2026 Burger Battle: Cascata Italian Cuisine [REVIEW]

There has never been a better time to be a burger lover than right now.

The 2026 Burger Battle continues in Downtown Sioux Falls through the end of January, and for the 13th annual event, your choices are more plentiful than they've ever been.

This year, there are 50 different burgers to choose from, shattering last year's record of 39 entries.

READ MORE: South Dakota Shines As A Top State For Raising Kids

Your involvement is pretty simple:

• Identify the burgers you want to try
• Show up hungry
• Eat
• Download the DTSF Passport app to your phone

• Find the burger in the app and rank it in five categories (Remember to enter the verification code provided to you by the restaurant)

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This year's offering from Cascata Italian Cuisine is the Canadian Express.

Here's the official description:

1/2 lb Demkota Ranch Beef burger patty with fresh mozzarella, hand-cut fries, cheese curds, brown gravy, and chopped bacon on a locally sourced Ciabatta bun, served with a side of truffle parm sidewinder fries.

Read More: What To Expect At The 2026 Downtown Sioux Falls Burger Battle

This is essentially Poutine on a bun.

So what is Poutine? It's a classic Canadian comfort food dating back to the 1950s. It combines French fries topped with cheese curds and is smothered in hot brown gravy.

The Canadian Express is all of that on top of a ground beef patty surrounded by a Ciabatta bun.

Two words of warning on this burger:

1. Getting this one to go is not advised; it's quite messy
2. With the fries and gravy, it's a bit on the salty side

That being said, the Canadian Express delivers on its description. It looks great and tastes great with just the right amount of fries, cheese, and gravy to not distract from the flavor of the burger and the texture of the bun.

Here's how it ranked:

• Flavor: 8
• Patty: 8
• Toppings: 8
• Bun: 8
• Presentation: 8