2024 marked two new entries into the burger month craze. In addition to Nelson’s Burger Month in November, we now have June’s Trail Burger Month and August’s Castlegar Burger Month.

Both build off the successful formula, while showcasing the creativity of local chefs and restaurateurs.

Castlegar Burger Month Contestants

The full list of Castlegar Burger Month contestants can be found in our companion article introducing the event, but after trying all the entries, we have to say Castlegar Burger Month has us impressed!

While it may have only eight burgers to try, each of these burgers brought their A-game. In fact, we didn’t have a single disappointing burger in the bunch!

The contest continues until the end of August, but until the winners are revealed September 12th, here’s our thoughts on each burger, in the order we tried them.

Millenium Burger (Millenium Concession)

Burger Breakdown

• Patty: 5oz house-made premium juicy seasoned beef 
• Bun: Brioche
• Sauces and jams: House-made coffee-bourbon bacon jam, garlic chipotle aioli 🥓
• Toppings: Sweet onions, cheddar cheese, smokey bacon, crispy lettuce, tomato, crispy golden onion rings

Our Verdict

Crunchy onion rings, balanced flavours, crisp pickles and sharp onions mixed with the sweet bourbon bacon jam makes for one heck of a burger. Fantastic entry. I never thought I’d have such a great burger sitting on a playground!

The Rooster Caprese (Black Rooster)

Burger Breakdown

• Patty: 5oz blackened chicken breast 
• Bun: Brioche
• Sauces and jams: Pesto aioli
• Toppings: Fresh mozzarella, sliced tomatoes, arugula tossed in balsamic vinaigrette 🍅

Our Verdict

If you’re looking for something really fresh and crisp, and find normal burgers too greasy, this is the one for you. The pesto paired with the soft, fresh mozzarella and the arugula makes for something totally different. Plus the spices all over the blackened chicken breast really elevate this one.

Cheeseburger in Paradise (The Lion’s Head)

Burger Breakdown

• Patty: In-house 7oz ground pork and bacon patty
• Bun: Brioche 
• Sauces and jams: House-smoked garlic aioli, chipotle sweet heat sauce 🧄
• Toppings: Lettuce, tomato, bacon, jack cheese, Dr. Pepper caramelized onions, grilled pineapple ring 🍍

Our Verdict

This one is loaded with flavours – the sweet and spicy chipotle sauce paired with the Dr. Pepper caramelized onions and the grilled pineapple makes this one both spicy and sweet.

The patty being a pork/bacon mix helps add another unique flavour to the mix that leaves this burger just jam packed with different flavours. We’re impressed at how well they complement each other, and this one earns our compliments for sure.

*2024 Winner* Masala Date Burger (Maple Mirch)

Burger Breakdown

• Patty: Certified Angus chuck
• Bun: Croissant bun 🥐
• Sauces and jams: date jam, banana pepper mayo, BBQ sauce
• Toppings: masala seasoning, caramelized onions, cheddar, tomato, artisan lettuce

Our Verdict

This was our first time at Maple Mirch, but it definitely won’t be the last. We’re suckers for a croissant bun, and while it may not have the structural integrity of a brioche or a pretzel bun, it’s just so flaky and delicious.

The thing that you’ll notice first about this burger is that it’s got a curry-forward flavour that we’ve actually never had before, but goes amazingly with the sweet and rich date jam. Those two flavours are so cool together, and with the rest of the burger, are so memorable.

You won’t be bored with this one. In fact, if you’ve had anything like it before we’d be surprised! Make this a permanent addition Maple Mirch?

We’re pleased to say this burger swept the competition in 2024 as the winner in all three categories: best tasting, best presentation, and more original!

Ultimate Cheeseburger (The Nineteenth)

Burger Breakdown

• Patty: Certified Angus chuck 
• Bun: Brioche
• Sauces and jams: 1756 mayo, sweet and savoury tomato onion chutney
• Toppings: 1/4lb house-blended fried cheese, lettuce, tomato, red onion 🧀

Our Verdict

This was also our first time to The Nineteenth, which some say has the best regular-season burger in town. We can’t vouch for that, but we can 100% vouch for this burger. It’s kind of a more standard take on a cheeseburger, with all the usual toppings, except for the cheese.

They’ve added 1/4lb of crunchy, gooey cheese here that has us wanting to add this to every burger we make from now on.

It’s not the most original burger in the competition, but it is a perfection of a classic with a super cheesy twist. The tomato onion chutney is perfect on this, and we’re giving a shout out to the fries here too (which are always extra for burger month contestants). This really is the pinnacle of the classic cheeseburger.

Amber Burger (B’s Eatery-Chance Casino)

Burger Breakdown

• Patty: Double 100% Angus chuck 
• Bun: Pretzel 🥨
• Sauces and jams: whisky bacon jam, honey-jack aioli 
• Toppings: amber ale cheese, maple bacon dusted crispy onions, spring mix, tomato, pickle

Our Verdict

This is a big burger. Two patties and a generous pretzel bun makes for a daunting burger, so come hungry! We really liked the pretzel bun on this one, it’s both fluffy and substantial. The amber ale cheese was great (can we get some of that to go?)🧀

There’s some that really appreciate a high quality meat-forward burger, and while that’s not our first criteria, this was still a great burger.

Bacon Cheeseburger Deluxe Calzone (Chef’s Choice)

Burger Breakdown

• Sauces and jams: Sweet Baby Rae’s BBQ sauce, dill pickle ranch on the side 🥒
• Fillings: Ground beef, garlic cremini mushrooms, caramelized onions, roasted red peppers, and jalapeño monterey jack cheese

Our Verdict

We love a good calzone, and this one is packed with all our favourite things, especially garlic cremini mushrooms and caramelized onions.

What really needs highlighting here though is the sauce. It comes with dill pickle ranch dip that really turns this one up a notch. That sauce is actually insane.

While we lean more towards patty-based burgers, this was a great calzone, and actually a bit cheaper than the rest of the entries – always a nice surprise.

Lamb Burger (Grateful Table)

Burger Breakdown

• Patty: 5oz lamb
• Bun: Crumbs Bakery brioche
• Sauces and jams: homous, tzatziki
• Toppings: sautéed green peppers and onions, lettuce, tomato, feta

Our Verdict

The Grateful Table is one of our go-to restaurants in Castlegar, so we knew this one would deliver, and it does. It’s not a huge stretch to call this a greek salad on a burger, and that’s pretty much exactly what we want from the chefs at this great Greek restaurant. Both the homous and tzatziki sauces go really well with the lamb patty. It’s a tried and true combo taken from many a classic greek platter, and it works here on a burger too.

Castlegar Burger Month Top 3

While we don’t want to spoil our #1 pick for Castlegar Burger Month until the contest is over, we’ll give you our top 3 must-try burgers.

Again, we were blown away by the quality of burgers in this competition. SO many good ones here, and all of them are actually recommended by our team!

When we close our eyes though, it’s the Masala Date Burger (Maple Mirch), The Ultimate Cheeseburger (The Nineteenth), and Cheeseburger in Paradise (Lion’s Head) that stand out for us.

It’s totally subjective, and we roped in many burger eating companions who had other favourites. Hope you’re out enjoying these awesome burgers, and let us know your favourites in the comments!