Dave N.’s Review

The Experience

My girlfriend Caryl and I decided to eat vegan for the month of November. That means no dairy, no eggs, and certainly no burgers. Or does it?! Veggie and soy burgers were obviously a possibility, but it’s pretty hard finding ones that a) are completely vegan, and b) don’t taste like a cardboard asshole.

By the end of the month I had eaten one burger at home that was really gross, and I was dying to get out and have something delicious. I found out that South St. Burger Co. — a newish burger chain owned by New York Fries — had a veggie burger, so I gave them a shout via their Twitter account to find out if it was truly vegan. I got a fast, friendly and helpful reply with the information I needed, and made plans with Caryl to eat there (though we did so in different cities).

Now, my vegan diet may not have been as strict as some, and my research into their ingredients was fairly limited. If you are interested in a veggie burger from South Street, I recommend emailing them at info@southstburger.com for a full list of ingredients, to make sure it fits your needs.

So far, my (pre-visit) experience with the company had been super good. I was impressed and happy. Once I got to the clean, modern-looking restaurant, things stayed more or less positive. The ordering procedure is like a Harvey’s or Lick’s: order your burger, shuffle down the line and, once your burger has been grilled up, order your condiments. The staff were fast and friendly, and the whole thing was efficient.

But I did say "more or less", didn’t I? There was something that came close to ruining my whole meal for me: Rush. The restaurant had the radio (Q107 I believe) on really loud. I generally like Q107, but having it on in the restaurant sucks:

1. In addition to really loud music, I have to listen to really loud commercials. I’ve already paid for my meal, I don’t want to also have ads drilled into my brain while I’m eating it.
2. If terrible, terrible music comes on, like fucking Rush, I can’t change the channel. I have to sit and listen to their 14-minute epics about trees, all the while gritting my teeth and wishing that I were deaf. I hate fucking Rush, man.

So yeah, the music situation was not cool. Significant points lost there, but your mileage may vary.

Another problem that I think is actually a bit of a bigger deal: the drink that came with my combo was tiny. The cup itself seemed like a decent size — smaller than I’d like, but decent — but it was packed with ice. Completely full. The amount of actual pre-melting liquid in there was enough to get me through about half my meal, after which I just had to suffer. I know there have been lots of points made about how much pop sizes have grown over the years and how bad it is for you, etc. But I don’t care, man. Give me a drink that’s big enough that I don’t get thirsty while eating. Pop costs practically nothing for these companies; skimping on that is pretty bushleague in my opinion.

A word about the fries: mmmm. I’ve always loved New York Fries, and having them with a burger was a nice treat.

The Burger

South St.’s veggie burger is actually mostly soy-based. Before going to South St. I was very conscious of the fact that I’d never had a soy burger I’ve really liked. And… much to my surprise, I found myself really enjoying this burger.

So I can set the flavour-scene a bit: I got my burger on a white bun (you could also get whole wheat if you like), with Dijon mustard, ketchup, lettuce, guacamole, banana peppers, salt and black pepper. There were lots of toppings to choose from, which was nice. There are some sauces (e.g. garlic aioli and I think a Dijon horseradish or something like that) that I’d like to try if I go back.

I must admit, my tastebuds were pretty confused while eating the burger. At no point did I think it was bad. I did, however, have all of the following thoughts (all of which I wrote down, naturally):

• Smells not burgery.
• Tastes good! Not really like a burger, but good!
• OK, it is pretty burgery. Not exactly like meat, but totally decent.
• Nice seasonings. I can’t exactly place what it tastes like.
• Maybe it does taste like meat, but not like a burger.

In hindsight, I’d say it was like a comedian doing a funny impression of another comedian. The impression will have some of the same characteristics of the original, some exaggerated and some understated. Though the original is good, the impression is also good, albeit in a different way. That’s a bit laboured, but I think you get what I’m trying to say.

All that said, there were aspects of the burger that could have been better. First, the burger seemed a bit small. I’m not sure if this was an illusion caused by a slightly too-large bun, or if it was actually small. I didn’t leave hungry, so that’s something to consider. Second, the toppings were applied skimpily, especially the guacamole. I’d say for more than half my bites, the toppings were more or less undetectable. The only saving grace is that none of them cost extra, which is nice.

Despite my weird ramblings and those two complaints, the bottom line is that South St. delivered a tasty burger in my hour of need, and I left a happy customer. I have no doubt I will return at some point to try their real burgers out, and maybe even give the veggie burger another go.

Bottom Line

Average rating:

3.85/5

 

 

Samson L.’s Review

The Experience

I have lived in Northern Arizona for a fair percentage of my childhood and have visited quite often since then, but I have never dined at any eatery in Jerome until now and I am not sure why. The Jerome Palace sits right off the main road (Jerome Ave), ultimately making the parking situation very limited. Directly across the street is a very small parking area that has the capacity to accommodate about 5-6 vehicles at best. So we had to drive back down Jerome Ave where there were a few more areas designated for parking. Luckily for us we were able to park almost right smack in front of the stairway which leads to the restaurant. The steps were shallow (about 8 inches deep) so for those impaired these steps may prove to be a bit of a challenge.

After our little cardio workout (the stairs) we made it to the front door of the Jerome Palace breathing just a little harder but completely prepared for what was about to come. From the outside it was apparent that they had patio seating, some of which were heated but the best part of the patio was the exceptional view of the valley. Inside you are greeted with a lovely showcase of bakery goodness and next to it was a condiment bar. Which made me suspect I would need to fetch my own tomatoes, pickles, lettuce, mustard, mayo, ketchup, etc… The indoor seating was very cozy because at first glance there seemed to be only about 6 tables varying from 2 person seating upfront to parties of 6-8 further back. Then there was the bar-side seating which looked like it could fit an additional eight, but don’t let the first impression fool you because they have an additional dining area located upstairs.

We were seated shortly after we had arrived and the waitresses was simply on top of things. Exceptional service with a great attitude. If you are ever in the Clarkdale-Jerome area I would recommend that you visit the Haunted Hamburger (especially if you have never been) because the locals rave that the Jerome Palace serves the best hamburgers and ribs in town.

The service was very prompt, the music was perfect, the atmosphere was inviting, the staff was awesome and very helpful. I am definitely coming back!

The Burger

The locals boast that the haunted burger is the burger of choice next to the double haunted burger which is the same with an additional patty. The burgers are charbroiled and each patty weighs in at a hearty 1/2 lb. They’re served with your choice of steak fries, baked potato, twice baked potato or cole slaw. Naturally I opted for the Haunted Burger (single patty) with the side of twice baked potato and (FTW) a bottle of Nut Brown Ale brewed by the local microbrewery Oak Creek Brewing.

Surprisingly enough our order arrived in about 12-15 mins and the haunted burger came with sautéed mushrooms, crisp bacon, cheddar and swiss cheese, green chilies, grilled onions and a side of guacamole. What sets this burger aside from other places is the fact that they serve each burger with (wait for it)… freshly baked homemade buns. Oh yeah no store bought bread here! Being the stud that I am I hit up the condiments bar and loaded my burger with lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, ketchup, mustard, a generous serving of jalapeños, then I smeared on the guac!

Rushing back to my seat (with drool on my chin) I quickly sat down and pondered a bit on how exactly I was going to tackle this challenge! Looking at my plate from several different angles I decided to just dive in all while keeping in mind that I wanted the first round to include every blissful element. The first bite just exploded with flavor. Hats off to the chef because it was prepared with just the right amount of seasoning and cooked to perfection. Tears literally ran down my right cheek as I proceeded to feast on the beast. I am glad I ordered the single patty; rather than, the double haunted burger. There was no way I could have finished it otherwise. With a little more then half left I snuck in a few fork filled servings of the "twice baked potato". I could be off base here, but it seemed like the twice baked potato was a regular baked potato served with a perfect portion of garlic mashed potatoes nested on top. It was nothing short of spectacular and far better then the usual standard side of fries!

Filled to gill and a smile on my face I proudly polished off the haunted burger and guzzled the last few swigs of the micro brewed beer. I only left behind a quarter sized morsel of what once was, the twice baked potato. Needless to say I was extremely pleased with my order.

This burger tops my list. Hearty portions, very well prepared, very well seasoned, full of flavor and the homemade buns made this experience perfect!

P.S. The chocolate tower cake (not a item made there) is about 9-10 inches tall, moist and fantastic. I ordered it to go and I would have posted pics of it, but by the time I pulled out the camera there was nothing left. My family devoured it.

Bottom Line

Average rating:

5/5

 

 

Samson L.’s Review

The Experience

In my entire existence I can honestly say that I have never been to Johnny Rockets diner prior to today, despite the fact I frequent the Santan Village shopping center. The location is fairly convenient as it’s caddy corner to the theater and across the way from the food court.

As I entered the establishment I immediately felt like I had stepped into a classic all-American diner with the tabletop jukeboxes and matching decor. To my surprise I also walked in at the exact same moment when three employees were doing a little number to the sounds of "Stayin Alive" by the Bee Gees as it was playing on the jukebox. Since the place was a little on the empty side I jumped into a booth which could have easily fit 4-5 people per bench. The music was great and the atmosphere was lively. On the downside the service was a little slow for not being very busy and when the music was playing it made it a little difficult to place my order. I understand that the troubled economy is rough but when you have to ask for a napkin and you are handed only one, you know times are tough!

Just for the record I am not implying in anyway, shape or form that I am a messy eater… I just needed a second napkin to clean up the spillage from the strawberry malt. Oh and BTW be sure to get the strawberry malt order in first because for what ever reason… it took a long time to get. To put it into perspective I received my burger (which took about 10 mins) way before my malt arrived.

Overall it was a pleasant experience and I would definitely go back again… if invited.

The Burger

Me being a virgin to Johnny Rockets, I asked the waiter (Anthony) for recommendations. Once he pointed out the "Smoke House Double Burger" my eyes focused on the description. Two fresh all beef 1/3 lbs patties, cheddar cheese, thick bacon strips, crispy onions rings topped with their own smoke house barbeque ranch sauce. Served with American fries or a side salad. Just the thought of two juicy 1/3 patties riddled with bacon and melted cheese had me salivating. So without any hesitations I order it with a strawberry malt!

So Anthony walked off and proceeded to the grill which is when I realized that the waiters and waitresses are also the cooks! I said to myself, "This can’t be good".

Finally after much anticipation my burger arrived, delivered by none other than Anthony. The look of it was intimidating. The size of it seemed like you would need to cut it in half to eat it, but I did not want to seem like wuss. So I handled it with both hands even though (not to brag or boast) I could have palmed it easily. While thinking to myself, "There is no way I am going to finish this".

To my surprise I expected to see the "sauce" overflowing and oozing out the buns. I also expected the "sauce" to be over powering rather than being weak at best. Nonetheless the burger was very juicy, very hearty. & very fulfilling! The onion rings gave it a nice touch and the American fries were delicious. I was hoping the bacon was applewood smoked, but they weren’t. Not a huge deal but it would have made the experience better. Surprisingly enough I devoured the "Smokehouse Double Burger" but barely scraped the surface of the fries.

I walked out satisfied.

Bottom Line

Average rating:

3.75/5

 

 

Dave N.’s Review

The Experience

Wendy’s restaurants tend to offer very few surprises.

As is fairly typical, I was in a rush and needed something fast and to-go. I hit up Wendy’s before getting on the subway. This particular Wendy’s was clean and tidy, but unfortunately it was also crazy slow with my order. When I arrived there were no other customers, so I’m not really sure why it took so long.

As my aggravation mounted, a family arrived — including two loud, yelling children. Now, it’s not Wendy’s fault that these kids were annoying, but this kind of thing is not atypical for a fast-food scenario and does impact the experience. So, points lost.

By the time I got my burger I was running late and had a headache. At this point every little minor aggravation was likely to set me off. Minor aggravations like:

• The fries were far too hot, possibly dangerously so.
• The fries were tossed into my paper bag haphazardly, creating greasy spots in the paper and ruining the structural integrity of the bag.
• The service was not unfriendly, but certainly not overly hospitable either.

So anyway, I pretty much had a terrible time of it there.

The Burger

Wendy’s burgers have the potential to be pretty greasy, but they’re also pretty tasty. This one wasn’t an exception. When I was finished eating it, there were somewhat-gross grease puddles left over in the burger’s foil wrapping. Despite this, the burger had a decent, fresh-ish taste for a fast food burger. It was also pretty soft and squishy, which I like in fast food.

Bottom Line

Average rating:

2.4/5

 

 

Dave N.’s Review

The Experience

I’m not sure exactly what this place is called. I’ve seen Caffevolo, Caffe Volo, Cafe Volo, Bar Volo and just plain Volo. I’m sticking with Volo, because it’s easier.

Anyway, this is a really nice Italian beer bar and restaurant on Yonge, near Wellesley. It’s a bit pricey, but it generally has great food and always has an amazing selection of beers. Their normal menu is always good, but it’s often worth checking out what’s on special (for both drinks and food).

The day I was there I was in a bit of a bad mood, as I was meeting a friend to help me resolve some labour/money issues I was having. (Bad mood because of issues, not because of friend helping me.) I offered to buy him drinks if he’d help me talk through it, which he agreed to. Dickhead that I am, I forgot to pay for his share, but I’ll pay him back later, I swear.

We ended up staying for more than just a drink, and we were eventually joined by his girlfriend, and the whole thing turned into quite a nice evening.

I’ve found that the service at Volo can be spotty, but that night I had absolutely no complaints. Our servers were fast, friendly and accurate.

My only complaints about the experience are that, as I said, Volo can be expensive; it can also be fairly dark in there, and I like a well-lit restaurant.

The Burger

The night we were there, Volo’s panini special was a 5oz veal burger with caramelized onions, mushrooms, pancetta bacon, and gorgonzola cheese on an egg brioche bun served with potatoes and mixed greens, all for $15. All three of us ordered it — mine without mushrooms, naturally – and I believe we all enjoyed it.

You can’t really go wrong with toppings like that — I mean shit, man. Onions, pancetta and gorgonzola? Fuck yeah. Why don’t more burgers have pancetta? Pancetta is great! And Volo’s not really the kind of place to dick around; the ingredients were top-notch, and the burger tasted awesome. Sure it was smallish, but it was really densely flavoured and rich. I loved it. Also, the bun was really nice. Why aren’t more burgers served on brioche? Brioche is great!

So, I’m not 100% sure if Volo even has burgers on their menu normally, but if you happen to be there and if there happens to be a burger special, for the love of God, order it. And have some great beers, too.

Bottom Line

Average rating:

4.7/5

 

 

Dave N.’s Review

The Experience

I had been working late, and needed to grab some food. I ended up meeting up with some friends, who highly recommended the burgers at this pub, so we hit the mother up.

The Duke of Somerset is part of the ‘Duke’ chain of pubs that can be found around Toronto. I had been in here a long time ago, when my girlfriend used to live nearby. I’m pretty sure it’s undergone some renos in the years since I had last visited and the place looks really nice. I’m a big fan of pubs, and this one hits a really sweet spot where it’s nice and classy and clean, without being pretentious.

The service was excellent, we got a nice big table in a prime location, and overall the night was good. There was some weird music playing that straddled a fine line between amazing and terrible. Selections included a disco medley of The Streets Have No Name and Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You, and some Blur.

Also: really good fries.

The Burger

Despite my friends’ recommendations, I didn’t actually intend to have a burger. However, the Somerset had this Monday night special that I found impossible to resist: any burger on the menu plus a pint of Keith’s for $12.99. Considering the burgers can cost $12.99 anyway, that’s a good bargain.

I opted for the Big Ben Burger, which has Stilton cheese, mushrooms, and beer-braised onions. I got it without mushrooms because mushrooms are gross, y’all. The burger was really beefy, in a good way; the meat had a nice, strong flavour. Oddly enough, the sesame seeds on my bun were also surprisingly strong (which is also good in my book). Unfortunately, these robust tastes just made the very lackluster stilton and onions all the more obvious and disappointing. While they tasted good, they also definitely struggled to be noticed under the beefy-sesamey double-whammy.

The burger was definitely good, but I was not satisfied with the toppings at all. I would definitely return to give the Duke of Somerset another shot, but I probably wouldn’t have the Big Ben Burger again.

Bottom Line

Average rating:

3.9/5

 

 

Vin S.’s Review

The Experience

Last month, I reviewed Classic Burger, my favorite local diner. Their burgers are just fine, though each one on the menu is basically the same, just maybe with one different topping (avocado, bacon, etc.). Having tried one, I know what most will be. Except… they do list a Pastrami Burger. Does that mean there is pastrami on the burger? Or some sort of alternate pastrami patty? I returned to Classic today, with full intent to try this.

However, as I parked and walked in, I noticed a sign on the front window, announcing Korean Style BBQ burgers and tacos. What!? Now, I’m an LA guy. I’ve had the famous Kogi tacos from the travelling van, and think they’re delicious. (Haven’t tried their kimchi quesadillas yet though.) Regardless, I was surprised to see my local diner advertising this. All thoughts of pastrami went out the window, and I ordered the bulgogie (sic) burger. The guy taking my order seemed slightly confused, it must be a brand new item. I showed him the handwritten "specials" menu on which the bulgogie burger was listed.

You can read my atmosphere experience review on my prior post. I’m docking some points for the local diner jumping on an LA hipster bandwagon (esp. because Redondo Beach isn’t exactly LA).

The Burger

As I said, most all of the burgers at Classic taste the same. Very good, but not much variety in tastes. That’s why the bulgogi was an intriguing turn of events. However, in the end, there was almost no distinction between this bulgogi Korean flavor, and the usual Classic hamburger. Perhaps this is because they are still learning to make it, I may give it another shot some time. But for the most part, this was a Classic hamburger, with lettuce and onion mix, with what I assume was a bit of bulgogi mixed in. I could barely taste it, if it was (and it sort of looked like there was something in there to make it a slightly different color). I do like the regular burgers here, they’re a good size and taste fine. But I wanted something a little more unique, something bulgogi to stand out, and I just didn’t get it.

Bottom Line

Average rating:

3.06/5

 

 

Dave N.’s Review

The Experience

No, I’m not going to write a review every time I go to McDonald’s, nor are our other reviewers. However, I don’t mind writing up a few a) to cover different menu items, or b) if it was an interesting or exceptional experience. This experience was neither interesting nor exceptional, so this review will simply focus on how sweet it is to get double cheeseburgers.

I don’t have much to say about going to McDonald’s. It was a pretty typical McDonald’s trip. I ended up missing my Queen subway stop on the way to work, so I got off at King and walked up. Recognizing that this was my only chance to eat lunch, and possibly dinner, I popped in for something quick. This particular McDonald’s was spacious and clean — far better than the one I sometimes hit at Queen and Church, which is a tiny scuzzhole.

The Burger

When I was in LA visiting Caryl’s brother last year, we were in search of something fast and cheap to eat before going out drinking at a tiki bar. McDonald’s fit the bill and I was, for the first time, introduced to the dollar menu. Now, in LA, items on this menu actually cost a dollar, which is pretty spectacular. Here in Canada they cost $1.39, which still ain’t nothing to shake no stick at. Included on this menu is the absolutely delicious, if somewhat wee, Double Cheeseburger.

For years, when I ate at McDonald’s, I ate Quarter Pounders. Since I’ve discovered the Double Cheeseburger, I’ve almost never looked back. The one time I tried to have a Quarter Pounder again I ended up being kinda put off by the taste, so I guess they’ve been ruined for me. The Double Cheeseburger is exactly what you would expect. It’s like a Double Quarter Pounder, but far smaller and flimsier, and with a slightly different taste. Though it still tastes like McDonald’s, of course.

Ok, I’m bored of writing this. What you need to know: the Double Cheeseburger is a better value than other McD’s burgers and just as good, if not better. Order up a couple of these bad boys next time you’re here.

Bottom Line

Average rating:

3/5 — it’s McDonald’s

 

 

Dave N.’s Review

The Experience

I first ate at Moxie’s when Caryl and I lived in Vancouver for a year. They were peppered around the city and we found it to be a decent place to get a fairly consistent, if somewhat overpriced, meal. After we moved back to Toronto, I guess they expanded eastwards because, well, here they are.

The atmosphere is like a Milestones or something like that — think (somewhat phonily) fancified bar and grill. It’s too dark for my tastes, and the lack of lighting comes off as kind of pretentious. It also makes it necessary for them to put insanely bright spotlights directly over the tables, which frequently blind you while you’re eating and conversing. The weird lighting and my colour-blindness also combined to trick me into using a pack of fake sugar for my coffee, though this is a problem few others will probably run into.

The service was friendly, but we waited for too long in my opinion. I was getting pretty antsy by the time the food showed up. It was kind of brutal. Once stuff arrived, things went OK. The house Euro-style beer was decent; got the job done. That job being, you know, to quench my thirst and make me a little tipsy. I made a super smart move in substituting the regular fries that came with my burger for their sweet potato fries. They were soooooo good. Damn. They came with a curry-mayo kind of sauce that was great, and also ended up going on my burger.

I like Moxie’s, but it had enough stupid crap going on to annoy me. The lights, the slow service, the price — it all added up to me being kind of cranky, which isn’t exactly what I want in a burger experience. Also, it made me miss Vancouver, so I ended being cranky and sad. The place is good, but they could stand to step their game up a bit.

The Burger

The menu had a few different burgers to choose from, and I decided to go with the Mediterranean Burger that was topped with feta and goat cheese and basil pesto. It was served with lettuce, tomatoes, red onions, pickles and sweet pepper aioli. (I removed the tomatoes and red onions and Caryl took my pickle.) I also added the previously-mentioned great curry-mayo kind of sauce that came with my fries and some mustard.

All of that seems like a hell of a lot of flavours to be mixing together. But, you guys, let me tell you that it was SO GOOD. All the condiments and melty cheeses and things mixed together to form this amazing, delicious awesomesauce. It ended up being a little messy and sloppy, but that worked out to my advantage because I was then able to dip my fries in all the discarded liquid fantastic coming off the burger. I was worried that the feta would make everything too salty, but it did not.

Clearly I liked the burger but, if I’m being honest, it did have some stupid bits. First, the bun was far too bunny — it was too big and poufy, and too dry. The actual burger patty itself was also sub-par. It tasted very familiar to me in a grocery-store-frozen-burger way; I think it might have been a President’s Choice burger. It wasn’t actually bad, but I expect something better (or at the very least different) than that when I go out and drop a small fortune.

So yeah, not the perfect burger. But, if a restaurant’s going to serve some shitty Loblaws burger, then this is the way to do it.

Bottom Line

Average rating:

3.71/5

 

 

Vin S.’s Review

The Experience

So some sudden changes in plans found me driving home from work on a different route than usual. Specifically, I found myself driving straight down Crenshaw Blvd. While I oftentimes do not take the freeways home, I also must admit, I do not usually take Crenshaw. I’m not sure what area of LA this is — I don’t think it’s quite South Central, it’s just south of the 10 at the Crenshaw/Jefferson intersection. It’s all LA to me. So what to do on a relatively unfamiliar route home? Find a burger place, and review it!

The first place I saw after deciding on finding a burger was the aptly named, The Burger Stand. I pulled over immediately. Now, don’t get me wrong — this place is not for everyone. The style, the location, all that, are surely offputting for a lot of people. I’m sure it’s out of most peoples’ ways, unless you happen to find yourself heading down Crenshaw for some reason. While The Burger Stand is in a building, and not technically a stand, there is no restaurant part, you walk up to the window and order through the glass. The pretty ladies at the grill then spin your food out to you in one of those rotating bulletproof window things. A guy was relieving himself in the alley in the back. There was a pay phone (!) next to the order window, and a bunch of mannequins modelling on the sidewalk next door. Not everyone would dig this atmosphere, which is either pretty irrelevant, or very strong, depending on your point of view.

Me, I dug it.

The Burger

I had trouble deciding today what to order. While there wasn’t a ton of menu items, there were a number of options. The burgers were broken up into normal, king and double. I’m not sure what a king is. I ended up asking for a double chili burger, but damn–they were out of chili. What? So I just went with a double cheese burger. Other topping options included egg or bacon. (Or the egg bacon chili monstrosity.)

And let me tell you, this was the best burger I’d eaten in a long time. It was basically too big, that’s for sure. But is that a flaw? I did ask for a double, so I can’t complain at least. The two meat patties were gigantic, and quite tasty. The meat probably overwhelmed everything, but it was so good, I don’t mind. The patties tasted like they were just ground right there and grilled and definitely not frozen or anything like that. Superb.

Also the toppings surprised, which were a sort of lettuce/onion/mustard/pickles mix. I’m not usually a mustard fan–I don’t hate it, but it’s not something I usually turn to. I found the mustard and pickles gave the massive amounts of meat a real nice bite. The spiciness was just right, and very tasty. The only flaw in the toppings was maybe the cheese, which wasn’t overly noticeable among everything else. On the other hand, the bun was also unmemorable, but in my mind, that’s good. Too much bread is overwhelming and I don’t like that.

Bottom Line

Average rating:

4.22/5

 

 

Sarah C.’s Review

The Experience

Today I was supposed to go with Dave to the new Gourmet Burger Co. that just opened up on Charles St. W, but tragically, Dave’s work thwarted our plans. To drown my sorrows, I went to Hero Burger with my husband instead.

We currently live pretty much equidistant between Hero Burger and Craft Burger, and I think we eat at both places about equally. To my mind, Craft Burger makes the better burger hands down, but Hero Burger provides very good value for your money and a fine burger experience, as it did today.

The Hero Burger in Hazelton Lanes only provides a couple of tables inside the store proper, but there are more spread out in front. The cashier was friendly and very polite (and also cute, which helps). Our food was ready within 6-7 minutes, which was impressive given that it was Saturday at 1:00 and they were fairly busy.

The milkshakes claim to be "90% ice cream, 10% milk," and I am here to tell you that this is FALSE. The shake was very thin up front. There was a reasonably large deposit of ice cream at the bottom of the cup, but even then, it wasn’t as much as I would have expected. This didn’t bother me a whole lot, as I like a thin shake, but it was definitely not as advertised.

One thing that Hero Burger does REALLY well is fries. They were hot, not overly salty, thick, and substantial. I generally like them a bit crispier, but these were very good nonetheless.

The Burger

As I said, I’ve always enjoyed Hero. Today, however, I was struck by how industrial the burger seemed: perfectly round, perfectly flat, with a slightly rubbery texture. The taste was fine, and the patty was nice and juicy, but I wasn’t at all fooled into thinking I was eating something made from scratch. They have a wide selection of toppings, which they apply generously. This results in a slightly messy burger, which doesn’t bother me as long as there are plenty of napkins to hand.

The Hero burger doesn’t hold a candle to the "gourmet" places, in my opinion, but it’s a decent, reliable, reasonably priced burger, and at the end of the day, sometimes that’s all you need.

Bottom Line

Average rating:

3.75/5

 

Dave N.’s Review

The Experience

J&I is a little food court-type thing by the subway entrance on the lower level of the St. Clair Centre. It’s kind of tucked away in a corner, and I never noticed it until this Monday when I was hungry and on my way into the office. I needed something fast, and since a burger presented itself… well, who am I to resist?

Now, here’s the thing: I’m a font nerd/snob. The menus were all written in comic sans, the worst font ever. This was a huge, huge turnoff for me. I may have avoided this place entirely if I had noticed before ordering, but by the time I glanced over at the menus it was too late. (The specials board I ordered off of was not in CS, which is why I didn’t notice immediately.) So major point deduction there.

The ordering process itself was easy/friendly/straight-forward/fast. The food is cooked to order, so there was a slight wait, but it wasn’t long at all. The biggest annoyance, other than the font, is that the place was crawling with loud kids/teenagers. I guess there’s a school nearby? They weren’t being rowdy or bad or anything like that, but I just wasn’t in the mood for all the commotion. If you care at all about these kinds of things, keep in mind that noon on a weekday is potentially a bad time to show up.

The Burger

I got a cheeseburger and a coke, and the price was right: exactly $5.

The cheese was a thin piece of cheddar. At first I was disappointed, but it was surprisingly flavourful, so that was a nice surprise. When adding other toppings I was pretty jazzed to see that they had sriracha, so I got some of that. They put the right amount on, but unfortunately it seemed all concentrated into one tiny area of the burger, making for an uneven flavour experience. I also got some lettuce and yellow mustard, which were entirely unremarkable.

The burger itself had the same weird meatloaf taste as the one I got from BBQ Express. I can’t put my finger on exactly what’s so weird about it, but it’s definitely an odd taste for a burger. I think both places were Korean, though, so now I’m wondering if there’s some typical Korean way to prepare burgers. Something to investigate further I guess.

Bottom Line

Average rating:

2.83/5

 

 

Vin S.’s Review

The Experience

I return for my series of reviews of the burgers at Trimana at the downtown Los Angeles food court, 7th + Fig. Nothing really changed about the experience as in my first review in the series. Again, I think the wait is a little too long for a food court situation. Granted, Trimana is usually the most crowded place in there (besides that excellent Greek place), but still it irks me. It usually takes just a little bit longer than I want.

The Burger

Regular What the Burger?! readers will recall that my experience with the #1 was disappointing. And I know you are waiting to see if things improve, and I’m happy to report that they do.

First, I’ll note that I skipped the #2, which was the same burger as the #1, but with cheese. Fine, that’s probably an improvement, but not exciting enough to try. I proceed to the #3, BBQ & Cheddar. Initially, I was hesitant, the menu also indicates that this comes with grilled onion and bell pepper. I, it should be noted, am not a bell pepper fan. I’m not totally anti — I’ll eat them but only if burger reviews require it. The burger came and immediately I could tell it was an improvement over the sad and unhappy appearence last week. And was it! OK, that’s a bit too much excitement for this burger, but after last week, it fits.

Best of all was that the added ingredients added quite a bit to the taste. Especially with the stock lettuce, tomato and pickles to balance out the bell pepperse that I’m not fond of. There was maybe slightly too much BBQ sauce for my taste, but not to a degree where I will penalize the rating. All in all, I was pretty satisfied with the BBQ sauce, the cheese, and the toppings.

All in all, good flavors and quality toppings = just fine. Still the weak point in Trimana burgers is likely the meat and bun, but with the right toppings, this can be overcome.

Bottom Line

Average rating:

3.34/5

 

Dave N.’s Review

The Experience

It’s a chain pub. It’s pretty much what you would expect. The place is huge on the inside and there are three levels of patio, so there’s lots of space. We were on the ground floor patio, with a view out to Yonge St. There were a lot of wasps, and while I wouldn’t normally blame the restaurant for that, they were particularly attracted to an empty jam container on the ground next to us that we had to ask the staff to get rid of. In this case a little extra cleanliness would have gone a long way.

Our server was pretty good most of the night, but two things irked me. The first was that she removed my friend’s drink before he was done with it, without asking. That didn’t go over well. The second is that after we were done our meals we were required to settle the bill, even though we were staying for drinks, because our server’s shift was ending. I realize this isn’t her fault, that’s it’s a limitation of the restaurant’s system most likely, so I don’t blame her. I do blame Fox & Fiddle, though.

The fries were awesome: thick with very nice seasoning.

The Burger

Maybe I should judge each burger on it’s own individual merits. Maybe I’m about to set a bad precedent. The thing is, when you’ve had one peppercorn burger that punches you in the face with peppercorny goodness, it’s hard not to compare other peppercorn burgers to that standard. See, the thing is, if I order a peppercorn burger, I want to take a bite and think "fuck yeah, peppercorns!" Instead this was more like "hmmm…. I think I can taste some peppercorns…"

Here’s the breakdown: this was a nice, big, fairly tasty burger on a good kaiser. As is fairly standard for pubs, it was served with some raw red onion (removed), tomato (removed), lettuce and pickle, with ketchup, yellow mustard (added) and green relish on the side. This bad boy also had some sauteed onions on top, some peppercorns grilled onto the burger, and a side of peppercorn sauce (added).

If I had just ordered a plain burger, this would have been a good solid entry. My problem is with the total lack of flavour coming out of both the peppercorn sauce and the peppercorns themselves. I felt deceived.

Richard C.’s Review

The Experience

[Ed.'s note: Richard indicated his experience rating was mostly because of the fries.]

The Burger

[Ed.'s note: Richard also had the peppercorn burger.]

Bottom Line

Average rating:

3.5/5

 

 

Vin S.’s Review

The Experience

Norm’s is a well-known LA diner, with a big menu, a handful of locations all around So. Cal., and lots of signs saying it had been around for 60 years. I’d never actually been to one, and on Monday night, I found myself suddenly without dinner plans (Roscoe’s trip with a friend fell apart last minute), and then as I wound back down through LA, I was outside Norm’s and hungry and decided to go in for a burger.

I reckon I would have appreciated this setting more at a late night time; as it was, it felt just like any old normal old diner. The waitress was friendly, it was just the right level of busy, but nothing about the experience stuck with me. I do remember thinking, "what is taking so long?" a few times while I was waiting for my food.

The Burger

I did briefly consider ordering something else besides a burger, but nothing else really appealed and I thought, might as well get a review out of the night, right? There are 6 regular burgers on the menu, as well as 4 fancier ones which cost a little more. Each burger is 1/2 pound, with lettuce, tomato, pickles, red onions and Norm’s Special Sauce. I went with the California Burger, which also had melted Monterey Jack cheese and avocado. The burgers also came with fries or onion rings, and I chose the latter.

I’m writing this a couple of days later, and in reminiscing about the burger, I find I am mixed on the Norm’s burger. I quite liked the meat (a good size, which really let you taste it). The wheat bun I chose was also good (you could also get egg or sesame). I also quite enjoyed Norm’s Secret Sauce*.

However, the extra stuff I ordered which made the burger "California" were a big letdown. The avocado was buried, and added nothing. I barely noticed the cheese. I might get a burger at Norm’s again, but I probably wouldn’t get the California.

*the dirtiest Whattheburger sentence ever writ!

Bottom Line

2.41/5

 

Caryl D.’s Review

The Experience – worse than Plain Jane

Dave asked if I wanted to meet him for lunch; I couldn’t resist. Unfortunately, my lunch turned out to be less than I bargained for. We met at Bay and Bloor and were off to try a new burger place, only to find it hadn’t opened yet. *sigh*

[ed.'s note: the place that was closed, Gourmet Burger Co. on Charles, will get reviewed once it opens.]

I suggested that we try this little hole in the wall in Yorkville - (selfishly to see if I could see any celebrities — no dice. *sad face*) It’s in an alley, it’s the size of my pinky finger, and it’s a mish-mash of Korean grill, Italian, and Canadian. Down side, it’s cash only. We order the burger, walk through the park and find a seat on some rocks. Had it not been for the shining sun and the wonderful company of my honey plus, it would have been a terrible experience.

Don’t get me wrong, I love being around the Newtron, but every other aspect of this burger event was not good.

The Burger (if you want to call it that)

The bun was cold and I hate cold buns.

The meat tasted weird, really weird! Not like a normal beef burger, but some cheap imitation meat, like tofurkey, only this wasn’t tofu.

Luckily, I had mustard, ketchup, and relish, accompanied with onions, lettuce, pickles and tomatoes to drown out the taste of the ‘beef.’

I had a little burger envy because Dave thought it would be good to add Ranch to his burger and I wish I had done that. Damn.

The cheese was not melted. New rule: no ordering cheeseburgers for me. It’s pointless: why pay extra money if I can’t even taste the cheese?

Dave N.’s Review

The Experience

I was leaving the office to go work at home for the afternoon, so I decided to see if Caryl wanted to grab a burger. She was game and we eventually ended up at BBQ Express in Yorkville.

This place is a tiny, tiny little lunch counter in a brick enclosure, with room for about five customers to stand inside. It is literally shoved into the middle of an alley off Bellair St., and it totally doesn’t fit in with the ultra-posh surrounds. I don’t need my burger joints to be fancy at all, but this was definitely far too cramped. I found myself getting annoyed at other customers invading my bubble while we waited.

In what is becoming a common theme, these guys only took cash. Once again I had to head elsewhere (this time to a convenience store) to withdraw money before I could have a burger.

The staff were friendly — they even started getting our burgers ready while we went to get some dough — but this didn’t really make up for the cramped quarters or the money thing. I guess they were fast-ish?

The Burger

This burger sucked hard. No, seriously, it was bad. Most everything about it was bland and tasteless and unexciting. Full-bodied this wasn’t.

I topped my cheeseburger with lettuce, mustard and — inspired by my positive experience the other day with creamy garlic wing sauce – ranch dressing. The lettuce was moist and wilty, adding none of the crunch I was hoping for. The mustard was plain old yellow mustard. The ranch dressing was basically tasteless, and definitely not worth the extra heart-attack-inducing calories and fat content. Caryl swears the cheese was real cheddar, but it looked and tasted like a processed cheese single to me; if it was real, it was some of the blandest cheese I’ve ever had.

The patty itself had taste, I suppose, but it wasn’t really a burger taste. To me it tasted more like meatloaf almost. I think it might have been homemade, but I couldn’t really tell and it was bad enough that it didn’t matter.

Bottom Line

Average rating:

1.7/5

 

 

Scott M.’s Review

The Experience

Well Fridays do deserve burgers for lunch so I headed down with a friend to the Original Motorcycle Gourmet Burgers Etc. at Temperance and Yonge.

The place is not a greasy spoon type but instead the more polished "I’d rather a chic experience than authentic experience" type place with a lot of wood grain and polished steel. Scaled back and classic. It really does remind you of the mid 40′s types who wear leather jackets and drive mini-vans and a lot less of "I lost an eye when I was 10 in meth lab explosion" attitude I’d expect from a biker theme. Think more "Wild Hogs" experience than "Easy Rider".  I digress.

The ordering style is pretty much the typical Acme, Hero and Craft type – walk in, pick your burger and your toppings, go sit down and wait.  And they ask your name instead of giving you a number… we all know that numbers are degrading (and hard to remember).

No nonsense order placement, which is good.   For the first time you need to read through a list of condiments just to find out if they have any really special sauces (which they don’t and I’m good with that – chipotle mayo is almost a cliché to me nowadays).

The seating was good and no wait staff meandering about – although the dude did almost clear my root beer before I was finished.  For a Friday, the place was pretty empty – I’ll have to keep my eye on that.

The Burger

Their shtick is that its not a burger… its a STEAK burger.  Which is like saying that your tuna sandwich isn’t a tuna sandwich, its sushi avec la pain.  They come from the same animal and yes, you used a better grade meat – but don’t be a retard – when you grind it up and put it on a bun, its a burger.

They offer a number of burger styles – like a banquet, philly, pesto etc…  I usually am not into that so much but mushrooms and swiss cheese is pretty much my favourite burger topping so I went with the Philly (which is Mozzarella, grilled onions and mushrooms) –  added fries and some overly inflated root beer in a bottle.

The burger is 6oz and served on a nice soft brioche type sesame seed roll.  Excellent choice for the bun as its airy, supplies substance to the burger without being chewy or tough.  Kudos.

The burger is definitely beefy (must be the steak), about 1/2 inch thick and tasty – although I found it a bit salty.  The ground is packed pretty tightly which in turn meant the burger was pretty juicy and held together. I find it hard to tell with a tight grind if the burger is medium (as their menu suggests).

Toppings were decent – soft grilled onions and mushrooms and the mozzarella is nicely chewy.  Cheddar or other toppings (like bacon) might be salterific as the burger is pretty salty.

I realize that this is a burger review, but the fries here are worth a mention – nice and crisp but fluffy inside.  Not too much salt and hot throughout.

Overall – I actually liked this burger quite a bit even though I commented on the salt a few times.  Maybe I’m getting old.  The bun really saved the burger for me – soft and airy is king.  The price, however, I thought was a little dear and I’m not sure why.  It was 11.95 for a burger which is typical if you were in a pub – however fries and the expensive cane sugar (?) root beer came out to $16 for the whole thing.

We DID however get a couple of keychains out of the deal –  nice swag. There are probably a bunch of minivan keys dangling off of these things all over the city :)

Bottom Line

Average rating:

3.75/5

 

Dave N.’s Review

The Experience

My friend Chantel told me this place was really good, so I got her to take me. (She may add to this review soon, but for now you just have the Davester.) She told me ahead of time that it was a little divey, which is true, but that’s cool with me.

One thing that’s kind of funny is that his place is called "Wing Shop", but it’s clear that their burgers are the big deal. I mean, I guess I didn’t try the wings so they might be awesome, but the signage and stuff on the inside certainly plays up the burgers more. The inside is a kind of anger-causing-blood-in-your-eyes red, and a little dumpy. There was a random sweet print of a painting of Paris on one wall. I loved it.

Ordering was awesome. I don’t really go for fake pleasantries and a lot of flash when it comes to ordering fast food (see: free smiles at McDonald’s, singing your order at Lick’s, etc.), so I was pleasantly surprised when this deal went down as nothing more than a business transaction. No smiles, as few words as possible, just money being exchanged for food. Nice.

My only complaint about the experience overall was that their selection of cans of pop was pretty slim. But that’s not that big a deal, man.

The Burger

The burgers here come in four sizes: Junior (2 oz == 1/8 lb), Regular (4 oz == 1/4 lb), Hugo (8 oz == 1/2 lb), and Double Hugo (16 oz == 1 lb) (note: you can also get Halal and veggie burgers, both of which had separate grills.) Chantel and I both went for the regular size burger, with processed cheese slices.

The burgers are homemade and cooked right in front of your eyes, so you know there’s no damned funny-business. Once they are ready you get to choose your toppings. At first I thought, “Hey these toppings are nothing special.” Then I thought “Well, the fried onions, honey mustard, and salt & pepper are a little special.” THEN I saw the best surprise ever on the toppings sign. It read:

• any of our 30+ wing flavours!

Holy canoli, that’s what I’m talking about! Now the whole "Wing Shop" thing makes perfect sense! It’s just an excuse to put delicious wing sauces on top of delicious burgers! I topped my regular burger with fried onions, hot peppers, and creamy garlic wing sauce.

Boy howdy, this was a good burger. The patty was thin, but had a super high flavour density. The bun was nice, not overly grilled, and a good size for the smallish burger that I ordered. The fried onions and hot peppers had just the right amount of flavour to not overwhelm the patty. And the creamy garlic sauce? Shit yeah, that was a good choice.

I actually have one major regret about my burger. As it was being cooked, I noticed that the dude ahead of us got a junior burger, which was darned near the cutest little thing I’ve ever seen. And I realized, too late, that I could have got a couple (or a few) of those and tried more than one wing sauce. Next time, I suppose. My only complaint about the burger that I actually ordered was the cheese. Real cheese would have been a nice touch. That’s it, though, other than that this was a damned good burger.

Bottom Line

Average rating:

4.9/5

 

 

Vin S.’s Review

The Experience

Classic Burger is my favorite local diner. Serves everything, it’s never crazy crowded, I can take my book and sit and read while I eat. The crew behind the counter is friendly. Today, I was shocked–they’ve installed big plastic booths inside, where before it was metal tables. While this did change the atmosphere slightly, you don’t always want your local diner to make changes, even if it is an improvement, you know? It throws you off. Part of going there is for the familiarity! Regardless, the food and people and everything is the same. Just now there’s big plastic booths.

Anyway, yea Classic Burger (according to the sign out front) (Classic Charburger #3 according to the receipt) (Classic Burger No. 3 according to Google) is close to the beach, lowkey, and serves breakfast and lunch and dinner most all the day long. I frequent it often.

The Burger

Classic Burger, despite the name, has a HUGE menu (pretty much whatever you want). And there are like 6 or 7 burgers to choose from. Usually, I just get the #1, a quarter pounder. Today, however, I tried something different for review, the #6, a turkey burger. But you can count this review for both, because they were basically the same burger! In fact, I think the #1 is the basis for all the others, which may just have slightly different toppings (i.e., the avocado burger, or the double, or the bacon cheeseburger). I’m not clear what the pastrami burger is like, and swear I will try it for you eventually.

The turkey burger then, was basically just the quarter pounder but with turkey meat. Whenever I eat the #1, it always reminds me of a more quality Big Mac–there’s lettuce/onion shredded together, thousand island dressing, and a pickle. I quite enjoy the lettuce/onion mix here, but it does overwhelm the meat… especially the turkey pattie. (Hamburger meat sticks out a bit more.) Also part of this overwhelming was because they put a DAMNED LOT of lettuce/onion mix on there.

This was made even more obvious because the one major flaw in this burger was that the bun fell apart one bite in, causing a giant mess of lettuce and onion and thousand island. (And the A1 steak sauce I dipped it in.) I don’t know what it is about the buns they use, but I wouldn’t mind something else there. I prefer the hamburger to the turkey though for sure, and am docking points from the score today because of that.

Otherwise, I think these burgers are very tasty, cheap, and I love this place.

Bottom Line

Average rating:

3.98/5

 

Rochelle Y.’s Review

The Experience

We were passing through Davis on our way back from Sacramento, looking for a quick bite to eat and limited on time, so we chose someplace with an easy off/easy on to the freeway: In N Out Burger at the corner of Olive Drive and Richards Boulevard. We had to enter through the gas station parking lot next door, which was not ideal, but it was doable.

Being as we went through the drive-thru, I can’t vouch for the inside ambience of the place; however, the outside appearance was quite nice, with a clean, tucked-away look, lushly landscaped and reflecting a city rule to have drive-thrus as unobtrusive as possible. It was early in the lunch hour, so when we arrived there were only 2 cars ahead of us in line and only the second window was open (taking both money and giving food), but while we waited the first window opened to take money.

Menu options are limited, but it helped make ordering easy and quick. Also, the person taking the order paid attention, which helped move things along. Equally important to me today was the cost of our food - I had a $10 bill in my wallet, and was tickled I could use it instead of having to use a debit or credit card. Once we got to the food window it took slightly longer than I thought it would to get our food, considering the lack of cars in the parking lot; however, even with a longer wait we were on our way in less than 5 minutes – in and out, as the restaurant’s name implied we would be.

The Burger

We ordered two of the three burgers offered on the menu: the Cheeseburger, and the Hamburger. Both were large enough so that we could share them with our kids and still have enough to fill us up, since we also had fries, but not so big that a single burger would replace our meals for a day. Except for the cheese, they were exactly the same – single patty, lettuce, tomato and "spread", which looked and tasted like a thousand island dressing.

Since we were eating in the car, we received paper place mats for our laps and our burgers and fries in an open-topped cardboard box. Only the bottom half of the burgers were wrapped, to enable immediate picking up and eating, but they were wrapped well, which was a plus since they were a little drippy (as I found out when I tore the Hamburger apart for my kids to share). The patties were fairly thin and perfectly round and looked as if they were going to be cardboard disk in texture, but were actually juicy and quite flavorful, although I would have been happier with a slightly thicker patty. The bun was lightly grilled, and the lettuce and tomato firm and fresh-tasting. The "spread" paired well with the grease in the meat, and along with the lettuce, tomato and the cheese on the Cheeseburger, made for a tasty burger. Unexpected bonus: the drippiness of the burger tasted great as a topping for the fries!

Overall, we had a great burger experience here: quick, tasty, and within budget.

Bottom Line

Average rating:

4.63/5

 

Vin S.’s Review

The Experience

Taking my quick lunch break, I walked up the street to the 7th & Fig food court at the corner of 7th and Figueroa Ave. in downtown Los Angeles.  The food court is far less crowded than it used to be; though Trimana still seems to have a bit of a wait during the lunch hours. They’re efficient though, and nice–the manager and his pretty wife behind the register almost overly friendly.

The plan for me, while I am working downtown, is to find the burger places for this lovely site.  Trimana (with an umlaut on the m, no less!) was first, and they have 9 burgers on the menu to choose from.  I plan to sample them all, for you, fine whattheburger readers, one a week until I’m done (or I get laid off first).  

The Burger

Thus, the first of the burgers on the menu was labeled #1, and called "All American."  It consists of the classic toppings: onion, lettuce, tomato, pickles, the sauce.  Yes, "The Sauce" is what it says on the menu.  What could be more all American than generic unnamed sauce, adding its badass flavor all over your tastebuds? Spreading freedom like sauce should?

I ordered the #1, along with my water, confusing the lady at the register because I didn’t want the fries combo.  Just the burger, thanks.  I received it, and went to sit down.  The sandwich came with some cole slaw, however, which would turn out to be the best part of the meal.

The All American was a bit of a letdown.  I’ve had burgers at Trimana in the past (though it has been a year since I worked in this area), and not minded them, but not this particular item.  The best things I could say for it are the size (just right for lunch; lunch can’t be too big or I’ll doze off all afternoon.  Heck, I probably will anyway, but not because of food coma at least.)  Also the toppings were fine enough quality, actually.  But the meat (charbroiled double patties) felt rubbery and the bun was too hard (overgrilled or stale, not sure).

What it comes down to however was that there was just not enough flavor to be memorable.  Yes, and that means you, The Sauce.  I barely noticed you.  I still don’t know what you are.  In fact, Trimana has a bunch of different dipping sauces for their fries, and the burger got better when I added some of the Hot Mustard.  For shame, The Sauce, for shame.

Bottom Line

Average rating:

2.44/5

 

Dave N.’s Review

The Experience

The Burger Shack almost has a cool vibe going for it. The sign and roof thatching out front make you think you’re entering an awesome tiki-themed restaurant, but the atmosphere is killed almost as soon as you enter: inside, the table-tops are the only bit of decor that keep up the theme. The rest of the restaurant looks like a typical divey burger joint. There’s nothing wrong with it, but I was disappointed because it didn’t live up to my (admittedly high) expectations.

Ordering here is way trickier than you would expect! There are couple things to watch out for. First, I was unpleasantly surprised that they only take cash. That meant my ordering was interrupted by a trip to the dodgy ATM at the donut shop next door, which charged me $2 to withdraw cash. Suck. Once I finally was able to order, I didn’t realize that there were two categories of burger, homemade and "regular" (frozen?). I figured the namesake burger, the Shack Special, was the best bet and ordered it without realizing it was one of the regular burgers. Why wouldn’t the Shack Special be homemade? Ridiculous.

Service was pretty fast, the restaurant was clean. If you go in aware of the gotchas mentioned above, you should have a pretty good go of things.

The Burger

I’m going to be honest, I was pretty pissed that this sucker wasn’t homemade. I was eyeing Caryl’s burger with some serious envy. The Shack Special consisted of two patties, two processed cheese slices and toppings of my choosing on a kaiser. The topping selection was pretty standard fare — ketchup, yellow mustard, pickles, etc. The only relatively interesting topping was fried onions. I opted for BBQ sauce, mustard, the fried onions and a few hot peppers.

The thing definitely wasn’t a bad burger, but it sure as heck wasn’t anything special. The frozen patties were thin and disappointing, with fairly lackluster flavour. The kaiser was nice, but they grilled it without asking me and I don’t like grilled buns, so it ended up too crispy and burny for my tastes. The fried onions really were the saving grace, but fried onions can only go so far, you know?

If I return I am absolutely going for one of the homemade burgers, bringing cash, and asking for my bun not to be grilled. Lessons learned.

Caryl D.’s Review

The Experience

They say that smell is the most powerful of the senses and can remind us of past experiences. I must say that my recent trip to Burger Shack brought back memories from when I was a little girl. That smell, oh how I remembered that smell. Driving north on Highway 11 with my whole family and stopping at Webers – for those of you who haven’t experienced Webers on Hwy 11 let me indulge you: a little dive, with old trains on the lawn where we used to go and play, cars flying by on the highway, and smoke billowing out of the little store that made the hamburgers. I have no idea what the burgers tasted like, I don’t remember what I got on it, but I do remember, the smell, the greasy, smoky, fire burning smell of those burgers. Three days ago it felt as though I had traveled back in time: I pulled into the parking lot, stepped out of the car and I could see the smoke rising out of the roof, plummeting down towards me and straight into my nose, there it was, that smell, Webers burgers, only this place was the Burger Shack at Oriole and Eglinton. What a place!

The atmosphere was rather plain, although the booths intrigued me because there were individual seats that you had to pull down. It was slightly weird and uncomfortable, and as someone with OCD I had to put the seat down beside me even though no one was sitting there. As a side note, it’s cash only. That wasn’t the biggest concern because my sugar daddy Dave took care of the bill, but if you’re planning on going, be sure to have cash, or a sugar daddy/momma.

The Burger

I ordered the Homemade Cheeseburger and I was sure to get the works, save for the hot peppers and I think sauerkraut. The burger was juicy; the bun was toasted, and the size was perfect. To my surprise, I could taste the burger through all the fixens, which is a bonus for me because I love putting lots of toppings on my burgers. My only problem was that there could have been more cheese.

My burger experience was great, although, I wonder, was it mostly nostalgia that made it good? Either way, if smell has the power of memory, then the taste of these burgers has the power to keep me going back for more.

Bottom Line

Average rating:

3.56/5