You've got to get to Motor Burger on a Tuesday and try a Mozza'rati

This intriguing beauty is a Mozza'rati. A new 'burger' only available at Motor Burger and only available on Tuesdays.  Even on a Tuesday they are in limited supply and it may be worth contacting them to make sure they have some left before you go (though if you do go and they don't have any Mozza'rotti left there's tons of other awesome burgers to choose from, so it wouldn't really be much of a loss). Yesterday I finally got a chance to try one of these beauties for myself. 

So what exactly is it? It's an all beef burger with pepperoni wrapped in mozzarella cheese wrapped in pizza dough and baked. Served in a sea of tangy tomato sauce. 

It's just as good as it sounds. This burger combines two of my favourite things; Motor's amazing burgers and pizza. It's like someone read my mind and told them to make this just for me. The meat patty was perfectly cooked and spiced. The pepperoni wasn't too spicy. The sauce was a good tangy sweet. I guess the only thing I would have changed was to add more cheese and that shouldn't surprise anyone :D

Along with the Mozza'rati I feel the need to mention Motor Craft Ales. This local brewery is part of Motor Burger and includes a significant number of beers. Way more than I remember them serving last time we were there. Many are available to go as well as with your meal. Overall it feels like they stepped it up a notch. We tried four different beers while we were there and they were all excellent and each very distinct. 

A special mention goes out to the BMW 2.0 which is by far the best beer I've had from Motor Craft Ales and one of the best beers I've had from a Windsor brewery. The BMW is a Dunkelweizen, 7.4% ABV, 23.5 IBU. I found it very easy to drink, with a great balance of sweet fruit tastes and hoppy bitterness. It has some notes of banana and apple, but you couldn't really taste any booziness despite the high ABV. It went great with the Mozza'rati.

Burger Battle: Motor Vs. Mamo

There's a battle raging right now in Windsor. A burger battle. On one front you have Motor Burger and onthe other front you have Mamo Burger Bar.

In case you haven't noticed, Windsor has become a battle zone of amazing burger joints. We've had Bubi's and Gilligan's for a while now but now there are tons of amazing burgers around the city at places like Joe Schmoe's and the Bull n Barrel. Two of the newest entries onto the field of battle, and my personal favorites, are Motor Burger and Mamo Burger Bar

Motor Burger

Motor Burger is located in the heart of Via Italia, Windsor's Little Italy, at 888 Erie Street. Awarded the Reader's Digest Canada's "Best Gourmet Burger" medal in 2012 and followed up with their "You Gotta Eat Here" stripes the next year, Motor Burger comes to the field well decorated.

You will find fifteen different burgers on the menu. These are all gourmet burgers made with a huge variety of fresh ingredients and toppings. My favourite is the Autostrada (Chipotle rubbed northern Italian sausage, gorgonzola cheese, sliced apple slaw), the wife loves the Twin Barracudas (2 panko encrusted haddock sliders, creamy cajun slaw, cheddar cheese, pickle). All of these are available single or supercharged. Supercharged means a scary amount of burger as they toss a second patty on there.

Supporting these fifteen lieutenants are the best damn sides in the city. Truly amazing onion rings. Sweet potato fries. Poutine and some of the greatest Mac & Cheese in the city. There are also some salads for those of you who forgot you went to a burger joint. Oh, and some great starters too, not that you really need them, a bowl of rings and a burger fills this Big Dude right up, but if you are a glutton for punishment grab the Chili Spring Rolls (chorizo chile & black bean, lime, smoked cheese, sour cream).

Added to all this great food Motor Burger has one more thing going for it. It's also an Ontario Craft Brewer. Yep you read that right. Motor Craft Ales is brewed specifically for Motor Burger. I could so use a pint of Dragula right now.

Mamo Burger Bar

Mamo Burger Bar can be found at 1515 Ottawa Street. The previous location of Sweet T's Southern Cooking and before that Smoke n' Spice. Actually Mamo was opened by the same owners and they have a real hit here.

Mamo has only ten lieutenants in their army but they back it up with a lot more support troops. The ten signature burgers are all tradition beef burgers. Well somewhat traditional. They get the meat from Shawn Morris Farms (better known as The Butcher of Kingsville), ground fresh that day. While it's not the variety you get at some other places in the city, this is the most tasty beef burger patty I've ever had. Added to those patties are some of the greatest topping combos ever. Personally I can never decide between the Wakin' & Bacon (cheddar, house bacon, fried egg & bacon jam) or The Daddy Mac (House made mac & cheese, smoked pull pork & caramelized onions).

Alongside those burgers are a couple of different sets of sides. Standard ones and deluxe specialist troops that cost a bit more to muster. These include fries, garlic fries, tater tots, Caesar salad on the low end and poutine, chili cheese fries and fried pickles for the elite troops.

There are also quite a few non-burger items on Mamo's menu. There are those same confusing salads (seriously, who goes to a burger joint to get a salad?), turkey sandwiches, pulled pork, chicken tenders, soup and chili and more. It's definitely a much more diverse set of troops.

The beer selection at Mamo isn't so bad either. Sure it's not brewed right there but they do have an Ontario Craft Beer menu and they mix up the taps pretty good.

My thoughts on the war

Both of these competitors have something amazing to bring to the battle. I think the sides at Motor Burger are some of the best in the city, if not the best. My kids love it as well, they can't get enough of the mac & cheese. I love the burgers too but I have to give an edge to Mamo Burger there. Given the choice I would choose a Daddy Mac over an Autostrada more often then not. But then Motor Burger brews their own beer, I really like beer. It's crowded though and Mamo feels more relaxed. Wait I know what will decide this battle: price! No wait that doesn't work, a burger and side at Motor Burger will cost you about $12-15. A burger at Mamo costs about the same and comes with side.

You know who really wins this battle? All of us, the people of Windsor, by having such amazing burgers made right here in our backyard.

This #FoodPornFriday we look at the drool worthy Autostrada from Motorburger

This week's #FoodPornFriday features one of my favourite local burger joints: Motorburger. This place is amazing and you can check out my full review, originally posted back in January.

What you see here is my favourite burger from MotorbugerL The Autostrada. Chipotle rubbed northern italian sausage, gorgonzola cheese, sliced apple slaw for $7.50 or $11.50 for a double patty (something even this big dude does not need).

Have a great food picture you want to share? Join in the #FoodPornFriday fun and link up below. If you are one of those bashful types you can use #FoodPicFriday. Feel free to save some twitter characters by using #FPF as well.

Motor Burger: amazing burgers and great beer, what more could you want?

Windsor is turning into a mecca for burgers. There are a ton of amazing places all within a short drive of my house where I can get a burger to die for. Many people in the city think one of these stands tall above the rest and that place is Motor Burger.

It's not just Windsorites that think so either. Reader's Digest listed their Deux Chevaux as one of the top 5 burgers in Canada. They've also been featured on You Gotta Eat Here!

Motor Burger is located in the heart of Via Italia, Windsor's Little Italy, at 888 Erie Street. Right by the roundabout at Parent. Parking in the area is scarce as is seating at the restaurant itself. No matter what day of the week you go if you show up after 5pm expect to wait to get a table. This place isn't a hidden gem or a well kept secret, people know how good Motor Burger is and they pack the place every night (well except Sunday when they are closed).

One of the reasons they are always so packed is that this is a tiny place. They manged to squeeze in about as much seating as possible but the interior with all it's automotive themed artwork and distinctive lime green colour is long, narrow and crowded. It's also noisy. Always noisy. Don't head here for a quiet date night with your loved one, expect lots of people and lots of noise.

As expected the menu at Motor Burger is filled with burgers. Not your ordinary burgers either. Sure they will give a traditional cow patty if you really want it but, why would you do that when you could have my personal favourite the Autostrada? This is a chipotle rubbed Italian sausage patty with Gorgonzola cheese covered in sliced apple slaw. That's a shot of it there on the left.

My wife's favourite is the Twin Barracudas. It's two panko encrusted haddock sliders with creamy Cajun slaw, cheddar cheese and pickle. Though sometimes she's grabs a Shrimp Fuel which has a patty made with ground shrimp covered in chilies, garlic, tomato, cilantro, avocado and mango salsa. There's more options as well including chorizo sausage, fresh chicken or Kobe brisket. There's a burger here for everyone.

In addition to the the burgers they also offer a ton of great sides and appetizers. Last time there we got the Chili Spring Rolls which are made with chorizo chili, black bean, lime and smoked cheese. Have I mentioned I love chorizo before? Well I do. Along with the appetizer we got a bowl of onion rings to go with the burgers. Motor Burger has the best onion rings I've ever tasted. 

If the kids were with us we would have had to grab a side of Motor Mac and 3 Cheese. This is a baked mac and cheese that puts all other mac and cheese to shame. My kids won't eat Kraft for at least a week after a trip to Motor Burger. We didn't have the kids on our last trip which is great because it meant I could have a few Ontario Craft Beers, brewed right there.

That's right not only is Motor Burger a great place to grab some amazing burgers and sides, it's a brewery. Motor Craft Ales are brewed right there on site. 

Motor Craft Ales brews 9 different standard brews as well as a variety of seasonals. My personal favourite is Dragula. This is a Black Schwarzbier Lager Ale. The Big Block Brown is my second choice. My wife is usually partial to the C-hop Top I.P.A but tried a seasonal this time around. Jalopy, a Jalapeno Ale. I had a sip of this and it was rather good. It did pack quite the punch though.

Our last trip to Motor Burger was just before my birthday party and we ended up getting an appetizer, two burgers and a couple beers each and the total bill was about $60 before tip. Extremely reasonable for the amount of food and drink and more than reasonable for the quality.

Despite the fact it's hard to find parking in the area, and it's sometimes even harder to actually get a seat without a long wait combined with the fact that sometimes you can't even hear yourself think, I still love Motor Burger. It's one of my favourite places to eat in the entire city.