Feb. 2, 2026

Three of four February food battles are back from last year, offering diners a chance to pick their favorite sandwich, pizza and burger.

Not making it to a second year is the Bite-Sized Showdown, which featured seven small-town restaurants competing to see who had the best taco.

Here’s a look at the three contests.

SouthSide Slamwich

The SouthSide Slamwich is back for its third year and has 16 competitors, one more than last year.

The only rule for the sandwiches is no burgers, said Jess Jones, who owns The Smoked Culture with her husband, Ryan Gaede. The two came up with the idea for the competition, which includes restaurants south of 41st Street.

“I feel this year there’s a lot more momentum,” Jones said. “It’s the first year we’ve done radio advertising. I think doing radio will help raise awareness.”

The restaurants now work together to organize and promote the monthlong competition, she said.

This year’s lineup includes The Attic East Bar & Grill, The Barrel House, Egg on a Roll, Golf Addiction, south-side Jack Rose Social Club, JJ’s Bar, Krav’n, Look’s Marketplace, Lucky’s on Louise, McNally’s Irish Pub, Roam Kitchen + Bar, Roundhouse Brew Pub, The Rush Bar & Grill, The Smoked Culture, The Tavern Grill and Tinners Public House.

The defending champion is The Rush.

To view the sandwiches from participating restaurants and vote, click here.

The competition is sharing rave reviews on its Facebook page. 

Sioux Empire Pizza Battle

The second annual Sioux Empire Pizza Battle features 10 pizza places competing to see who has the best specialty pizza.

The competition organized by Midwest Communications started today and runs through Feb. 28.

Toppings this year range from bison sausage and Mongolian beef to a breakfast pizza and one with something different on each quadrant.

Here’s the full list of participating restaurants: The 18th Amendment, Boss’ Pizza & Chicken, Boston’s Restaurant & Sports Bar, Charlie’s Pizza House, Dareo’s Pizza on Minnesota Avenue, Invictus Pizza Kitchen, Pizza Cheeks, The Thirsty Duck Bar & Grill, both Tomacelli’s Pizza & Pasta locations and Valentino’s.

Last year’s competition “drummed up a little bit” of extra business, said Darin Lubbers, who has owned Tomacelli’s for 31 years. “We figured why not (do it again) because we had some good ideas.”

Tomacelli’s Ultimate Breakfast Pizza has a creamy salsa base that’s topped with hash browns, link sausage, ham, bacon, scrambled eggs, green onion, cheddar and mozzarella. It’s finished with a drizzle of hollandaise and cracked black pepper. It comes with a tiny bottle of Tabasco and a small cup of maple syrup for customers to drizzle as they like, Lubbers said.

“It’s unique; not that many places have breakfast pizza. … We were trying to be creative and trying to do something that would have a chance to stay on the menu permanently.” He’s always thought that a breakfast pizza would be popular on the weekend.

Charlie’s Pizza House was last year’s winner with the Judy Garland, which had alfredo sauce, spinach, bacon, chicken, roma tomatoes and garlic, finished with Parmesan and sweet balsamic glaze. This year’s entry is the Grace Kelly, which features pastrami and mushrooms.

A portion of the proceeds from the Sioux Empire Pizza Battle will be dedicated to local charities.

To see all the pizzas and vote for your favorite, click here.

605 Rural Burger Battle

The 605 Rural Burger Battle also is back for a second year with four more participants.

The 10 competing burgers at bars and restaurants north of Sioux Falls are the Baltic Corner and Someday Cafe, both in Baltic; Hef’s Bar & Grill in Chester; Wooden Nickel and Lucky Ladz, both in Crooks; Norby’s Bar & Grill, Pinz and Prohibition Pub in Dell Rapids; Safari Bar & Grill in Renner; and Steve’s Bar & Grill in Trent.

The burgers are being judged on flavor, patty, toppings, bun and presentation. Each location will provide a QR code for casting votes.

Last year, Baltic Corner won the inaugural competition with The Boss Burger. The bacon burger with beer cheese sauce, onion tanglers and American and Swiss cheeses on a pretzel bun earned a permanent spot on the menu.

“It definitely increased the business” for the participating businesses last year, said Jamie Keller, front of house manager at Safari, which organizes the event.

Canton Battle of the Bites

A new competition in Canton features six businesses competing in the Battle of the Bites this month.

Participants are Casey’s with the Bacon Breakfast Pizza available all day, Dairy Queen with the Backyard Bacon Ranch Burger, M.I. Nuts Co. with the BBQ Chicken Sandwich, Sioux Valley Grille with Island Sliders, Taco John’s with the Guacamole Stuffed Grilled Taco and The Wheel with the Mexican Street Corn Pizza.

Diners will vote for their favorite.

Editor’s note: This article was updated Feb. 3 to reflect that The Scapegoat was removed from the original list of Sioux Empire Pizza Battle competitors and on Feb. 6 to add the Canton Battle of the Bites.