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The winner: Burger Bar Crescent's Hangover Burger

The inaugural Burger Week Montreal ended at midnight, September 7, when the final votes were tallied. Appropriately, the winner was a burger-specialty restaurant, Burger Bar Crescent, which received 534 votes for its Hangover Burger, a 6-oz. beef patty topped with caramelized onions, bacon, American cheese, truffle oil, fried egg and a mini poutine (fries, cheese curds and gravy). That’s the winner (menu priced at $15) at right. It out-polled one burger topped with “pulled Appalachian deer.”

What makes Burger Week MTL of interest outside that city is that it can serve as a model for organizing and running similar celebrations of burgers and the restaurants that serve them in other cities and towns. Thirty-one Montreal restaurants took part, each of them offering a special burger for the week of Sept. 1-7. These burgers were priced at $5, $10 or $15 (Canadian), with about half (15) at $10.

The event effectively and efficiently used digital and social media. A website provided information (location, price, etc.) on each participating restaurant as well as on sponsors. Up-to-date vote tallies made it worth repeat visits. The site also explained the voting process. Diners visiting participating restaurants receiving a “voting card” with the restaurant’s name, a password and a QR code. Votes could be cast by scanning the QR code with a mobile phone or via the website (using the voting card’s password).

Diablos' deep-fried Sixth Deadly Sin Burger

Restaurants weren’t the only winners. Diners accumulated points for a long list of “achievements”—from registering and voting to eating at the most expensive restaurant, using a mobile phone to vote and checking in on Twitter or Facebook—and points could be redeemed for prizes (the grand-prize winner has yet to be named).

Burger Week MTL displayed an admirable awareness of both healthfulness and charity. The Burger Week MTL Run on Sept. 6 offered Montrealers a chance to burn calories and contribute money to the Montreal Canadiens Children’s Foundation.

At its core, of course, the event was a celebration of burgers. Below are the restaurants that finished in 2nd through 10^th place, in descending order, and the burgers they served during the week. As always, feel free to borrow good ideas.

m:brgr: Kobe Burger ($10)
Kobe beef topped with Pecorino cheese, arugula, cherry tomatoes and grilled all-beef salami with chili ketchup

ART:brgr: Volcano Burger ($15)
Premium meat patty, Portobello in white wine and garlic butter, avocado on a bed of thin- sliced house-made chips and spicy jalapeňos covered with Swiss cheese, house-made aïoli  and tomato sauce; topped with an (optional) sunny-side-up egg

Café Souvenir's Breakfast Burger

Diablos Smoke House BBQ: The Sixth Deadly Sin Burger ($15)
Beef patty topped with Provolone cheese, smoked bacon and smoked tomato ketchup; then the entire burger is deep-fried

BAXO Cuisine & Bar: Hulk Smash Burger ($15)
A 13-oz. patty of marinated hanger steak with pulled Appalachian deer, house-made bacon, aged Cheddar, heirloom tomatoes, rustic BBQ apple sauce and smoked mayo on a sourdough bun

Jukebox Burgers & Bar Laitier: Rocky Marciano Burger ($10)
100% Canadian Angus beef, cheese and spices

Suite 701: Kobe Burger with Foie Gras ($15)
A 6-oz. Canadian Wagyu beef patty with Quebec-sourced foie gras “au torchon,” Mystique cider-onion compote, chicory and spicy mayo on a fresh poppy-seed onion bun

Mister Steer: The Monsieur Supreme Burger ($10)
Beef patty with melted Cheddar, crisp bacon, beer-braised onions and house-made BBQ sauce on a sesame Kaiser bun

iBurger: Sushi Burger ($15)
Fresh salmon tartare, mango and avocado between two thin rice cakes

Café Souvenir: Breakfast Burger ($10)
Pulled pork, fried egg, avocado and tomatoes on a kaiser bun