Great tastes at Uncle Tom’s

Over the next several weeks, the Sun will be visiting small locally owned restaurants and food trucks in Westman, tasting what our great corner of the province has to offer.

NEEPAWA — We’ve all seen those people who stand in front of fast food restaurant menus like they’re in a trance, taking forever to decide what to order. I’m not one of those.

All it took was a quick scan of the menu at Uncle Tom’s Burgers in Neepawa and when I saw, “It’s cheesy and it’s messy,” written under the Nach ur Mama Burger, I knew I had to have it.

The drive-in restaurant is on the west side of Neepawa, just a quick turn off Highway 5. The exterior looks like a cabin and has four picnic tables with big bright umbrellas, and the order window inside.

Alyx Delaloy took my order for the burger and successfully upsold me some chili cheese fries.

“Everything’s homemade,” she said.

And since I had skipped breakfast, I also ordered a chocolate milkshake and the Tom Mush Dog, which was advertised as loaded with cheese and mushrooms — and was it ever.

Not your ordinary hotdog, it was split lengthwise and cooked on a flat grill. It was served on a lightly toasted mini-submarine bun with fresh fried mushrooms, lettuce, tomato, chunks of red onion, mustard and relish. My mouth is watering even now as I write about it. It was delicious.

It took some manoeuvring to take that first bite because I bit off more than I could chew, but it was worth it. The bun was fresh, and the flavours mixed nicely.

When the burger arrived, it made me laugh because it looked so good. The bun was smeared with mexi-ranch sauce, topped with one patty, lettuce, tomato, banana peppers, nacho cheese sauce and topped with three deep fried cream cheese slammers (also known as jalapeño poppers).

Truth be told, I ate two of the slammers first and then gently pressed the two buns together to get everything in, and then I dived right in!

The burger was juicy, almost as if it had been sauteed, and the banana peppers added the spice I like, with crunchy bites courtesy of the crisp lettuce. I highly recommend.

I can’t remember the last time I ordered a milkshake. I think I was turned off because they were either too watery or too thick.

So, in a blatant theft from Goldilocks and the Three Bears, this one was just right. There was enough chocolate flavour to make it sweet but not overly, and a perfect ice-cream-to-milk ratio.

The chili fries came in the same size takeout container as the burger and hotdog — very generous. I gracefully declined the offer of ketchup because I didn’t want to compromise the chili taste.

It was thick and savoury, a perfect mix of sweet and spicy with a nice aftertaste. I’m also a big fan of kidney beans being added to chili, and there they were. There was also a perfect amount of grated cheddar cheese sprinkled on top.

A big pet peeve of mine is soggy french fries, but these ones had a crispy exterior and were light and fluffy on the inside. They were piping hot with a little bit of salt.

There are dozens of other dishes on the menu including several other burgers, sandwiches, and a kids’ menu. But I was satisfied with my choices.

By now, members of the family-run restaurant were looking at me with curiosity, most likely asking themselves who this person was ordering the big hotdog, an even bigger burger, order of chili fries and chocolate milkshake.

Bob Delaloy has been the owner and operator of Uncle Tom’s Burgers for the last four years. Previously, he and his wife Sandra ran the Pizza Cabin near Minnedosa.

Customer demand convinced them to open a restaurant again, he said, so they decided to go small.

The couple’s son Reg and grandkids Hayden and Alyx are the only other employees.

They all get along, make sure they follow standards, and never cut corners, he said.

“When you’re in there and it’s 40 degrees (Celsius), and you’ve been standing for a 10-hour day, sweating and just so hot, and you got one person who comes and says ‘that’s the best food we’ve had’ … that’s better than getting paid for it because that means your work is appreciated.”

It was appreciated.

Overall, I rate Uncle Tom’s Burgers a 5/5. Along with the great food, the service was good, atmosphere welcoming, and I enjoyed the music on the outdoor speakers.

» mmcdougall@brandonsun.com

» enviromichele.bsky.social