fries – Page 34 – Tasty Burgers

Earl’s Kitchen and Bar

Published on June 20, 2011August 18, 2011 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 40 Colossus Drive, Woodbridge
Website: http://www.earls.ca/

First off, I must apologize for the shoddy quality of the pictures. This was an impromptu trip to Earl’s, and the only camera I had on hand was the one in my cell phone. Crappy cell phone camera + dark restaurant = the worst pictures ever. I debated whether I should even use them at all, but what — am I going to do a blog post with just words? What am I, a caveman?

Earl’s is a slightly more upscale than normal chain restaurant, akin to a place like Moxie’s (which, FYI, has a terrible burger) or Milestones.

I wasn’t even going to order the burger. Without my camera, I didn’t feel like I could do a proper review. I figured I’d just return at some point and order the burger then. I had even ordered something else, but shortly after my waitress left, I spotted someone else receiving the burger. One look at it and I knew that I needed to have it immediately.

The Bronx burger is a towering behemoth of a hamburger. It is described thusly: “half pound Certified Angus Beef patty, beer battered onion rings, roasted garlic aioli, red pepper relish, aged white cheddar and rocket greens, toasted sesame seed burger bun made from scratch every day.” And indeed, with the large onion rings piled on there (among other toppings), this is not a burger for the weak-hearted. Piled high, it’s one of those burgers where you really have to open wide to take a bite.

Now, I think it’s fairly clear at this point that my general preference is a more sparsely-topped burger. I find that too many toppings can obfuscate what makes a burger so great in the first place: the beef. But every now and then, I have no problem eating a kitchen sink burger, with everything the chef can think of thrown on there.

However, while all the individual toppings on this burger were actually of a fairly high quality, in this case, the whole is actually less than the sum of its parts.

The main problem with this burger is that all the tastes are working against each other. Pretty much every single topping on it has a very strong, very distinctive flavour, and none of the tastes compliment each other particularly well. It’s like a symphony where everyone is playing in a different key; even if everyone is playing beautifully, it’s still going to sound like a mess.

There’s the very strong garlicky aoili, the roasted red peppers, the rocket (which basically tastes like arugula, another strong flavour), the thickly battered onion rings (which feature a much more strongly-spiced batter than traditional onion rings), and of course, the beefy patty (which fights valiantly for attention among the many assertive flavours). There’s also the cheese, but it’s completely lost among the other flavours and textures, and may as well not be there at all. There’s a lot going on in this burger, and while I did basically enjoy it, the lack of harmony among the ingredients made for a sub-par experience.

You want another iffy metaphor to describe this burger? No? Well, you’re getting one: you know that expression “there’s a party in my mouth”? Well this burger is like there’s a fight in your mouth, and all the ingredients are battling it out for your attention.

As for the beef itself? It tasted pretty good, actually. Cooked to well done (I’ve long since resigned myself to the fact that you’re almost never going to get a burger in Toronto cooked much less than medium well, if you’re lucky), the patty has a fairly pronounced crust, with a decently beefy taste and a fair amount of juiciness. This is, of course, based on the few bites I got on the outside of the burger, without the many toppings to get in the way. But even in the middle, when the taste of the beef itself had no chance among the other ingredients, I still appreciated the presence of an above average patty on a textural level. You can pile as many toppings as you want on a frozen burger; you’re never going to mask that off-putting chewiness.

The big, bready bun would probably be too substantial for a more traditional hamburger. It worked pretty well here, though, since this is a burger that requires a bun with a bit more heft to hold it all together.

The burger was accompanied by a generous helping of fries, which were thinly cut and very reminiscent of the ones served at McDonald’s. There was, however, something a bit off about them that I can’t quite put my finger on; they tasted vaguely processed. I’d be very surprised if it turned out they were freshly cut in-house. Regardless, they were pretty good.

I’d definitely like to return to Earl’s at some point; the hamburger had a lot of promise. I just wouldn’t order the Bronx burger next time.

Big Smoke Burger

Published on June 13, 2011June 26, 2011 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 830 Yonge Street, Toronto
Website: http://bigsmokeburger.com/

In case you’re confused, this is the place that up until a few weeks ago was known as Craft Burger — apparently the owner wanted to trademark the name, but ran into problems thanks to American chef Tom Colicchio and his Craft-centric chain of restaurants (Craft, ‘wichcraft, Craftsteak, etc.). This is a complete aside, but if you ever find yourself at ‘wichcraft, order the turkey sandwich. Best turkey sandwich ever.

Anyway, Big Smoke Burger = Craft Burger. Nothing has changed but the name.

The location I visited, around Yonge and Bloor, is quite small. I showed up at around six and was able to find a seat without any difficulty, but by the time I left it was already pretty packed. There have been a few times in the past that I’ve wanted to eat here, discovered that there wasn’t a seat to be had, and left sad and burgerless. Be warned.

You can pick your own toppings, but they have a number of customized burgers that seem to be the main draw. Using the philosophy that it’s generally a safe bet to order an item on the menu if it shares a name with the restaurant, I got the Big Smoke Burger (I used this same philosophy on my last visit and ordered the Craft Burger, which didn’t particularly work out — but then I’m not crazy about mushrooms on a hamburger, and that burger featured mushrooms prominently. I dug my own grave on that one).

I ordered at the register, was given a number, and took my seat. It probably took about ten minutes to get my burger, but I was happy to wait. I’d much, much rather have to wait a bit than receive a pre-made burger from under a lamp.

As seems to be the trend at Toronto burger joints, classic rock was playing on the radio. What is it about burger places and classic rock? Not that I’m complaining; Riders on the Storm is a solid song to eat a burger by.

The burger is pretty good. The meat is tightly packed and a bit on the lean side, so the well-done burger is drier than it should be. But it’s good quality meat, it’s not overwhelmingly dry, and has a decent flavour — or at least it seemed to. Why am I not sure if the meat had a decent flavour? That’s a good question. A good question indeed.

The Big Smoke Burger is described as having “horseradish mayo, caramelized onions, smoked cheddar, tomato & lettuce.” The horseradish mayo, sadly, is the culprit behind my inability to properly discern the flavour of the beef. Sweet, strongly vinegary and completely overpowering (and oddly enough, without any discernible horseradish flavour), the sauce — which is slathered on the top and bottom bun — completely overwhelms the burger. I would order this hamburger again, but I would definitely either substitute the horseradish mayo for regular mayo, or just omit it altogether.

The other elements of the burger all worked quite well. The sweet caramelized onions were perfectly cooked, and were soft and yielding without being mushy. The smoked cheddar was nicely melted and added a welcome creaminess to the burger, though if it had any smoky flavour it was completely obliterated by the super-strong mayo (I didn’t like that mayo, can you tell?). The lettuce and tomato were good as well, and the bun was soft and fresh and complimented the burger perfectly.

I got the combo, which came with fries and a soda. The fries were pretty darn good, though they were a tad overcooked, and were a bit on the crunchy side. Despite this they were still some of the better fries I’ve had in a while, so I have to imagine that they’d normally be pretty fantastic.

Five Guys

Published on June 6, 2011June 26, 2011 by Michael Nusair2 Comments

Location: 2150 Burnhamthorpe Road West, Mississauga
Website: http://www.fiveguys.ca/

When I heard that Five Guys was coming to Canada, I was understandably excited; there’s been a lot of hype around this burger chain, and I was excited to see if it could live up. Well, it’s been a couple of years (they started their Canadian expansion in Alberta), but Five Guys is finally here.

The Mississauga location is pretty big, and the decor is no-nonsense: the red and white checkered theme runs throughout the restaurant, which is filled with simple wooden tables, and big bags of potatoes and peanuts (you can help yourself to to peanuts while you wait for your burger). There are no pretensions that this is anything but a fast food burger joint (unlike, say, McDonald’s, with its weird new coffee house aesthetic).

You line up at the cash register near the entrance, you tell them what you want on your burger (it’s the standard assortment of toppings, with grilled mushrooms and onions adding some variety), they give you a number, and you wait for your order to be ready.

The order comes in a big paper bag, regardless of whether you’re eating in the restaurant or taking the food home. I’m assuming the reason for this is the way they serve their fries: they overfill the container of fries, allowing the excess to fall into the bag. It’s a huge portion, and the large order of fries can easily feed a group of four. The fries are pretty great, too — they offer regular fries and “Cajun style” fries, which are doused in a very strong Cajun seasoning. The Cajun fries are an interesting novelty, but the seasoning is overpowering, and they grow tiresome pretty fast. Stick with the regular fries.

But what about the burger? Ah yes, the burger. It’s cooked in the classic American style of smashing a ball of ground beef down onto a hot griddle, which gives each burger an irregular shape and gives the meat a tasty brown crust.

The patties are cooked to well done, but they remain pleasingly juicy with a satisfyingly beefy taste. It’s not the richest, beefiest hamburger you will ever eat, but for a fast food place it’s pretty damn good. On this particular visit the burger wasn’t quite as juicy or beefy as previous visits (I’m told that they are in the process of switching over from American to Canadian beef and are still working out the kinks), but it was still well above average.

The burgers come tightly wrapped in a thick foil wrapper, which is kind of ingenious because it allows the supple bun to get slightly steamed, suffusing it with hamburgery goodness. And indeed, the buns compliment the hamburgers pretty much perfectly: they are soft, pliant and slightly sweet, and allow for a perfect beef-to-bun ratio.

It’s kind of sad that a big American fast food chain has managed to waltz in and outshine something like 90 percent of the local burger joints, but that is exactly what has happened. And I have to say, I am heartened by the crowds at this place. The Mississauga location of Five Guys has been open since January, and of course it was very busy when it first opened; people were curious. But here we are a few months later, and the place is still pretty crowded every time I go. Torontonians are voting with their wallets — we’ve had enough dry, flavourless burgers, enough meatloaf sandwiches, and enough frozen patties. Hamburgers are a quintessentially American food, so I guess it’s only appropriate that an American chain is coming in to show us how it’s done.

I’m seeing some complaints that Five Guys is overpriced; it’s pricey, sure. But you get what you pay for. You want a cheap burger? Go to McDonald’s and order off the value menu. Let me know how that works out for you. And to be fair, if you want a roughly equivalent burger at McDonald’s (which would probably be one of the Angus Third Pounders), a combo will run you something like eight bucks. That’s only a couple of dollars cheaper than a burger, fries and a drink at Five Guys. I will happily pay the extra few dollars for a vastly superior burger.

The Acme Burger Company

Published on May 30, 2011June 26, 2011 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 735 The Queensway, Etobicoke
Website: http://www.theacmeburgercompany.com/

I can’t help, hearing the name Acme Burger, but to think about the Road Runner and his furry nemesis, Wile E. Coyote. Those cartoons were among the funniest and best shorts produced by Warner Brothers in the golden era of the 1940s and ’50s. I’m sad to say that this restaurant is definitely not the hamburger equivalent of the Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote cartoons. Which is to say that this was not among the best hamburgers that I’ve ever had. Boy, that was a pretty tenuous connection, wasn’t it?

Driving up to the restaurant and seeing signs for chicken souvlaki and Greek salad, my expectations went down precipitously. Generally speaking, if a burger joint has souvlaki prominently on the menu, then the burgers being served up are probably going to be Greek style (ie. with onions and other spices mixed in). As I mentioned in my burger commandments, this is not my favourite style of hamburger. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that a burger like that shouldn’t be called a hamburger at all, but I know many would disagree on that point.

The restaurant is laid out a la Harvey’s or Lick’s — you order at the register, you wait, then you tell them what you want from the toppings behind the glass. It’s the usual assortment of toppings; nothing too exotic. I went with tomato, pickles and mayo.

I took my first bite, expecting my taste buds to be assaulted by an oniony, meatloafy patty, and… what’s this? Just meat? Let the good times roll! Sort of. Well, not really.

The patty is a little small. I ordered the six ounce, though I suspect that they gave me the four ounce by mistake. It’s kind of overwhelmed by the large bun, but the bun tasted pretty fresh and didn’t interfere with the burger too much. If the patty had been slightly larger, it probably would have worked much better.

The meat is tightly packed and mostly flavourless. It has a vague meaty flavour, but most of the patty’s taste comes from the smokiness imparted by the flame-broiling. It’s also fairly evident that the beef being used is far too lean, as the well done patty was completely dried out and without a hint of juiciness.

I suspect that the patties have been industrially made — certainly, it’s safe enough to say that Acme doesn’t grind their own meat in house. But I have eaten much worse as far as prefabricated burgers go. They don’t have that strange chewy texture that frozen burgers tend to have, so it’s likely that Acme uses pre-made, unfrozen patties.

I also had an order of fries, which were actually the highlight. Lightly crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside, they were fresh, hot and had a good amount of salt. I suspect, however, that the folks at Acme are not changing the oil as often as they should be, resulting in a slightly stronger oil flavour than I’d like. Despite this, the fries are definitely above average, even if the restaurant itself is not.

Johnny Rockets

Published on May 26, 2011June 26, 2011 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 22 Dundas Street East, Toronto
Website: http://www.johnnyrockets.com/

I was hoping for my first review to be of a local place rather than a big chain, but I was in the area of Johnny Rockets and figured, why not?

Johnny Rockets is a fairly large chain, with over two-hundred locations all over the world, so it’s easy enough to assume that it’s going to be mediocre. My last Johnny Rockets experience was several years ago at their Niagara Falls location, and my memory was that it was decent enough, so I went in with an open mind.

The first thing you notice is the kitchy, 1950s Americana decor, complete with a jukebox playing ’50s pop. The place was fairly empty when my dining companion and I showed up, and we were instructed to seat ourselves. The service was a bit leisurely, but generally fine.

The menu is mostly burgers. They have some other stuff on there, but it’s fairly obvious what their specialty is.

I ordered the Rocket Double, which the menu describes as having “Cheddar cheese, iceberg lettuce, fresh tomato, onion & special sauce.” I opted to go onion-free, as I’m generally not a huge fan of raw onions (I know, burger sacrilege! But I’m just not crazy about them. I find that they have the tendency to be overpowering, and they linger on the palette long after they have worn out their welcome).

The burger came partially wrapped in paper, a nice touch and reminiscent of great American burger chains like In-N-Out. One bite and it was clear that this was a real hamburger: fresh ground beef, no crap mixed in. Good times.

The patty has a good texture to it — it’s loosely formed, and has been cooked on a griddle, giving it a bit of a crust (the crust could have been a bit more pronounced, but it was decent enough). The burger was cooked to well done, but was nicely juicy. It wasn’t the most flavourful beef ever, but it definitely had a somewhat beefy flavour. All in all, not a mind-blowing burger — but just by virtue of being non-frozen, juicy, and without random stuff mixed in, it’s head-and-shoulders above many Toronto burger joints (which is kind of a sad indictment on the local burger scene).

As for the other components of the burger: the mild cheddar cheese was completely melted, which I certainly appreciated (there’s nothing worse than getting a so-called cheeseburger with a cold, unmelted slice of cheese). The “special sauce” was barely noticeable, the lettuce and tomato were fine, and the bun was nice and soft and complimented the burger quite well.

The sides were pretty underwhelming. The fries were pale, dry, and kind of tasteless. It probably didn’t help that they hadn’t been salted at all. They basically tasted like frozen fries that had been prepared poorly. The onion rings tasted like they might have been okay at some point, but it was clear that they had been sitting out for a while.

I also tried the patty melt, which I thought was pretty tasty, though my dining companion wasn’t quite as convinced (it tasted very strongly of caraway seeds, a flavour he’s not keen on but that I enjoy).