burger – Page 41 – Tasty Burgers

Burger Hut

Published on April 9, 2012April 18, 2012 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Website: None
Location: 804 Sheppard Avenue East, North York

Burger Hut is another old-school burger joint like Apache or Johnny’s, coasting by for years on nostalgic appeal and fond memories, rather than actual taste. If you opened a place like this now and served burgers of this caliber, you’d be laughed out of town. But somehow, dingy old burger joints that have been around since Johnny Carson was the king of late night are given a free pass. As I mentioned in my Apache review, nostalgia can be a powerful force.

The place has two burgers on their menu: the 1/4 pound hamburger, and the 6 ounce steakburger. I sort of figured that the steakburger would be the one to get, but just to be sure I asked the man behind the counter, and he confirmed that yes, this is the better of the two burgers.

I ordered, waited for the burger to be ready, and picked my toppings from behind the glass. As usual, I went with pickles, tomato, and mayo.

It’s a frozen burger; it was obvious enough just cutting into it and looking at the burger’s cross-section. It’s hard to miss a frozen patty, and of course, if you’ve read my burger commandments then you know that this is a cardinal sin of burgerdom (though that really should go without saying).

The burger was grilled, and though it was somewhat above average for what it was, it had that telltale frozen burger taste and chewy texture. But it also had a vaguely pleasant beefy flavour, which is somewhat of a rarity for freezer-dwelling hamburgers. It was still a frozen burger, of course, but I have had worse (I’m assuming the 6 ounce steakburger is the premium frozen burger, and the 1/4 pound hamburger is the standard, cafeteria-style frozen patty).

The fries were also of the frozen variety, but they were fresh from the fryer, and were fairly tasty. They were completely unsalted, but salt shakers were readily available to rectify that omission.

BQM Diner

Published on April 2, 2012June 25, 2012 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Website: http://www.bqmburger.com/
Location: 354 Queen Street West, Toronto

When a burger joint’s menu proudly advertises the fact that all of their burgers have less than 10 percent fat, I’m immediately on my guard. A burger should strive to be many things; low fat is not one of them. It is a universally accepted fact that a good burger needs a bare minimum of 15 percent fat; a preferable number is anywhere between 20 and 30 percent. This is where a burger’s juciness comes from. So if you’re advertising low fat burgers, you’re pretty much just coming out and admitting that you serve dry hamburgers. Not a good sign.

The BQM Diner is a small-ish restaurant, with almost comically small booths. Seriously, the booth was probably the smallest one I’ve ever sat in; I’m pretty sure I could have head-butted my dining companion without having to lean forward all that much.

The menu, oddly, offers three different cuts of beef: chuck, brisket, or sirloin. Sirloin is a definite no-go; though there is the perception that sirloin is a “fancy” cut of beef, thus making it more desirable, it is actually quite lean and a terrible choice for a burger. It may work well as a steak, but a burger is a different beast altogether.

I was leaning towards the brisket, because it is the fattiest cut, and I was concerned by the menu’s 10 percent fat boast. However, the waitress came by and rendered it all moot — all they had left was the chuck. It seemed odd that they were already out of 2/3rds of the menu, given that it was lunchtime and early in the day, but since chuck is a fairly standard cut of beef for a burger, I wasn’t too perturbed.

I ordered the BQM, labeled as “the Boss’ favourite,” which comes topped with caramelized onion, horseradish, garlic aioli, lettuce, and tomato. The waitress asked if I wanted it medium or medium-well. It’s always a good sign when you get asked how you want your burger cooked; I asked for mine medium.

The burger came, and it was immediately apparent that it was a little overcharred on the grill — it was pretty much completely blackened, giving it a strong smoky flavour that did overwhelm the beef a bit.

The burger actually was fairly juicy; it helped that it wasn’t cooked to well done like at most places (the burger actually came out much closer to medium rare than to medium), but I would be very surprised if this burger truly only contained 10 percent fat. I suspect that the 10 percent fat claim only really applies to the sirloin burger.

Though its flavour was a bit obscured by the liberal amount of charring on the burger and by the horseradish, it was still pretty clear that this was an above average burger, with a nicely beefy flavour. The toppings generally suited the burger fairly well, though the aforementioned horseradish was probably unnecessary. I’m generally not a fan of assertive flavours like horseradish on a burger, because they tend to overpower the taste of what is supposed to be the star of the show: the patty. It is a shame to disguise that flavour, especially when you’re dealing with good quality beef like they’re clearly using here.

I also got the fries on the side, and though they were a bit on the soggy side, they were obviously freshly cut and quite tasty.

Gourmet Burger Co.

Published on March 27, 2012July 6, 2014 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: ~~843 Kipling Avenue, Toronto~~
UPDATE: This particular location is closed (it’s been replaced with Big Butcher Barbeque); check their website for other locations.
Website: http://thegourmetburgerco.com/

Some burgers, like everything else, are just average. They straddle that line between really good and really bad, without gathering much buzz; they’re just there, receding from your memory almost immediately after consumption. The burgers at Gourmet Burger Co. fall squarely into this category.

The restaurant has a clean look to it, and it’s laid out much like many burger joints in Toronto; you order your burger, pay, then pick up your food from the counter when it’s ready.

I went pretty simple, ordering a plain burger topped with tomatoes, pickles and GBC sauce (described as a mixture of mayo, ketchup, hot sauce, mustard, honey, and roasted garlic).

My first impression was that the burger had obviously been cooked on a griddle, resulting in a moderate amount of crust on the patty. Not as much as at a place like Burger’s Priest or Holy Chuck, but it was there.

The beef has that muddled flavour typical of mediocre quality beef. It’s okay; it’s a bit bland, but it tastes fine. It’s also too lean and a bit overcooked, resulting in a drier texture than you might like.

The GBC sauce is a bit on the strong side, with an overpoweringly salty/vinegary flavour. I wouldn’t get it again. The pickles and tomato were fine, and the soft bun, though a tad on the large side and a bit more substantial than I’d like, complimented the burger fairly well.

I ordered the onion rings on the side, and they were fresh, with a crispy, tasty batter. The onions were yielding and well-cooked; they were definitely a highlight.

All in all it wasn’t the best burger ever, but if I found myself in the area again, I wouldn’t object to eating another one. Like I said, it’s average; it’s not a burger that anyone is going to swoon over, but it gets the job done.

Goody’s Diner

Published on March 19, 2012September 12, 2012 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: ~~133 Manville Road, Scarborough~~
UPDATE: It appears that, sadly, Goody’s Diner has closed down.
Website: http://www.goodysdiner.com/

When a place gets a 300+ post thread at Chowhound, you pretty much have to sit up and take notice. When that thread deals largely with the greatness of the establishment’s burgers, you can pretty much guarantee I’ll be there at some point. So of course, I eventually found myself at Goody’s Diner, an unassuming little place tucked away in a drab business park. Not the most auspicious of locations, but it’s the food that counts.

A quick glance at the menu reveals a burger called the Goody’s Burger; since it’s my general policy to to get any burger named after the restaurant, the selection process was quite easy. The friendly waitress came by; I ordered. Fries or salad? Yeah, okay, I’m really going to order a salad. With a hamburger. (to be fair, my dining companion ordered the salad and said it was above average.)

A short while later, the burger came, and it is enormous. The menu labels it as an eight ounce burger (i.e. half a pound) and that’s definitely no exaggeration. The thing is massive. It’s not kidding around, that’s for sure.

The Goody’s Burger comes topped with “grilled peameal bacon, mushrooms, jalapeno havarti, caramelized onion, lettuce and tomato.” First things first, this is a meatloaf-style burger; they tell you right on the menu that it’s mixed in with “roasted garlic and our secret spice blend” (and I have to thank them for this — there’s nothing worse than expecting a standard burger, only to get one perfumed with onion, garlic, and who-knows-what-other-spices. This style of burger can be perfectly tasty, but there is no doubt that it is very different from a traditional burger and should be labeled as such).

And it is actually pretty tasty. Meatloaf-style burgers are not my favourite, however this was definitely one of the better ones that I’ve had. It was quite juicy, and the spicing wasn’t too aggressive, allowing some of the burger’s beefiness to shine through. The burger was a bit chewier and more sausage-like than I would prefer, but that seems to be par for the course for this style of hamburger.

As for the many toppings — they would almost surely overwhelm a smaller, more traditional burger. But between the gigantic size of the patty itself and the strong spice blend, the burger is definitely the dominant flavour here. The toppings compliment it quite nicely, as does the soft yet substantial bun.

Though the fries are of the battered variety (like the meatloaf-style burger, this is generally not my favourite), they are above average; crunchy, potatoey, and without the overly processed flavour that battered fries tend to have. They’re also lightly seasoned with rosemary, which makes them pretty tasty on their own without much need for a dipping sauce.

Holy Chuck

Published on February 6, 2012March 16, 2012 by Michael Nusair3 Comments

Location: 1450 Yonge St., Toronto
Website: http://www.holychuckburgers.com/

I think there’s one thing I have to get out of the way before I talk about the burgers at Holy Chuck. Whoever owns the place obviously likes The Burger’s Priest. A lot. Both places have similar menus (right down to the presence of a cheese-stuffed, deep fried mushroom), serve a similar style of hamburger, and have similarly religious-themed names.

I don’t think there’s anything particularly wrong with this. Though The Burger’s Priest was a bit of an oddity for Toronto, all they’re doing is serving the type of burger that’s been ubiquitous in the States for many, many years. Specifically, much inspiration was taken from In-N-Out, a well known burger chain in the southwestern United States. If we start seeing even more places that serve burgers in this style (and do it well) in Toronto, that would make me a very happy man. Perhaps if enough of these places open up and people realize how burgers are actually supposed to taste, we’ll start seeing the decline of frozen patty purveyors like Johnny’s, and meatloaf sandwiches masquerading as burgers like Lick’s. I can dream, can’t I?

Anyway, Holy Chuck.

I actually went at lunch, without a particularly huge appetite, and planned on getting something reasonably small — probably single patty. But my general policy is to order any burger off the menu that shares a name with the restaurant, and in this case the eponymous burger consisted of two patties, two slices of cheese, sauteed onions, and bacon. So much for small. I also opted to upgrade to the combo, because, well, go big or go home, right?

After a five minute or so wait, I got my burger, as is. It didn’t strike me that this burger needed any further condiments, though even if it had, I would have been out of luck — for this particular burger, the menu very emphatically states “NO TOPPINGS ALLOWED!“

My first impression was that the cheese appeared to be unmelted, though cutting into the burger it was clear that this was thankfully not the case.

Look at that burger. Seriously. Behold. Yes, it’s as good as it looks. Beefy, juicy, greasy, with a perfectly brown crust from the hot griddle, this is close to burger perfection. The flavour isn’t quite as richly beefy as at The Burger’s Priest, but it’s close. The soft sauteed onions compliment the burger perfectly, as does the thickly cut bacon. The cheese is American, de rigueur for a burger such as this; so too is the supple, soft bun.

Actually, let me talk about the cheese for a bit. Two slices is the standard for a double cheeseburger (it’s what they serve at the Priest, and pretty much everywhere else a double cheeseburger is found). However, I’m starting to think that two slices is just too much, and that one slice is more appropriate. One slice gives the burger a welcome creaminess and a nice cheesy tang; two slices threatens to compete with the beef in the flavour department. This is fine if the beef is iffy, but if I’m eating somewhere like Holy Chuck where the beef is above average, I want the toppings to compliment the burger, not compete for dominance.

And yes, the beef is definitely above average here. Cooked medium well with a blush of pink, the beef is packed with flavour and is fantastically juicy. I overheard a fellow customer ask if the burgers could be cooked to order, and the man behind the counter responded that yes, they can do anything from rare to well done. I had already ordered my burger when this nugget of info was revealed; however, though my preference is generally medium rare, this burger was so perfect at medium well that I might just leave well enough alone and continue ordering it without any alterations when I return.

I’ve heard the complaint leveraged that the Holy Chuck burger is too greasy. This is nonsense. If someone tries to tell you that they think the burger is too greasy, smile, nod, and immediately discount anything that this person has to say on the topic of hamburgers; it’s sad to say it, but they are lost to the horrors of Toronto’s mediocre burger scene. We’re so used to too-lean, overcooked and completely dried out burgers that the burgers like the ones served at Holy Chuck stand out as odd. But this is how a burger is supposed to taste. A burger that is edible without the assistance of at least a couple of napkins is, to put it bluntly, not worth eating.

I mentioned before that I had a smallish appetite and was considering not getting the combo, but oh boy, am I glad I did. The fries are perfect: crispy, salty, flavourful, with a fluffy interior and just the right amount of crunch. I’ve eaten a lot of French fries in my life, and these were among the best that I’ve ever had. Suffice it to say, this is one area in which Holy Chuck beats the Burger’s Priest quite handily.

If you’re just skimming this review (it is a little wordy, I’ll admit it), the Reader’s Digest version is this: go to Holy Chuck. Now. Even if it’s not quite as good, it easily rivals The Burger’s Priest for fast food burger dominance in Toronto. Wading through so much burger mediocrity for this blog, it’s easy for forget why I even love burgers so much in the first place. Holy Chuck is just the reminder that I needed. It is a ray of light piercing through the darkness. It’s pretty fantastic.