Food: America’s top burger – right here in Siouxland

If you are a meat eater and haven’t tried the Wagyu Burger at Kahill’s Steak House in South Sioux City, Neb., you are missing out.

And not just on a great burger, but a sandwich, if you can call it that, voted in June to be America’s best by Restaurant Hospitality Magazine, a Cleveland-based publication and accompanying web site

Officially called the Farm-to-Table Wagyu Burger, this monstrosity of flavor is perfect for a couple, or a big eater. A friend and I paid $14, and split the burger for lunch, and we could not have been happier.

“This sandwich was inspired by the Midwest, which has the best farmland, the best beef and the best vegetables available,” Chef Ryan Devitt told the magazine.

The sandwich begins with Morgan Ranch Wagyu beef from a Burwell, Neb., producer. Waygu cattle are the American version of Japan’s kobe beef and offer exceptional marbling, smooth texture and rich taste. Morgan Ranch uses no hormones or sub-therapeutic antibiotics and does not feed any of its cattle animal biproducts, the restaurant said in a statement about the sandwich.

The sandwich is then topped with local pork belly, Gruyere cheese, house bearnaise, and a farm-fresh duck egg. The sandwich is balanced on matchstick fries in a pool of veal demi-glace. As you might have guessed, your taste buds will thank you for this one.

For me, this savory meal really was centered on the beef – with layers of flavor making this fancy burger the most interesting I’ve ever enjoyed. But the egg, cheese and sauces picked up when my taste buds became accustomed to the Wagyu.

The magazine’s judges were impressed with the local aspect, as well as the size of the meal. “Not only is this a farm-to-fork sandwich, it’s also a knife-and-fork sandwich. The house bearnaise, the duck egg and the veal demi-glace make this decadent sandwich a beautifully delicious mess. The wagyu had us at hello, but then the pork belly came walking through the door. The result was an irresistible ménage a trois with us in the middle. We’re in love.”

The runners-up were from New York and Hollywood, Calif., but neither could top the farm-country flavor that Kahill’s offers in this unique meal.

Eat up burger lovers. This is one Siouxland title worth savoring.