restaurant – Page 15 – Tasty Burgers

Woody’s Burgers

Published on July 2, 2012July 2, 2012 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 3795 Lake Shore Boulevard West, Etobicoke
Website: http://www.woodysburgers.com/

A few years ago, before Toronto’s recent burger boom in which The Burger’s Priest et al came in to show everyone how it’s done, places like Woody’s were pretty much the norm. Yes, Woody’s is relatively new, but with its good-but-not-great meatloaf-style burgers, it’s more reflective of Toronto’s old burger scene than what we’ve got now.

Woody’s is a small place just off of Brown’s Line in Etobicoke. They’ve got a small seating area, and a fairly large patio for when the weather’s nice. They sell a number of different types of burgers (turkey, chicken, bison, etc), including a bunch of customized burgers with names like Coronary, Tokyo, and California.

As is fairly clear by now, I like to keep it simple, particularly when I’m reviewing a burger; I’m reviewing the burger itself, not the toppings. I went with the plain burger topped with tomato, pickles, and mayo. As a combo with a soda and fries, it came out to about ten bucks. I ordered, was given a pager that would go off when my order was ready, and sat down.

They advertise a twenty minute wait for their burgers, and they weren’t kidding. “We’re not fast food,” the menu boasts, “we’re good food.” Umm… I guess?

I wasn’t looking at my watch, but I’m pretty sure it was about twenty minutes before the pager lit up and started vibrating. I turned it in, requested my toppings from behind the glass, and sat down with my food.

Like I mentioned earlier in the review, the burger isn’t bad. It’s a meatloaf burger, and they definitely aren’t shy with the seasonings. There’s zero beefy flavour here, which is a shame because they proudly claim that they only use local, farm-raised cattle, and I have no reason not to believe them. Why go through all the trouble of getting above-average beef only to obscure it with a bunch of other gunk? It’s baffling.

Though the beef flavour was completely absent, the burger had a nice texture that was devoid of the sausage-like chewiness that some meatloaf burgers tend to have. The well done burger also retained a decent amount of juciness, even if it wasn’t exactly the juciest burger I’ve had (I should note, however, that my dining companion found his burger to be almost inedibly dry, and proclaimed it to be one of the worst burgers he’s eaten in Toronto).

Woody’s cooks all of their burgers on a wood-burning grill (hence the name), which imparts a nicely smoky flavour onto the patty. However, as much as I appreciate a crispy crust on a well-cooked burger, the crunchy, charred exterior here goes a little bit too far. There’s nothing worse than a gray, under-seared burger; this is the other extreme.

The fresh, sesame seed bun complimented the burger quite well, though it was far too big for the patty, leaving a wide ring of bread overhang. It’s pretty clear that they shape their patties to the size of the bun, without bothering to compensate for the shrinkage that occurs while cooking.

As for the fries, they were a tad undercooked, but were otherwise pretty tasty. They had some kind of seasoned salt on them, which was sparingly applied (unlike, say, at Five Guys) and which definitely complimented the fries quite well.

C & Dubbs

Published on June 16, 2012June 17, 2012 by Michael Nusair9 Comments

Location: 1706 Dundas Street East, Mississauga
Website: None

I knew it was a bad sign when, while taking my order, the rotund man behind the register grabbed a handful of his apron, brought it to his mouth and let loose a hacky cough. To be fair, I do not believe that this man was handling any food (though he did pour the soft drinks). Still, that’s not something that you want to see.

It was another bad sign when my dining companion asked for mayonnaise on the side and was informed that this would cost him fifty cents. Really? You’re going to charge fifty cents to pour mayonnaise into a tiny cup instead of onto a burger?

Neither of these points have much to do with the quality of the food, but they do illustrate a certain attitude that I think is reflected in the lack of care that C & Dubbs puts into their menu.

The restaurant offers a hamburger and an eight ounce homeburger. I ordered the latter item, thinking that this might just be the better of the two. I sat down, waited about five minutes for the burgers to be ready, then picked out my toppings from behind the glass. As usual, I went with pickles, tomato and mayo.

Though the burger, labeled a “homeburger,” is presumably homemade (or at least they’d like you to think that it is by sticking the word “home” in the name), it sure doesn’t taste that way. If this is a homemade burger, then they have done an absolutely superb job at mimicking the taste and texture of a frozen patty.

I strongly suspect that it is frozen.

It’s not even a particularly good frozen burger, even by the dubious standards of an industrially-produced patty. The taste is devoid of anything even remotely resembling beefiness, with a nebulous, vaguely unpleasant flavour that I’m honestly having a hard time describing. It’s not very strongly spiced, which is normally a good thing, but here it just means that there’s not much else to hide the off-putting mystery-meat flavour.

It also has that spongy, sausagey texture that you associate with frozen burgers — but worse than usual, if you can believe it. The texture is strongly analogous to that of a hot dog; in fact, the whole thing bore more than a passing resemblance to a less salty version of a hot dog, which is just as unappealing as it sounds.

Based solely on the taste and texture, this could have been emu meat and I don’t think it would have made much of a difference. Any taste or texture that this beef once had has long since been pulverized out of it.

The bun was fresh and complimented the burger well, and the toppings were fine. But even the best bun and the highest-quality toppings cannot overcome such a horrible patty.

The fries, though unsalted and a bit on the soggy side, were reasonably crispy, with a really creamy interior and a nice flavour. They were quite greasy, but not overwhelmingly so. I think it goes without saying that they were the highlight of the meal.

UPDATE: To satisfy my curiosity, I decided to call up the restaurant and find out if they actually make any of their burgers in-house. “We don’t do that,” the man replied. “They’re frozen.” Can’t say I’m surprised.

Golden Star

Published on June 4, 2012 by Michael Nusair1 Comment

Location: 7123 Yonge Street, Thornhill
Website: None

Before writing this review I had been to Golden Star once, several years ago, and my hazy recollection of the burger was that it was fine, but nothing special. I was in no rush to go back, even to review it for this blog. However, after its tenth-place finish on Toronto Life’s list of the top 25 burgers in the city (and its status as one of only four dedicated burger joints to make the list), my interest was piqued.

There’s no mistaking Golden Star for anything but an old-school burger place; it’s clean and not run-down at all, but it has the general layout and decor of an establishment that was built years before many of its customers were born.

I came around lunchtime and there was a fairly sizable line-up to order, including a guy placing a takeout order for at least a couple of dozen people. The place is popular, that’s for sure.

The menu features a hamburger and a “homemade all star burger.” When asked what the difference was, I was told that the regular burger is just a plain old frozen burger, and the homemade burger features a six ounce patty that’s made in-house. Homemade it is.

I got the homemade burger as a combo with fries and a drink, and it came out to just over eleven bucks, so it’s neither particularly cheap or overly expensive.

After a wait of several minutes (I think my wait was a bit longer than average because of the man with the enormous take-out order) my burger was ready. Toppings are laid out behind the glass; I went with pickles, tomato and mayo.

My memory, from my many-years-ago visit, was that the burger was meatloaf style. I’m not sure if I was lucky enough to get a batch where they forgot to mix the other stuff in, or if they’re just no longer making meatloaf burgers, but if there was anything beyond salt and pepper in my patty, I couldn’t taste it.

The meat had a very clean flavour; it wasn’t the beefiest tasting burger that I’ve had, but there were no off flavours either, so it was obviously not low-quality beef. The well done burger was fantastically juicy, which is a rarity in Toronto, and which I definitely appreciated.

It’s grilled, a cooking method which sometimes has the tendency to overwhelm the beef with the smokiness of the grill. However, the grilling here imparted only a mild flavour which complemented — but did not overpower — the beef.

With the current ubiquity of griddle-cooked burgers, it’s nice to know that a great grilled burger is an option, even if it is a bit out of the way.

The fresh sesame seed bun complimented the burger quite well, and the standard toppings were good. All in all it was a very pleasant surprise, and easily the best old school burger joint in Toronto that I’ve visited.

As for the fries, they were solid, albeit a bit undersalted and unmemorable. They were perfectly tasty, but nothing I’d swoon over.

The Stockyards

Published on May 26, 2012May 26, 2012 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 699 St. Clair Avenue West, Toronto
Website: http://www.thestockyards.ca/

It seems to be the general consensus that for griddle-cooked, fast-food-style hamburgers, the big three are The Burger’s Priest, Holy Chuck, and The Stockyards. In fact, there is a 152-post thread at Chowhound whose sole purpose is to compare the merits of these three establishments. Obviously, this review needed to be done.

I’ve actually had the burgers here a couple of times before this visit, including once with the express purpose of reviewing it for this blog. However, I lazily held off on writing the review, and before I knew it so much time had passed that it was too hazy in my mind to write a proper review.

Every time I’ve been here the burger has been very good, but a little bit too dry to be truly great. But considering the way some people rapturously swoon over this place, I had hoped that I had merely had bad luck on my prior visits.

The Stockyards is a small restaurant — it has a handful of seats along the counter, a few by the opposing wall, and a few by the window. I’ve come here before only to find the place packed, so keep that in mind if you’re planning a visit.

This time, unlike my other visits, I snagged myself a prime seat by the counter, right in front of where the grill-lady was doing her thing. It was actually kind of hypnotic, watching her prepare several burgers — placing a ball of beef on the very hot griddle, smashing it down with a circular device seemingly made for that one purpose, letting it sit to develop a rich crust, then flipping it over. The woman obviously knew what she was doing; her technique was impeccable, and watching her so skilfully prepare these burgers was making me hungry.

But — yes, there is a but, and a fairly big one — looking at the beef, it was clear that something was amiss. The uncooked ground beef was red, with just a few flecks of white. I’ve mentioned before that when it comes to the fat percentage in hamburger meat, the absolute bare minimum is fifteen percent. Twenty percent, or even thirty, is preferable.

This looked more like ten percent, if that. It might have even been five. It was even leaner than the ground beef you typically find at the supermarket, which itself is too lean to make ideal hamburger meat. Suddenly my previous too-dry burgers made perfect sense. Beef this lean will absolutely never yield a particularly juicy burger, even with the most skilled cook in the world behind the griddle.

My burger came looking quite beautiful. Glistening, with an awe-inspiring dark brown crust, it looked pretty much exactly how you want a burger to look. I took a bite, and that perfect crust combined with what was obviously high quality beef — seasoned with just a bit of salt — resulted in a richly flavourful burger. But it was dry. How couldn’t it have been, with that beef? It was cooked all the way to well done, which obviously didn’t help, but it wasn’t overcooked (though you could make the argument that even a perfectly-cooked well done burger is inherently overcooked).

It’s actually kind of tragic, because with fattier beef, this burger would easily be a contender for best in the city. Hands down. Everything else is exactly how it should be: the amazing cooking technique, the quality of the beef, the fresh sesame seed bun (Dempster’s, if you’re curious), the toppings. It’s all, as Guy Fieri would say, on point.

(Did I really just drop a Guy Fieri reference into a review?)

But it’s dry — so, so dry, and despite this it is unarguably a very good burger. It saddens me, because with just one relatively minor change, it could be so great. Alas.

As for the fries, they were quite tasty if just a tad overcooked. However, the portion was absurdly large. After eating my fill I had barely even made a dent in the voluminous pile. I know it seems odd to complain about getting too much value, but no reasonable person could possibly finish this many French fries, leading to guaranteed food waste.

Slab Burgers

Published on May 14, 2012May 14, 2012 by Michael Nusair1 Comment

Location: 47 Charles Street West, Toronto
Website: http://www.slabburgers.com/

I have to say, the current abundance of quality burger joints in Toronto really warms my heart. I remember a time, not more than a few years ago, when finding a decent burger in the city was quite a challenge — particularly if you didn’t feel like trekking to a fancier place like Bymark and paying a premium. Johnny’s and Apache frequently topped “best burgers in the city” lists. If you wanted a fast-food-style, griddle cooked burger, your only option was low-quality chain fare like McDonald’s or Wendy’s. All in all, it was a grim time to be a burger fan.

Fast forward to present day. Suddenly, it’s an embarrassment of riches. Good burgers are easy to find. Burger joints seem to be opening on a regular basis, and many of them are quite good. Many people are calling this a fad; I disagree. There’s nothing quite like a good burger, and Torontonians are only just now realizing this. Go to any big city in the States, and you’ll find any number of high quality burger joints flipping burgers and feeding the hungry masses. Toronto used to be a burger dead-zone, and it’s only now catching up to other big cities — and there’s work to be done yet. So no, burgers are not a fad, and they’re not a flash in the pan. It just took us a while to realize their worth.

But I digress, so let me get to the topic at hand: Slab Burgers.

It’s an unassuming location, tucked away in an office building just off of Bay. It’s an oddly designed space, with a couple of tables next to the register, and a wall separating a narrow strip with a few more tables. They’ve also built a barrier, maybe 6 feet tall, around the area where they cook the burgers, blocking the burger cookery from view. It’s an odd choice that made me wonder if they have something to hide.

The menu will look pretty familiar to anyone who’s visited Five Guys — the offerings are pretty much identical, with the addition of a chicken sandwich. I ordered the four ounce burger as a combo with fries and a drink (and like at Five Guys, you order your toppings as you order the burger). It’s a pretty solid deal at $6.99.

I sat down, and within a few minutes my burger arrived, topped with pickles, tomato and mayo. I have to admit that my expectations were not very high — perhaps it was the Five Guys copycat menu, or the odd design of the restaurant, but I wasn’t expecting much. Imagine my surprise, then, as I bit into what turned out to be a damn good burger.

Let me get my one caveat out of the way first: the bun was too big. I suspect that it might have worked better in the double burger, and it wasn’t quite as bad as it looks in the picture (it was very soft and fresh, and aside from its size it was a good bun), but it was definitely too big.

Disproportionate bun aside, this was a winner from top to bottom. The beef was clearly fresh and of an above-average quality, and was therefore quite flavourful. It was juicy, and had a decent amount of crust from the griddle. With the exception of the questionable bun, the whole thing was very Five Guys-esque — but Five Guys at its best, since that place tends to be a little bit spotty. It wasn’t a “OMYGOD you must try this burger IMMEDIATELY” burger, but it was damn solid, and one I’d happily eat again if I found myself in the area.

As for the fries, they were top shelf: perfectly cooked and flavourful, I wasn’t very hungry and planned on only eating a handful, but once I started I could not stop. I cleaned the plate.