Feb. 2, 2022

After barely missing the title last year, Sioux Falls’ favorite burger of 2022 came out of the kitchen of Chef Lance’s on Phillips.

The restaurant’s burger emerged from a record field of 27 for this year’s Downtown Burger Battle, an event coordinated by Downtown Sioux Falls Inc.

The winner, dubbed the Tuscany Burger, combined an Angus half-pound fresh ground beef patty with Genoa salami, Fontina cheese, basil pesto, fresh arugula, heirloom tomatoes, balsamic vinaigrette and garlic mayo, served on a Breadsmith sun-dried tomato bun.

Chef Lance’s finished second to Papa Woody’s Wood Fired Pizza in last year’s Downtown Burger Battle. It’s located at 431 N. Phillips Ave.

It was the ninth annual running of the January contest, designed to give restaurants a boost in business during a traditionally slow time of year.

There were at least 35,000 burgers sold, compared with more than 31,000 sold last year, and final numbers are still coming in.

Chef Lance’s sold about 1,800 burgers.

“We’re super excited,” owner Lance White said.”We should have changed our name for January to Chef Lance’s Burger Joint … we sell so many, and I’m just super proud of the team here.”

The burger will return to the menu for February, beginning Tuesday.

Here’s who else ranked among the favorites this year:

• Runner up: Blarney Stone’s Raspberry Jalapeno Popper Burger, 6,795 burgers sold.
• Third place: Ode to Food & Drink’s Black & Bleu Wagyu,  1,967 burgers sold.
• Fourth place: Parker’s Bistro’s Raja Burger, 417 burgers sold.
• Fifth place: Remedy Brewing Co.’s The Queen Bee Burger, 3,633 burgers sold.

The Downtown Sioux Falls Digital Passport App reported 17,379 votes from 10,415 users this year, compared with 11,037 votes from 6,380 app users last year.

This year, 32 people ate and voted at all 27 restaurants, compared with 42 people the year before.

For a look at the story behind Chef Lance’s restaurant, click below.

They opened a restaurant during the pandemic. One year later, it’s a local favorite