Toronto – Page 23 – Tasty Burgers

The Harbord Room

Published on June 22, 2014June 23, 2014 by Michael Nusair1 Comment

Location: 89 Harbord Street, Toronto
Website: http://www.theharbordroom.com/

I was a little bit wary of Toronto Life’s list of the best burgers in Toronto after my most recent experience with one of their choices. The Queen and Beaver served a muddled mess of a burger that was part steak sandwich, part hamburger, and all failure. It was Toronto Life’s 23rd best burger in the city.

The Harbord Room, however, has drawn raves for its burger from all corners, and is the number one pick on Toronto Life’s list. So: a much safer bet. I’m surprised that it’s taken me this long to check it out, honestly.

They sell a lot of burgers. Of the people sitting around me, pretty much everyone got the hamburger. Which pretty much makes it a burger joint at heart; my kind of place.

The menu describes the burger as follows: “Dry Aged ‘West Grey Farms’ Beef Burger – Sharp Cheddar, Caramelized Onions on an Egg Bun with Fries & Slaw.” It’s 17 bucks, which is actually not bad for the amount and value of food you get.

What the menu doesn’t mention, however, is the sharply lemony aioli that cuts through the burger’s other flavours like a laser. My dining companion and I noticed it immediately: why is this burger so lemony? It packs a punch, and I really, really wish I had asked for my burger without it.

The grilled patty came cooked to a perfect medium rare. I guess you could get them to cook it differently, but why would you?

Sadly, the flavour wasn’t quite as knock-me-back beefy as I had hoped; it didn’t have any of the rich, complex flavour you associate with dry-aged beef (or at least if it did, it was completely overpowered by the aioli). Still, there certainly was some beefy flavour there, and it was clear enough that they were using above average meat. Perhaps my expectations were too high.

Though the medium rare parts in the middle were quite juicy, the more well-cooked edges were a bit drier than I’d like. It’s likely that the beef is a little bit too lean, and maybe slightly too tightly packed, but I’ve certainly had worse.

The cheese was creamy and fully melted and the onions were perfectly caramelized, but that aioli aggressively elbowed its way to the front of the line, overpowering everything else and rendering most of the burger’s other flavours moot. The sesame seed bun, however, was perfect: pillowy and super fresh, with the perfect amount of density to hold up to the substantial burger without ever getting in the way.

So no, it’s not exactly the burger of my dreams; I certainly wouldn’t pick it as my personal favourite burger in Toronto, but I don’t begrudge Toronto Life for picking it as theirs. It’s quite good.

As for the fries, they were pretty much perfect. Seriously: they weren’t as hot as they probably should have been, but were otherwise right up there with the best fries I’ve ever had. The aioli, though clearly overpowering as a burger condiment, was outstanding as a dip for fries, as was the tangy house-made ketchup.

Brock Sandwich

Published on June 15, 2014June 15, 2014 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 1260 Bloor Street West, Toronto
Website: http://brocksandwich.ca/

Sometimes I wonder if it’s even possible for me to get to every burger in the city that I want to review. The list of burger joints I still need to check out is fairly voluminous, not to mention the new places that open regularly. And of course, there are the non-burger-joint restaurants that serve noteworthy hamburgers. But I’ll keep rolling that rock up the hill, because there are worse things in life than feeling compelled to eat a bunch of hamburgers.

Enter Brock Sandwich. It’s not a burger place, but I’ve been hearing good things about their burger since they opened last year (including mention in blogTO’s list of the best cheeseburgers in the city).

It’s mostly a take-out place. I was lucky enough to snag one of the few tables, but if they’re busy (and they do seem to be busy) eating in will be a challenge.

The burger, as per their menu: “House Ground Beef, Smoked Tomato Jam, Mustard, Mayo, Lettuce, Onion.” The menu doesn’t specify the cheese, which I think is a white cheddar of some sort.

There is a lot of stuff on this burger. I’m a less-is-more guy when it comes to burgers, but I’m not anti-toppings, either. If it tastes good, it tastes good.

Though the toppings here are all fine, they never quite cohere into something special — it just tastes like a burger with a lot of toppings. They get in the way of the beef without really justifying themselves to any meaningful degree. They’re certainly not bad; they’re just nothing particularly special.

The griddled patty is good, but again, not great. It actually has a fairly satisfying flavour (though it’s tough to tell with all that other stuff), and it’s juicy and not overcooked. But the texture is off. It has a slightly chewy, sausagey texture. It’s the type of texture that you typically find in a meatloaf burger — but I’m pretty sure there aren’t any spices or any of the other stuff typical of a meatloaf burger mixed into the patty.

So how to account for that texture? I suspect that they mix salt right into the beef, something that can have a profound impact on a burger’s texture, though it’s hard to be too sure.

It’s not a deal-breaker — it’s still pretty tasty — but it’s a shame that what could otherwise be an above average patty has such a noticeable defect.

As for the fries, they were seasoned with paprika or something similar, and were quite tasty. They were a tad on the soggy side, but were still quite stellar — especially when dipped in the restaurant’s amazing malt vinegar mayo.

I should note that my dining companion had the fried chicken sandwich, and it looked amazing. I wish I had taken a picture because it was maybe the most perfect-looking fried chicken sandwich that I’ve ever seen. And apparently it was as good as it looked, because my dining companion proclaimed it to be the second-best fried chicken sandwich he has ever eaten (the best, apparently, being the Beastwich — it’s tough to top that one).

The Queen and Beaver Public House

Published on June 1, 2014June 14, 2014 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 35 Elm Street, Toronto
Website: http://queenandbeaverpub.ca/

The burger at the Queen and Beaver is… different. My dining companion noted that my brow was furrowed for pretty much the entire time I was eating it, which is true. It’s an odd one. I don’t know how to classify it.

The Queen and Beaver has actually been on my radar for a while now, at least since Toronto Life included it on their list of the best burgers in Toronto back in 2012.

It’s a cozy restaurant with food that’s a bit more ambitious than standard pub fare. This ambition extends to the burger, and sadly, I think their reach exceeds their grasp.

The patty is hand chopped, which means that instead of putting the beef through a grinder like with a traditional hamburger, it’s chopped by hand until the resultant bits are small enough to be formed into a patty.

It’s odd. The waitress informed me that they suggest medium rare, which was fine by me, that being my preference and all. And the grilled patty was cooked to a perfect medium rare, but… it didn’t taste like a hamburger. The hand-chopped patty was formed out of discernibly large chunks of beef, with the effect being that the whole thing tasted like bits of steak that had been mashed into the shape of a hamburger.

Honestly, I’m loathe to even call it a hamburger — it tastes more like a steak sandwich. But if it looks like a burger, is called a burger, and has appeared on a list of the best burgers in Toronto… I guess it’s a hamburger, or at least I should treat it as such.

Sadly, whatever it is, it’s pretty much ruined by an extreme case of over-seasoning. Along with the bits of steak, there are onions, spices, and something else with a very strong flavour added into the mix (Worcestershire sauce? HP? I’m not sure). Whatever it is, it is very, very strong. They are presumably using good quality beef (the steep $18 dollar price tag would certainly indicate this), but thanks to all the junk they’ve got mixed in there, it doesn’t have even one iota of beefy flavour. Maybe it’s a hamburger and maybe it’s a steak sandwich, but either one of those without any beefy flavour is unquestionably a failure.

It comes topped with some thickly sliced bacon which, though it tastes pretty good, is mushy and quite possibly the least crispy bacon I’ve ever had. There wasn’t even a hint of crispiness — it may as well have been boiled. Cheese was proffered, but I elected to go without (and I’m glad I did — there’s already more than enough going on here without adding another flavour to further muddle things).

The fresh sesame seed bun was quite good, I’ll give it that. Kinda sad that the best thing I have to say about this hamburger is that the bun is good, but here we are. Suffice it to say, I disagree with Toronto Life’s assertion that this is one of the best burgers in Toronto. I doubt it would be in my top 100, let alone top 25.

The fries were tasty, however. Thickly cut and maybe a touch underdone, they were otherwise quite good.

The County General

Published on April 8, 2014April 8, 2014 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 936 Queen Street West, Toronto
Website: http://thecountygeneral.ca/

Given that the burger at the County General has received pretty much nothing but praise (including nabbing the number nine spot on Toronto Life’s list of the best burgers in the city), I’m a little bit surprised that it’s taken me this long to check it out. But given my blistering biweekly update schedule, it can sometimes take me a while to get to a place I want to try.

The County General actually just opened a second location on the other side of Queen, so they’re obviously doing okay. I tend to gravitate towards the west end of the city, so I visited the original.

The place was pretty much packed when my dining companion and I arrived on a Saturday afternoon, though we were able to grab a couple of seats at the bar. We both ordered the 6oz. County Burger, which is described as follows on the menu: “Cumbraes Aged Beef, Mustard, Mayo, Pickle.”

They asked how each of us wanted it cooked, which is always a delightful question since the default in this city seems to be well done, and I prefer medium rare.

The grilled patty came out a perfect medium rare, and was absolutely outstanding. Coarsely ground and juicy, it had an amazing texture and a really pronounced beefy flavour. There is, however, a but. A big but.

BUT… the patty’s amazing flavour was largely diminished by an insanely overpowering horseradish mustard. And I mean insane. This was like horseradish mustard on steroids. If this mustard were a person, it would be on a Hulk-esque rampage, flipping over cars and leveling buildings with one monstrous blow.

It was strong, is what I’m saying.

I typically like my condiments on the subtler side — to extend my “if it were a person” analogy, I like my condiments to be less Incredible Hulk, and more Lionel Richie. But even my dining companion, who is typically unperturbed by such things, found the mustard to be overbearing. He actually suggested that they should rename the hamburger to a horseradish sandwich with meat; sadly, this wasn’t even much of an exaggeration.

It’s a real shame, because that patty was pretty damn close to perfection. It’s seriously good. It was hard to tell, but in the few bites I got where there wasn’t as much of the mustard, it was very obvious that the burger was made with top-shelf meat. Not to mention that it was cooked perfectly, and featured a really fresh bun that complimented it perfectly. Without that mustard it is easily a top ten contender. Probably even top five. But the mustard kind of kills it, as much as it pains me to say so.

As for the fries, they too were well above average: crispy, perfectly cooked french fry goodness.

Seriously though, as much as I hated that mustard, don’t let it dissuade you from ordering this hamburger, which is otherwise one of the best in the city. Just ask for the mustard on the side. Or even better, not at all. A burger this good has so much beefy flavour that any kind of mustard, even a non-radioactive-monster mustard, only serves to distract from what makes the burger so great in the first place.

Wally’s Restaurant

Published on March 23, 2014March 23, 2014 by Michael NusairLeave a comment

Location: 3480 Hurontario Street, Mississauga
Website: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Wallys-Family-Restaurant/223907720231

I recently found myself looking for a burger near my work, and again, I decided to refer to Urbanspoon’s list of the best burgers in Mississauga. This has worked out both well and not-so-well in the past, so I figured I’d give it another shot.

Wally’s is yet another old school diner in the GTA that looks pretty much exactly like every other old school diner in the GTA (I know I’ve mentioned this before, but what’s the deal? Was there just one guy designing every diner in the ’70s and ’80s?).

They’ve got two main burger choices on the menu: the hamburger and the “home made hamburger.” I asked what the difference was and was urged to order the homemade, which seems like the natural choice either way. I’m assuming the regular burger is a standard frozen patty; there’s only a sixty cent difference, so I’m honestly not sure why it’s even a choice. This is completely unfathomable to me, but I guess there must be people out there who prefer frozen? I would love to sit down with these people and tell them why they are completely insane, but I digress.

The combo, with fries and a drink, is less than eight bucks. Expensive it is not. But is it good?

I don’t know. It’s not bad. I have a couple of issues with the grilled, well done patty. There’s definitely stuff mixed into the burger, but whatever it is, it’s fairly subtle. Honestly, aside from the smokiness and the mild bitterness imparted from the grill, there’s not much flavour to the burger at all. Pretty much zero beefy flavour; it could have been made out of ground pork for all the flavour of beef that it had. Who knows — maybe it was.

It also had a soft, vaguely sausagey texture that was a bit off, though nothing I’d get too worked up over.

It’s not terrible. It’s quite juicy, at least, and there’s nothing terribly offensive about it. If you put another one in front of me, I’d probably eat it. But there’s nothing particularly good about it either. The flavour is nonexistent, the texture is slightly off, and the toppings don’t do much to redeem it — the tomatoes were okay, the pickles were fine (but they were wadded in the centre so I got a couple of pickley bites and then nothing for the remainder), and the mayo was actually Miracle Whip. The plain, fresh sesame seed bun was unspectacular and fit right in with the patty.

As for the fries, they were fine, but they tasted like the most generic frozen fries that you’ve ever had.