NORTH WEBSTER – With 72 percent of the vote, the Hoe Burger is the winner of Kosciusko County Burger Wars. The creation of Craig “Backhoe” Streby, kitchen manager for North Webster American Legion Post 253, the Hoe Burger beat out 22 local favorites including the other final-round contender, the Balsamic Goat Cheese Burger from Rozella Ford, Warsaw. It will go on to compete against winners from six other counties plus a people’s choice wild card starting Friday. Streby said his burger – a charbroiled patty topped with American cheese, hot ham and swiss, an egg fried over hard and pepperjack cheese – is the result of experimentation on a slow day. “I was just messing around in the kitchen. When it’s slow, I like to try new things, mix stuff up,” he said this morning. His co-workers liked it enough to put it on the menu and later nominate it for the contest. “It’s very nice to know you got something good. I knew it all along, now this just reaffirms the fact,” he said. Post 253 started offering lunch about 10 years ago, which soon grew into a full menu with chicken strips, salad, tenderloins, jumbo strip and, of course, burgers, among other dishes. They make much of it from scratch, said Streby, who’s been with the Post for about five years. “We run the kitchen side like a restaurant but we’re still a club, we do things for vets. We have a service officer who takes vets to the VA. We just have a business inside it to raise funds,” he said. The post serves lunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday to Saturday, and dinner from 5 to 9 p.m. Monday to Friday. They also have a banquet hall for events and they cater, Streby said.
