Aside from chicken wings, Italian food and Greek restaurants, the city of Buffalo takes major pride in burgers. Restaurateurs have recognized this—My Burger Bar and Soho Burger Bar have recently followed the trend—and food trucks like Roaming Buffalo and Knight Slider regularly churn out creative burgers. Heck, in November 2012, local blog Buffalo Eats compiled a (subjective) list of the Queen City’s best burgers.

It’s not surprising, then, that Buffalonians like to mimic what they eat at restaurants by creating the dishes themselves, which leads us to Burger Bowl 2013. Formerly known as Man’s Night—read The Buffalo News food editor Andrew Galarneau’s feature story here—the burger contest will be held at 5 p.m. Saturday at Ireland’s Own Bar, 2163 Seneca St., Buffalo. (See map right if unfamiliar).

Let Galarneau’s eloquent food prose inject life into your taste buds:

In last year’s competition, Team 12 Pack Jack offered a burger that was a blend of ground beef brisket, ribeye and apple-smoked bacon. It was grilled over charcoal laced with hickory, then covered with abundant Irish cheddar cheese, which was allowed to melt onto the grill and get crispy. It was served on a freshly baked garlic roll, smothered in homemade mole sauce and topped with a bacon weave, an onion ring and crispy fried shallots and peppers.

Eight teams will compete for the title of burger champion, and they’ll go head-to-head over smokers, deep-fryers, grills and griddles in the kitchen of Ireland’s Own. As the evening unfolds, the audience will sample the chefs’ burgers to determine a crowd favorite, but may also feast on barbequed pulled pork, Irish cheddar mac and cheese, and indulge in an open bar that is included in the price of admission.

“Man’s Night” even has a Facebook page that offers merchandise and plans to include photos of past burgers later today. Who doesn’t like to stare down a mouth-watering burger while passing time in the office?

$25 tickets can be ordered in advance by calling (716) 913-5178, as the cost rises to $30 at the door. It’s an evening of meaty gluttony, and these opportunities don’t present themselves that often in Buffalo. (Okay, they do, but this one seems awfully special.)

(Header photo courtesy of Flickr / puliarf).