mall – Tasty Burgers

Reds

Published on October 13, 2019 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 100 City Centre Drive, Mississauga (inside Square One)
Website: https://redsrestaurants.com/

I don’t know why I keep reviewing the burger at chains like Reds. They’re always just as mediocre and personality-free as you fear they’re going to be, so why do I keep subjecting myself to them? Because I hate myself, apparently?

Reds Square One

To be fair, Reds only has three locations, so it’s not quite a full-on chain like Moxie’s or Milestones. It’s also slightly better than those types of places. But it’s not great.

I ordered the Reds Burger: “lettuce, tomato, red onion, pickle, fresh baked potato bun.”

Reds Square One

It’s… well, it is what it is. It’s mostly inoffensive. The griddled patty is dry, because of course it’s dry, but it’s otherwise decent enough. There’s a good amount of crust from the griddle, and the texture of the beef is basically where it should be. The flavour isn’t particularly beefy, but it’s not unpleasant. If it weren’t so dry, it would have been pretty good.

Reds Square One

The no-frills toppings are exactly what you think they’ll be, and the fluffy, fresh bun is actually really good.

I don’t know. It’s a burger. It’s mostly inoffensively tasty, but it’s so bland and unmemorable that it may as well not exist.

Reds Square One

As for the fries, they were mostly quite good, though they were a little bit undercooked.

2.5 out of 4

The Cheesecake Factory

Published on November 11, 2018November 11, 2018 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 3401 Dufferin Street, North York (inside Yorkdale Mall)
Website: https://www.thecheesecakefactory.com/

I don’t know, man. What do you want me to say about yet another generic, mediocre hamburger from a big chain restaurant? Seriously: what can I say about this burger that I haven’t said about countless others?

I guess I could say that it could be worse, because it definitely could be worse. I found that out very recently.

I don’t think too many people are even ordering the burger at the Cheesecake Factory. They’re known more for their heaping, super-sized portions of American comfort food, such as the breakfast burrito that weighs in at a comical 2730 calories, and of course the eponymous cheesecake.

And even if people are ordering the burger, they’re probably ordering the more elaborate concoctions, such as the one topped with mac and cheese, or the one filled with gooey cheddar.

I, on the other hand, ordered the Old Fashioned, which comes topped with a very basic assortment of lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, and mayo.

The waitress asked me if I wanted it cooked to well done or medium well. Since the burger at a place like this usually comes cooked to well done by default, I appreciated that.

I asked for medium well, which was nice because I suspect that the burger otherwise would have been quite dry, but it was actually able to retain some moisture.

Otherwise? It wasn’t bad, I guess. The texture was okay and it had a nice bit of char from the grill. It didn’t taste particularly beefy, but it didn’t taste bad, either. The soft bun was okay, too. The whole thing was fine. It existed and I ate it and I’m not mad about it. I guess you can’t ask for much more than that at a chain like this.

As for the fries, they were also fine, but they were pale, lifeless, and personality-free.

2 out of 4

RH Courtyard Cafe

Published on April 15, 2018April 15, 2018 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 3401 Dufferin Street, North York (inside Yorkdale)
Website: None

That was a pleasant surprise. I wasn’t even planning on eating here — we were supposed to go to the Cheesecake Factory, but the wait was well over an hour despite the fact that it was before noon on a random weekday afternoon. I figured those types of crowds would have died down by now, but apparently people love the Cheesecake Factory far more than I anticipated.

I had a vague recollection of seeing a photo of the burger at Restoration Hardware (which is also in Yorkdale) and thinking it looked pretty good, so I figured, sure — I’m here, I want a burger, why not?

Yes, Restoration Hardware — the furniture store — has a restaurant, and they serve a burger. I suppose odder things have happened.

Odder things, such as the burger at a furniture store’s restaurant actually being pretty good.

The RH Burger, per the menu: “sharp American, pickles, onion, dijonnaise, lettuce, tomato.”

I was shocked at how much I enjoyed it. That’s not to say it was great, but it had a basically decent texture, it was juicy, the flavour was okay, and all of the toppings were solid. The cheese was nice and gooey and the onions were finely diced and not overwhelming. The tomato and lettuce were on the side, which is where they remained — they were completely unnecessary.

It was far from perfect, of course — there was almost no crust from the griddle, the well-done beef was too dense with a slightly chewy texture, and they seasoned it with way too much pepper. But again, it’s a restaurant in a furniture store. It very easily could have been dry and tasteless and horrible, but I actually quite enjoyed eating it.

As for the fries, they were even better than the hamburger — particularly when dipped in the intensely garlicky mayo that comes on the side. That stuff was potent. It actually reminded quite a bit of the garlic sauce that you sometimes get with shawarma. It bordered on being too strong, but it never went there. It was irresistible.

3 out of 4

Jamie’s Italian

Published on August 1, 2016 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 100 City Centre Drive, Mississauga (Square One)
Website: https://www.jamieoliver.com/italian/canada/

I know, a place with “Italian” right in the name probably isn’t the most obvious place to order a hamburger. And I just got burned by an Italian place with a hamburger inexplicably on the menu. So you’d think I’d learn.

But you know what? Maybe I’ll never learn, because the burger at Jamie’s Italian is actually pretty darn good.

And it had better be — it’s not cheap. It’s sixteen bucks on its own; twenty if you want fries. That’s not exactly unreasonable by the standards of a nicer restaurant, but it’s still a decent chunk of change. You’re throwing down the gauntlet if you’re charging that much for a hamburger. You’re asking for extra scrutiny.

The Jamie’s Italian Burger is described as follows: “Juicy Prince Edward Island beef, balsamic onions, aged Cheddar, tomato & homade mostarda mayo.”

Yeah, it’s good. My biggest complaint is that the texture of grilled patty — which is cooked all the way to well done — is a bit off. The grind is slightly too fine, and it’s a bit dry. Still, it does have some juiciness to it, and as far as the texture goes, I’ve certainly had worse.

The patty is otherwise really tasty — it’s got a nice smoky flavour from the grill, but nothing too overbearing (as some grilled burgers tend to be). It’s also got a mild but satisfying beefy flavour.

The toppings are pretty good too. Aged cheddar’s stronger flavour can sometimes be a bit much on a burger, but here it worked pretty well. And of course, caramelized onions are pretty much a hamburger’s best friend, so yeah, they worked pretty well too.

The bun looks way too big for the patty, but it’s light enough and fluffy enough that it never feels overwhelming.

As for the fries, the waitress suggested the polenta chips over the traditional fries, and I figured yeah, why not? They were a touch on the bland side (they either needed more of the rosemary and shredded parmesan that they were topped with, or some kind of dipping sauce), but otherwise were crispy, creamy, and really tasty.

3.5 out of 4