Global Toronto Eats

Where to get the best chili-topped burgers in Winnipeg

Winnipeg has a couple of minor, obscure food specialties. But the number one has got to be fatboys. It’s the only specialty that is thriving in Winnipeg, so it can be rightfully considered to be Winnipeg’s representative dish.

What is a fatboy?

A fatboy (sometimes spelled as fat boy) is simply a hamburger with chili. Not Texas-style chili because that will just become a sloppy mess. Coney Island-style chili is used because it’s more viscous. And because the creator used to work in a Coney Island-style restaurant. Fun fact: both Coney chili and fatboys were invented by Greek immigrants.

It’s dubious to treat a regular hamburger with a particular topping as a local specialty, but it’s woven into the food fabric of Winnipeg and found nowhere else.

The name isn’t standard either. Perhaps to avoid litigation, some restaurants call it by other names. But it’s still a burger with thin, well-done beef patties, lettuce, tomatoes, white onions, pickles, mayo, and of course, chili. The “fat” part comes from the copious amount of mayo and large size. Well, at least larger than regular hamburgers from fast food chains.

The most important component for me in a fatboy is obviously the chili. Otherwise, I would just order a regular burger.

The fatboy restaurants in Winnipeg are old-school. They look like they haven’t changed since the 1960s and 1970s. Most are cash-only. Some close during the brutal winter season, so check ahead if you are visiting between December and March.

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A minor twist in pizza assembly

Pop quiz: how many Saskatchewan food specialties can you name? There are only two.

Saskatoon berry pie and Regina-style pizza. Other foods like perogies and cabbage rolls can be found outside Saskatchewan. Foods like spudnuts (potato doughnuts) and Doukhobor bread are only available during summer fairs. Sure, these invoke loving memories for Saskatchewan residents but the casual tourist might be interested in something more unique.

The answer is found in Regina.

Pizza as deli sandwich

Regina-style pizza has a small but dedicated following. It’s a minor variation of pizza that is unknown in other parts of Saskatchewan, let alone Canada. Heck, even some Regina residents don’t know that their pizza is a style on its own.

The defining characteristic of Regina-style pizza is its stack of toppings. It’s like a deli sandwich or lasagna. Different ingredients are spread on the dough in tiers and finished off with cheese as the top layer. When one cuts into the pizza, one should clearly see all the layers. Other than the distribution of toppings, it’s pretty much a normal North American pizza. Thick, doughy crust, smothered with mozzarella and non-gourmet ingredients.

Typical toppings are cheap and the same as national restaurant chains: ham, salami, pepperoni, bacon, green peppers, onions, mushroom, olives, pineapple, and more. The signature combination is “all dressed”, which includes all the deli meats and some token vegetables.

A good Regina-style pizza shouldn’t be overstuffed. A tendency is for the bread to become soggy and weighed down by all the ingredients. Connoisseurs talk about meat quality, but frankly there isn’t a big difference in cured meats at that price point. Don’t expect charcuterie. It’s mass-market processed meat.

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Where Canadian ginger beef was born

In this series of iconic Canadian foods, we travel to Calgary, the birthplace of ginger beef, Caesar cocktail, and mostly meh Canadian chains like Hy’s, Joey, Moxies, and OPA! of Greece.

Elements of Canadian comfort food

Southern USA has fried chicken and hush puppies. Canada has ginger beef and poutine. They are unhealthy, easy to make but difficult to master. There is no set recipe for ginger beef but it’s generally deep-fried beef strips with a ginger sauce. The most apt description I can think of is “beef candy”.

When done well, the exterior is crispy and the meat has a jerky-like quality. The beef is on the lean side, on the verge of dry. But the meat should flake easily. It’s a tricky texture to accomplish. Ginger pieces are incorporated into the batter or during frying. Sweetness, lots of it, comes from the gooey sauce.

Ginger beef is a Western Canadian thing. It rarely appears in Toronto or anywhere east of Winnipeg for that matter. Not sure why because the cooking style is similar to General Tso’s chicken, sweet and sour pork, and other Westernized Chinese dishes.

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