Sherman's Food Adventures: Burger Bender @ Match Eatery & Public House (Delta)

Burger Bender @ Match Eatery & Public House (Delta)

There are many things I look forward to each year.  These include Summer holidays (and usually a trip somewhere), taking off my winter rims and switching to Summer rims, Birthday dinner(s) and Match's Burger Bender (from Jan 16th to Feb 23rd) .  Wait.  Really???  Yes, as I've said many times, I enjoy the burgers at Match (also their wings) and I honestly look forward to their new burger creations every year.  This time around, they have 5 offerings with 2 hold-overs and one that has been voted by customers as the best for 2 years - the French Onion Big Dipper.

So let's talk about the French Onion Big Dipper first as it is also my favourite as well!  That might shock some people since they know my aversion to raw onions.  If you know me well, I actually don't mind onions, when they are cooked right.  For this burger, they are completely caramelized and for the ones in the dip, they are super delicious and add depth and sweetness.  The burger itself features their thick moist patty that is evenly seared.  This adds nuttiness and smokiness.  They put a large breaded onion ring into it as well as melted slices of Swiss.  The key to this burger is the French onion soup dip on the side.  It is not overly salty and has all of the rich flavors of sweet onion.  One dunk of the burger and the toasted brioche soaks it up and it becomes a flavor bomb of umaminess.  Delicious.

Now for the other returning burger, it is the Mighty Mushroom.  This is a pretty classic mushroom burger with the same 6oz chuck beef smashed patty.  It is not the thin type of patty you might be thinking of as it is thick and plenty juicy inside.  However, it does have the crispy edges of a typical smash patty.  I find that they properly season the meat while not making it super salty, so you can taste the meatiness.  They top this patty with sauteed crimini and button mushrooms along with Boursin cheese.  As you can imagine, this is plenty strong with bursts of umaminess.  A touch of dijonnaise helps add a bit of zing to keep things from being too bogged down with heaviness.

One of the new burgers that I think will be a fan favourite is the Crispy Chicken Bacon Mac & Cheese.  Yes, that is quite the mouthful and in fact, literally as well.  It is hard to fit this thing into my mouth!  The base of this burger is the fried chicken breast which I'm happy to report is moist and not dry.  The batter is relatively thin, properly seasoned and crispy.  Topped that off with crispy smoky bacon and some non-offensive mac n' cheese, we have a tasty concoction.  Now let me clarify what I mean by "non-offensive".  Sometimes, when people shove more carbs into a carb heavy sandwich already, it bogs everything down.  They put just enough of it that you know it is there without thinking you are actually eating the dish.

Okay, when I first looked at the Mr. Rib, it gave me some McRib vibes.  However, it is nothing like the McD's versions as the piece of rib is actually pork ribs without the bones!  So no formed ground pork patty here, it is real meat. Furthermore, it is tender fall-off-the-bone meat (hence no bone) which is very easy to eat and a bit smoky.  I think a bit more tangy and smoky BBQ sauce is needed to give it that messy deliciousness.  There are the obligatory sliced onions and pickles to give some bite and zing to the heaviness of the pork.  As much as the toasted bun is fine, I think a softer roll is necessary to keep the sandwich from being too dense.

Lastly, the Brooklyn Deli is really a burger with a corned beef sandwich surrounding it.  So same 6oz patty with corned beef, sauerkraut and Swiss on an "everything bagel" brioche bun.  This is pretty solid with the corned beef sammie vibes coming through.  I think that it needs more corned beef because it got a bit lost in the smoky meatiness of the charred burger patty.  Otherwise, still very good, especially with some mustard!  So there you have it, another year of Burger Bender with the excellent French Onion Big Dipper and Mighty Mushroom.  I think the best of the new ones is the Crispy Chicken Bacon Mac & Cheese.  That is a massive burger which is hits all of the high notes.  Get them before February 23rd!  Oh get some wings too, they are great as well!

*All food and beverages were complimentary for this blog post*

The Good:
- The French Onion Big Dipper
- Crispy Chicken Bacon Mac & Cheese
- For the sides, get the Breaded Onion Rings or Tater Tots!

The Bad:

- Maybe the bun could be softer for the Mr. Rib
- More corned beef for the Brooklyn Deli?

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