Calgary’s Vagabond Brewery sells two or three of its high-end burgers daily.
Photo Credit: CBC

$100-dollar hamburger creates a buzz

A pub in the oil capital of Canada, Calgary offers a high-end burger that costs $100 and is selling two or three every day. The hamburger is a beef patty topped with black truffle cheese, red onion jam, foie gras, duck confit, heirloom tomato and lettuce and is served on a French-style brioche bun.

“In your face”

Why would a restaurant want to create such a thing? “We want to be in your face, have some fun with it,” said Lee Borschowa, owner of the Vagabond Brewery. “It’s booze and food, it’s not rocket science.”

The restaurant business is highly competitive in Canada and owners find creative ways to try to attract customers. Dolling up a pedestrian dish happens in Montreal too where some chefs have taken the popular poutine—french fries topped with cheese curds and gravy—and substituted expensive ingredients like lobster, duck or imported cheeses.

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“(The hamburger is)…something people can eat and tell a story about,” says Chef Dale Neisz. © CBC

“Don’t eat for five hours before”

The Vagabond burger definitely has some shock value to create some buzz, says food writer Dan Clapson. However, he adds it is filling.

“A dish of that size probably best shared, not just for one person, unless you want to have it for breakfast, lunch, dinner — which I don’t think anybody does,” he said. “But you know what — have at ‘er.”

Borschowa concurs. “Don’t eat for about five hours before because it’s literally like having a Thanksgiving dinner after,” he said. “You’re just full. You want to lay on the couch and watch some football and hockey.”

That last sentence fits the North American stereotype of a favourite male activity—eat a big meal, watch a game.

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