Trivia: Served Fresh

Since one competition was not enough, we opted to include a side of Burger Trivia. To avoid confusion over who answers first (and a lot of yelling), we have a WhatsApp Group chat between all of us that is entirely dedicated to trivia answers. The host reads a question out loud, and all players have to type their answers in as fast as they can. We don’t typically have a limit on the number of answers one person can submit.

Here’s the questions we used:

1. In which U.S. state was the hamburger reportedly invented in 1900? Answer: Connecticut
2. Which burger chain famously uses square-shaped burger patties? Answer: Wendy’s
3. What popular adult animated series features a character named Tina who is obsessed with butts and burgers Answer: Bob’s Burgers
4. What famous burger features “two all-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun”? Answer: Big Mac
5. In what decade did McDonald’s introduce the Big Mac? Answer: 1967
6. What international burger chain is known for the slogan “Have it your way”? Answer: Burger King
7. What is the world record for the most expensive hamburger sold (as of 2024)? Answer: Around $7,000
8. True or False: The “hamburger” name comes from the city of Hamburg, Germany. Answer: True
9. Which fast food chain offers a “Baconator” burger? Answer: Wendy’s
10. Which Canadian province consumes the most fast food per capita? Answer: Alberta
11. Which animated movie shows a town flooded with cheeseburgers falling from the sky? Answer: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
12. True or False: Tim Hortons has never sold burgers in Canada. Answer: False (They’ve tested and sold burgers in limited markets)
13. What Canadian city is home to the first-ever A&W restaurant in Canada? Answer: Winnipeg, Manitoba
14. What is the “Grandpa Burger” at A&W? Answer: A burger with three beef patties
15. Which Toronto-based burger chain is known for its bold branding and creative toppings like peanut butter and fried pickles? Answer: Burger’s Priest
16. Who owns the Krusty Krab? Answer: Mr. Krabs (Eugene H. Krabs)
17. What is Mr. Krabs’ first name? Answer: Eugene
18. What holiday does Bob take way too seriously? Answer: Thanksgiving
19. Which of the following was a real “Burger of the Day” featured on Bob’s Burgers? A) The “Let’s Ketchup Later” Burger B) The “I Know Why the Cajun Burger Sings” Burger C) The “Guac to the Future” Burger or D) The “Holy Cow, That’s Spicy” Burger. Answer: B) The “I Know Why the Cajun Burger Sings” Burger
20. What sound does Tina make when she is nervous? Answer: Uhhhhhhhh (this one people have to answer out loud)

Final Thoughts: Was It Worth It?

Absolutely, this was so much fun. It does require a little bit of work on your guests part, but the end result is well worth it. There has never been another instance in the history of our dinner parties that we didn’t eat dessert.

Gift For Your Host: Buns Down, Best Host!

Bringing your favourite BBQ spices for your host to try next time is always a hit! Our current favourite is a lavender steak spice.

We use a Meat Thermometer almost daily and have gotten both sets of parents hooked on them. These are pretty inexpensive and make a great housewarming gift. This can appeal to both your more neurotic friends, as well as the ones who may be a little less confident in the kitchen.