Crawford’s has been crowed the winner of the 10th Annual Downtown Burger Battle.
For the month of January, Crawford’s most popular dish was the Truffle Jam Burger, a prime beef patty with tomato pepper jam, baby arugula, jalapeño bacon and black truffle cheese served on a pretzel bun. It also came with a side of truffle parmesan chips.
The announcement for the winner came Thursday morning.
Chef Brett Potter created the dish by starting with the truffle cheese and choosing things that went well with it. He said he was surprised when he found out they won.
More:Sioux Falls man eats all 32 Burger Battle burgers in 15 days, and ranked them in a spreadsheet.
“We were thinking, ‘Well, we’re definitely not going to win because, we’re not a burger place,'” he said, adding it was also only their second year doing the battle. “But it just kicked off at the beginning and stayed busy.”
Potter said Crawford’s plans to keep the Truffle Jam Burger on the menu until at least the end of February.
2023 Burger Battle smashed records
Thousands of people casted their votes through the DTSF online app. There were more than 24,198 votes from 16,466 users who voted on their favorite burgers from 32 local restaurants.
There were more than 47,000 burgers sold for January with 10 locations yet to report. Already, it makes the 2022 Burger Battle a record-breaking year for participation, breaking last year’s record of 40,000.
The app counted 24 “Burger Brawlers,” like Langston Newton, who tried all 32 options. The restaurant with the most burgers sold was MacKenzie River, which sold 4,156, and Crawford’s sold 2,500.
Crawford’s general manager Daniel Myers said January is typically a slow month for downtown businesses after the holidays, but this year might be their busiest.
More:Harrisburgers diner finds new owner in local food truck operator
“I think the Burger Battle is a great thing to bring in business,” he said. “And just knowing what the Downtown Sioux Falls group can do by doing these challenges and helping small businesses out − it’s great.”
The competition’s economic impact was at least $1.44 million, according to an estimate from the Arts and Economic Prosperity Study. Visitors also spent more than $687,170 on Burger Battle burgers, according to the most recent data. That’s at least $20,000 more than last year’s competition.
DTSF will release a final total of how many burgers overall were sold during the competition as well as the total economic impact the campaign had on downtown businesses later this month.
Sioux Falls restaurants who competed in the Burger Battle
- Blarney Stone Pub: The PB & JB
- Boki European Street Food: Cheese Curds Burger
- Bread & Circus: Chicken Bacon Ranch Burger
- Chef Lance’s on Phillips: The Big Bison Burger
- Covert Artisan Ales/Windy City Bites: The Son of Zeus
- Crave: El Padrino Caritas Torta Burger
- Crawford’s: Truffle Jam Burger
- DaDa Gastropub: The Italian
- Falls Overlook Cafe: The BCB
- Falls Landing Bar & Grill: The Mario Burger
- Fernson: The Big Zing
- Five Guys: The Wonder Burger
- Glacial Lakes Distillery/FadeAway Food Truck: The Captain
- Holiday Inn City Centre: The Chipotle Bacon Burger
- JL Beers: The S’More Burger
- La Luna Cafe: La Luca Steak Burger
- Leonardo’s Cafe: The Triple B
- M.B. Haskett Delicatessen: The Inflation Burger
- MacKenzie River: Hatch Queso Burger
- Minervas: The Local Steak House
- Monks Ale House: The Griddy
- Ode to Food & Drinks: Hoppy Loafing Around
- Papa Woody’s: The Italian Stallion
- PAve: The Kunco
- Pizza Cheeks: Pizza Cheeks Burger
- Phillips Avenue Diner: Peanut Butter & Spicy Jelly Burger
- Remedy Brewing Company: The Rimedio
- EightyOne Arcade Bar/Sunny’s Pizzeria: The Frenchie Burger
- Swamp Daddy’s: Magnolia Burger
- The Treasury at Hotel on Phillips: The Smash & Grab
- TommyJack’s Pub: Philly Burger
- Wileys: West Coast Smasher
