Burger Palooza (Presented by Vanfoodster)

Who doesn't like a good meaty burger?  A vegetarian I suppose, but then again, there are meatless burgers.  Some are actually quite good, but for Burger Palooza (presented by Vanfoodster), it was all about the meat.  I was invited to sample creations from 5 different spots in and around Downtown on a very rainy day in Vancouver.  Interestingly, the weather has mostly cooperated with these events so far.  I guess Mother Nature is a vegetarian?  To help me with the eating, Snake slithered along while Alvin joined us as well.

Our first stop was at Milestones on Robson. We were presented with a Stacked Burger with a mini-version of their Tuna Taco. Consisting of a Prime Rib burger on a Brioche Bun, stacked with smoked meat, bacon strips, button mushrooms, caramelized onions, cheddar and horseradish cream, there was no lack of flavour or textures.  Typical of Milestones burgers, the meat was super moist, yet somewhat overprocessed where it lacked meatiness.  We then moved onto Kobob Burger where we tried a Mini-Bulgogi Rice Burger with marinated pork and veggies complimented by a slice of Korean pancake and Kimchi.  I liked the meat as it was really moist and not overly sweet.  The rice bun was a bit difficult to manage, but I found eating the scraps with a fork easier.  The kimchi was pretty legit with a good crunch with just enough spiciness.

Over at the Bismarck, we were treated to a Chorizo Prawn Slider consisting of a chorizo patty, tiger prawn, goat cheese, house-pickled onion, iceberg lettuce and paprika aioli on a brioche slider bun.  I like this concoction as there was a pleasant spiciness tempered by the cold-water snap of the tiger prawn.  The patty itself was moist and went well with the crunchy acidic onions and creamy goat cheese.  Continuing on, we had the Famous Cowburger at Yagger's (Alvin had the Chorizo Burger).  This was made of an organic beef & pork patty seasoned with chipotle peppers, peppercorn mayo, aged white cheddar and double smoked bacon.  I found this burger to be flavourful and meaty.  The spice came through while the sharpness of the aged cheddar and smokiness of the bacon added more elements.  My only wish was the bacon be crispier.

Our final burger was at Buckstop.  It was made with Venison stuffed with blue cheese and mushrooms.  Served on the side was house-made potato chips with horseradish aioli.  Despite being a lean meat, the venison was moist and juicy benefiting from the blue cheese.  Hence, the meat was flavourful from the cheese as well.  The chips were a firm crunchy and was amped by the horseradish mayo.  We ended off our adventure with Deebee's Teapops at a kiosk setup in front of Whole Foods.  I sampled the Minty Mint made with organic mint leaves and freshly-brewed mint and Rooibos herbal tea. It was only slightly minty while not being too sweet - definitely a refreshing end to the meat-filled adventure.

*All food was comped*

The Good:
- Pretty decent eats across the board
- Okay value if tickets are purchased early

The Bad:
- Locations a bit scattered
- Some variety (ie. Vegetarian, yes really) would've been nice