Searching for #yxeBestBurger – Natasha’s

SASKATOON – We start on my birthday. Ever been to Natasha’s? People that haven’t don’t have much of a clue where it is. Here’s the help: rugby fields. Northwest corner of English Crescent.

You’re welcome.

I didn’t originally want to go here for this one. It’s not that I don’t love it – it’s that I do. I didn’t want to go into this with a strong bias. Alas, there we were; all seven of us.

Natasha’s is a rather unassuming building with a matching interior.  It’s a simple space, with plywood flooring, and seating for a good 50 or so – in the industrial district, it’s perfect.

This simplicity is matched by the premise that “good food doesn’t have to be tremendously complicated.” Local, ground meat, hand-grated cheese, and fresh everything else. Simple. Effective.

Natasha herself has one heck of an imagination; 90 per cent of the time I go, there’s something new on the board out front that she’s been wanting to try, and in all cases I’ve had, man, was it good.

Our photographer in the morning, Eric, thought it would be good to get seats for us (citing from example, the 50 or so chairs fill pretty quick when the lunch hour hits) and called to tell them it was my birthday.

We get there, and I’m presented with this, which I aptly named Saturn:

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That burger is roughly 11 inches across from cheese to cheese. Naturally, I cut all the way around the cheese and stacked it in the middle.

I did the calorie count on this son of a gun and I’m not willing to share that. Just know that I had this around 1 p.m., and I didn’t eat for the rest of the day – not because I felt bad, or something (me? Guilty for eating too much? Ha!) but because I had no appetite for more food.

I’ve never been so full that I didn’t feel the need to eat for ten hours. Well done, cheese … well done.

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As far as the burger itself is concerned, holy moly. How much cheese is too much cheese? I’ve yet to find out.

The bun had a nice crisp to it, the meat took nothing to get through, the veggies were crispy. Everything I’ve come to expect from Natasha’s, and then some.

The first edition of #yxeBestBurger is a dandy. Worth the drive to the north end.

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