Burger's Priest

Date Visited: Lunch on Saturday Jun 27, 2015
Company: Take-out with +Will Ives

+Will, +Alex, +Brian, and I had plans to see Jurassic World on a rainy Saturday afternoon in the Entertainment District before heading to a Birthday BBQ for the evening. After meeting at Scotiabank Theatre and seeing that our showing was sold out already, we decided to grab lunch before catching the next show. Will remembered that a new Burger's Priest had opened up in the area right by the Burrito Boyz/Smoke's Poutinerie building so we headed in that direction. Will and I went over to get burgers while Alex went to get a burrito.
Will and I climbed the steps and entered new and shiny new Burger's Priest location complete with a flashy sign outside. It had ample standing room on brand new hardwood and limited tables around the perimeter of the space. We walked up and took a look at the menu for a bit, I was a bit confused on what The Option and The Priest were. Apparently, The Option is two breaded and deep-fried portabello mushrooms with cheese in the middle. The Priest is The Option + a Cheeseburger which is what I ended up getting with a few more condiments. We found a table to sit at to wait for our burgers to be made... timing was an issue due to our movie so we headed straight back to Burrito Boyz once we got our orders. Surprisingly, Alex hadn't gotten his burrito yet... I thought ours would take longer but it must have took about 10 minutes (seemed forever!).

I unwrapped my burger to see a monstrosity of a thing to eat, I was dumbfounded on how to even begin the first bite! Nonetheless, I went for it, and it was amazing... cheese oozed out of The Option like lava... what a sight. Bite after bite, more cheese kept on coming out of no where, it was heavenly for me. I was very impressed on how contained and structurally sound the option was, hardly messy! The cheeseburger part was simple but also delicious, it was incredible how great these two paired up together. We shared some fries from Will's combo and they were pretty good too. Very standard but I enjoyed the size and soft texture, not so much on the crispy side.

I think everyone should try Burger's Priest, it's definitely worth the $10 you spend on the burger. I can't imagine coming here very often unless I wanted to become obese so prepare yourself for it!

Food: 4.5/5 - Wish I didn't have to eat it in a rush so I could savoir each bite!
Decor: 3/5 - Very clean and fresh, not much decor going on yet though.
Service: 3/5 - Wait time was pretty standard.
Willingness to go back: 2.5/5 - Worth bringing noobies to try it but I wouldn't regular the spot!
Overall: 3.5/5

Website: http://www.theburgerspriest.com/

The Fifth Pubhouse

Date Visited: Dinner on Saturday Jan 24, 2015
Company: Walk-in for 6

The boys were in downtown Toronto for a suit-fitting all day on Saturday so I met up with them for dinner before seeing American Sniper. We were going to the Scotiabank Theatre in the entertainment district and just down the street was the Fifth Gastropub. I had no idea this was the same location where Easy on the Fifth was in the upstairs. The guys arrived around 5:30PM and got a table for 6, it was very empty when I arrived shortly after. The restaurant looked very cozy with wooden furniture and warm lighting.

Their menu offers an interesting and wide selection of dishes to choose from. I opted for the 5th Burger because I didn't think I could go wrong with it. It took a reasonable amount of time for our dishes to arrive, +Stanley ordered the Duck Confit so they warned us it would take a bit longer. The Burger didn't look like it had very much sauce or toppings on it. From the first bite, I could tell it was very lean and wasn't juicy at all. It tasted fine but it was very plain and needed some flavour. I wasn't a fan of the fries either, they were way too hard and overcooked.

Our waitress was fine except that when she asked if we wanted anything else, but she was distracted talking to +Alex and ended up just bringing us our bills even though some of us were craving some dessert. It was a little awkward to bring it up then so we just let it go...

Food: 1.5/5 - The burger was nothing special, very disappointing for a gastopub.
Decor: 2.5/5 - Good atmosphere and ambiance but we were seated at stools with no backs when the restaurant was empty??
Service: 2.5/5 - It was OK but considering the place was empty, nothing outstanding.
Willingness to go back: 2/5 - Wouldn't go out of my way but it does have a nice selection of beer if you're in the area.
Overall: 2/5

Website: http://thefifthpubhouseandcafe.com/

O&B Canteen

Date Visited: Brunch on Saturday Sept 13, 2014

Company: Walk-in for 6

On the second weekend of TIFF, we somehow decided to go to the O&B Canteen for Saturday brunch. For those of you who don't know, it's a restaurant attached to the TIFF building and also very close to where most of my friends live downtown. +Will and I were the first to arrive and they said it would be a 20 minute wait. We hung out in the TIFF building and found a spot to sit and wait for everyone since we had a beeper which would call us when our table was ready. We waited over our 20 minutes and decided to go back to ask what was up with our table, all they told us it would be ready soon. It was very busy but they didn't seem too concerned that we had been waiting along time already and they weren't giving us anymore information than we had 30 minutes ago. When we were finally seated we got a nice corner table surrounded by their large windows.

I wasn't very impressed with the selection they had for breakfast/brunch, it was a tad limited overpriced. I decided to go for their $17 Canteen Burger with bacon, aged cheddar, pickled jalapeño, herb mayo, and hot house tomato. Our waiter had a bit of attitude but tried his best in getting us all our drinks and orders. I wanted to order an orange juice but it was $5, no way I was going to pay that. I know that it was O&B but I couldn't justify it knowing it would be a small glass. We had some nice conversations while we were waiting for our food and I had to help +Gisele pick a movie to see for TIFF. We left a bit to look at the schedule outside when +Rosemarie texted us that our food was there!

I was impressed with the look of my burger, the portion size was better than I had expected and the herb mayo sauce smelled awesome. The burger was very lean and less juicy than I would have liked but all the toppings were delicious together. It was better than the average burger and very meaty, the herb mayo was awesome (I want that recipe!). The fries were also great, lightly salted and crispy. There was a lot of mixed reviews of everyone's dishes at the table. They all seemed pretty good although the Gnocci portion looked a little small for +Will although +Gisele claims that she ordered it last week and couldn't finish it.

Food: 3/5 - My burger was pretty good but had higher expectations for the menu.

Decor: 3.5/5 - Loved all the natural lighting and modern decor, the isles are a bit small though and you have to go upstairs the TIFF building for the bathroom.

Service: 1.5/5 - Not vey impressed, a bit snooty.

Willingness to return: 2/5 - I would return if it was suggested but I can't think of a good occasion where I would to suggest going there again, neither the food or prices were enticing enough.

Overall: 2.5/5

Website: http://oliverbonacini.com/Canteen.aspx 

Bier Markt

Date Visited: Dinner on Friday Mar 13, 2014
Company: Reunion Dins for +Stanley

As a last minute dinner plan to get together for +Stanley's visit home for his birthday weekend, he made a reservation for 6 at the Bier Markt on the Esplanade. I've always loved the Bier Markt for Friday/Saturday nights out as they have a great selection of beers and fun live entertainment to dance to. With their lunch/dinner menus however, I never really knew what to order as their selection is very limited. They don't serve your typical bar food... it has more of a German/seafood theme than anything and a bit pricier also. But despite my reluctance, it was another fun opportunity to do a blog post with my friends around giving their critiques (and not being embarrassed by me taking pics!).

We all met outside the restaurant on a warmer than usual Winter night on the lovely Esplanade. We had made a reservation for 6 but knew we were expecting 3 more later on. When we told the hostess, she said she'd see what she can do as they had many reservations that night but we were in a small secluded area in the back so it might be easier to add tables. The place was already very lively with people standing around and drinking already. The restaurant is very dim which sucked for taking pictures because I had to use the dreaded flash. 

We all ordered drinks and I decided to get one of their Beer Cocktails, the Peach Cider Bellini which had Blackthorn Cider, house-made ginger syrup, Ciroc Peach-infused vodka, fresh lime juice, and a dash of peach bitters. It was a nice mix of sweet and bitter, the ginger flavour was very prominent but didn't overpower the sweet cider. 

For my main dish, I decided to get the Merchant Burger which was the only burger on the menu for $25. It came on a large circle platter with the burger, fries, and 3 types of sauces. As +Brian pointed out, we didn't get very many fries. I could have definitely had more as they were very delicious, all soft (no crunchies!) and lightly salted. The patty of the burger was pretty big and grilled perfectly on the outside. The inside was nice and red, but not bloody. The patty tasted amazing, so juicy and tender, and still held together well. The bottom bun was drenched in oils from the meat though which made it very messy. It kind of reminded me of the Stn Burger from Richmond Station (my favourite burger of all time) with the quality of the beef, but that burger was actually drenched in sauces, not the oils like this one. 

Our waitress was very sweet and friendly, when our other friends came we were able to pull up another table to accommodate them. There was a bit of fuss as there were empty tables all around us and we need to rearrange them but in the end it worked out. It was weird being so close to where the dance floor usually is as you feel like it's already late and you're out for the night already when actually we were just grabbing dinner. Everyone else there seemed to be pre-gaming to stay the whole night. It's a pretty classy bar though that seems to cater to the yuppy crowd telling by their menu. I love their bar scene, but not so much an fan of the restaurant side.

Food: 2.5/5 - The best meal I've had from here by far, but there's nothing else on the menu I'd want to try. Overpriced and limited menu.

Decor: 3/5 - It's a pretty big and nice bar/restaurant with a vibrant atmosphere, good for drinking. 

Service: 2.5/5 - Nice waitress, but she definitely took my drink before I was finished with it!

Willingness to go back: 1/5 - I wouldn't go back there for dinner, but it's nice for summer patio drinking/casual lunch with their huge beer selection. (That doesn't include going back for a Fri/Sat night out because you'll see me there for sure!)

Overall: 2/5

Website: http://www.thebiermarkt.com/

The Patty Shack

Date Visited: Dinner on Friday Jan 27, 2014
Company: Dine in with +Will

I first noticed The Patty Shack while going to Buster Rhino's next door. I mentioned it to my sister and she said that her friends love that place and rave about their awesome burgers. I definitely wanted to try it out after I heard that. +Will and I met up there after work on Friday and since there was a Oshawa General's game downtown, parking was a bit difficult to find. I was lucky and happened to turn onto the right street but street parking was quite full otherwise. I went in and waited at an empty table for +Will to arrive. 

The place is kind of odd because there's 2 entrances, and 2 large areas for dining with about 4 tables in each section (lots of open space). One section has the area to order and you would think the whole restaurant is just that part, but there's section another connected also with more seating (and even more open space). Upon first glances, it doesn't feel very clean, lots of tables of crumbs on it and kind of dive-y with cheap table and chairs. They have a few large photos of their famous burgers, wings, and poutines around to help you with ordering.

When +Will arrived we both ordered 6oz(1/3 lb) Burgers and shared a Poutine and Drink. I was very overwhelmed the all the toppings and sauces you could dress your burger with. There were so many options, it was very tough trying to pick what you wanted without over-doing it. I had on mine: Golden Garlic BBQ sauce, sauteed mushrooms, pickles, spicy salsa, guacamole, and caramelized onions. I was so fascinated with all the new types of toppings I could get, I totally forgot to add good 'ol ketchup and mayo. I also got the Whole Wheat Bun instead of Regular. The wait wasn't too long to get our burgers, we were the only ones there at this point. I was surprised how thick the patty actually was, and it was cooked consistently all the way through and not too greasy. The bun held the burger perfectly and I'm glad I didn't pile on the toppings because it wasn't messy at all this way! It was a delicious and well-made burger that was the perfect size for me. I wasn't a big fan of the spicy salsa as it was really overpowering in flavour and also the sauteed mushrooms were cold, but that was all my doing with choosing the toppings. I love that you can get a totally different burger every time.

I also ordered a Regular Poutine but while we were waiting, we changed our minds and wanted to get Pulled Pork. Unfortunately they said that they didn't have Pulled Pork so we got the Patty Poutine which is a regular poutine but with their famous Gardillic sauce on it. It was $1 more and they didn't charge us for it. The Poutine was in a large take-out container and just bathed in gravy and sauce. The Poutine was very addicting, the Gardillic sauce added a whole new element to the flavour and didn't really taste like poutine! The fries were soft (not too crispy) but it was hard to think about the fries with all the sauce on top. The gravy also covered all of the cheese curds so they were all melted, just the way I like it. Perfect for sharing!

Food: 4.5/5 - They know what the people want and how to satisfy our cravings! :D
Decor: 1/5 - Leaves a lot to be desired.
Service: 3.5/5 - Awesome service, helpful, and didn't charge us for our poutine order change :)
Willingness to go back: 4/5 - Would be my top choice for a burger in Oshawa, mostly to try the toppings.
Overall: 3.5/5
Website: http://thepattyshack.ca/

Great Burger Kitchen

Date Visited: Lunch on Saturday Sept 28, 2013
Company: Casual outing for a meal nearby with +Lilian, +Will, and his brother.

+Lilian and I had just come up from Oshawa, and were going to meet up with +Will and his brother for lunch near his place before heading out for our separate plans in the afternoon. We had originally planned to get Thai, but +Will wasn't exactly sure where the restaurant was located so ended up wandering and finding out that it was closed. We were at Church and Front so I suggested Great Burger Kitchen for lunch. I had only gone once before, late at night after St Patty's Day and really enjoyed their poutine, so I wanted to try it again to see if it was as good as I thought it was.

GBK is a promoter of organic and locally sourced food, the beef they use is also from naturally raised cows in Ontario. Their prices are pretty decent considering this. They have a range of different burgers and poutines to satisfy anyone's  preferences. For me, all of options looked delicious. Their menu is right on the wall beside where you order in large font which makes things easy for customers to read, but not so much decide what they want. They also offer a Burger/Poutine of the Day which is written on a blackboard below the menu and outside the restaurant that always looks appealing every time I walk by.

After we placed our orders at the counter, we found a booth to sit at. The restaurant isn't huge but it has enough space as only about 1 out of 5 tables has been occupied both times I've been here. Ours orders were made at a reasonable time by the one server at the counter, and we were called up one by one for our various foods. I ordered the Greek Burger with Feta, Tomato, Red Onion, and Tzatsiki. The bun was grilled lightly and the patty was cooked perfectly, it was just a classic and simple burger (with Greek toppings). The burger tasted great and the toppings were refreshingly fresh. In addition to the burger, we also got poutines to share. We got the Mexican Poutine with Salsa, Cheddar, Guacamole, & Sour Cream. This was basically having nachos, but with fries instead of chips. +Lilian pointed out that this was probably the healthiest poutine ever... due to the lack of gravy. There was a nice surplus of toppings for the fries but they still remained crispy. We also got the Poutine of the Day which had Bacon, Jalapeno, Salsa, & Cheddar. This was somewhat similar to the Mexican Poutine but with more of a kick of flavour. Both were good, but I probably wouldn't get them again in the future, need some sauciness to the poutine IMO.

Overall, this is a great place to come if you want something more than just a fast food burger, and are willing to spend a bit more time and money. I think it's still a great deal for what you're getting here because it's definitely cheaper than going to a sit-down restaurant. It supports the local farming culture and you can tell that a lot of work as gone into making your food for such a small place.

Food: 4/5 - Fresh, natural, and organic! Delicious AND you don't feel as bad eating it. 
Decor: 3.5/5 - Small but local favourite feel to the place.
Service: 3/5 - Good wait time.
Willingness to come back: 5/5 - I'm totally a fan of GBK, definitely would come back! So much more to try.
Overall: 4/5
Website: http://greatburger.ca/

Big Moe's Burgers

Date Visited: Lunch on Monday Aug 19, 2013
Company: Went out for my lunch break while working at the office

I wasn't sure what I was craving for my lunch on Monday, so I decided to just Google some places around the area I work. Googlemaps didn't give me anything I didn't really know about until I searched 'hamburger' and I found Big Moe's Burgers. I had heard of the name before somewhere so I decided to check it out that day. I had been in the area a few times before right near Pacific Mall, but never noticed the small stores in the hectic area. It's located in a small plaza right on the corner of a gas station neighbouring a handful of Asian establishments. 
It was dead when I entered and it's a pretty small and unattractive place with about 5 stools at the counter. There was one woman working the cash and the open kitchen. I asked her what a Juicy Lucy was because apparently it was famous for this burger. She told me that it's a hamburger with cheese in the middle, you could also get chicken instead of beef. I ordered that as a combo which came with Fries on the side. The poutine instead of fries was also a tempting option along with a funnel cake, but there was no way I had the time or the stomach for that. I think they also recently cut down on their menu size as I saw other options online which weren't on the menu anymore. Side note: their burgers are all halal!

I grabbed a seat at the counter as I waited for my order to be made, and was quite curious as to why it wasn't very busy. Another group of 3 came in around 12:30 but I didn't see anyone else other than them. They have $2.50 cheese burgers on Tuesday so maybe everyone waits for that, as I probably would have if I didn't go into the office only once a week. I was worried about the time as I only had one hour to spare and with the traffic, it would take at least 10 minutes to get back. It took longer than I had liked, about a 20 minute wait, so I wasn't able to relax and enjoy my meal but rather had to scarf it down. 

I got everything on the burger which included the regular condiments and toppings but also had thousand island sauce and hot peppers. The burger was hot and oozing cheese as it'd just come off the flat grill. It didn't look that appetizing to me but that first bite was heavenly. The combination of all the flavours was excellent, the hot peppers were placed all on their own which really brought them out. The bun didn't get soggy and was a bit larger, proportionally to the burger which I appreciated. The burger was cooked very well done with a somewhat charred outside layer, but this contained the extremely juicy interior, probably from the cheese. The meat is very crumby though and pieces would fall off randomly at times. The fries on the other hand were less desirable. Most of them were thin pieces but randomly there would be larger cut ones in there. There were too over-cooked as most of them were hard and browning. They didn't have any flavour and I ended up throwing most of them out.

Food: 3/5 - Uniquely crafted and decent tasting burger, but shitty fries. 
Decor: 1.5/5 - OK for waiting or if there was minimal people there, but it could be very crowded if busy.
Service: 2/5 - Not great, but acceptable.
Willingness to come back: 3.5/5 - I'm probably going to crave this sometime again and I don't think there are other competitive places in Scarborough to get a similar meal.
Overall: 2.5/5
Website: none

Buns Hamburger House

Date Visited: Lunch on Sunday Aug 4, 2013
Company: Group of 4, before heading to Osheaga

Right before our last day of Osheaga, we ventured to Sainte-Catherine for lunch and were faced with a slew of different restaurants on the busy street. Of all the options that were proposed by +Elliott, our local expert, we decided on good, cheap burgers. When I checked in on Foursquare for the location, I discovered that Buns has received a lot of praise and according to some, have the best burgers in Montreal. We did notice that it was pretty cheap, $8 for a burger, fries, and drink. But their menu basically started and ended there. I decided to go for a Burger Combo with a Vanilla Milkshake instead which was $11. Also, they don't charge taxes here!

We were in a bit of a rush to catch Frightened Rabbit's set so I felt like the time dragged on while waiting for our burgers to cook. There was only one worker there doing everything and even though it wasn't very busy, we waited about 15 minutes for our orders. We sat at 1 out of the 2 tables at the restaurant, it wasn't big but with only two tables it was pretty spacey, mostly for people to wait for their orders. Even the kitchen area seemed a bit cramped but perfect for only 1 worker. The place is a whole in the wall otherwise, there was nothing appealing about it and it's very drab. The bathroom was also a disaster with no toilet paper. I heard it's open late so I feel like they just didn't clean after the drunk people came in the previous night.

Anyways, back to the food. I had my burger with everything on it and cheese is included in all the burgers. The bun looked very firm and dense which was nice because it didn't get soggy. The burger patty was very flavourful and well done. It's a simple burger but tastes amazing. It didn't look too big but really fills you. The fries were large-cut and the potatoes were so soft and fluffy inside. Some of mine were overcooked but others were perfect. They had a bit of spices on them which gave it a nice bit of flavour. It was hard to finish all of them since they gave you so much but they were really addictive fries. The milkshake was also a great addition, it was very thick and had lots of ice cream. It came in a Styrofoam cup though which was a bit weird.

Food: 4.5/5 - I really enjoyed the food, fries were a bit inconsistent.
Decor: .5/5 - Only plus was that it was roomy.
Service: 2.5/5 - Server was nice but took his sweet time.
Willingness to come back: 3/5 - It's a good eat but there's no other variety to get here other than what I had already.
Overall: 2.5/5
Website: http://bunshamburgers.blogspot.com/

Big Boy's Burgers

Date Visited: Dinner on Tuesday Jul 2, 2013

Company: Take-out for myself

Big Boy's opened in Whitby about a year ago and its kind of made an impression as it really sticks out amongst its surroundings. It's just off the highway at Thickson near the gas stations and just along the way is the Empire Theatre complex, where it would look a little more fitting, but still not really fit in. Everyone passes it to get to the highway and it looks a bit ridiculous as I'm pretty sure the owner has a hummer which is always parked right in front. At first, we thought it was just part of the decor and added effect. Eventually, I heard a lot of good things about their burgers and thought it was about time for me to try it out this lonely night I was home alone.

I arrived just at 6PM and was the first customer for the dinner rush. I ordered the Big Boy Burger (1/2 lb) Combo that includes fries and a small refillable drink and came up to $10. The owner was very friendly, and really enjoys interacting with his customers. The cooks were also very nice, he asks you what toppings you want on the burger and I had everything except for relish. They have just the standard toppings with some banana peppers. The wait wasn't very long, about 10 minutes and a few customers filled in during this time. There's a self-serve drink counter and condiments for your fries as well. It's quite spacious and bright in the restaurant, I think every table is beside a window, and it has a colourful racetrack theme. 

I headed home with my take-out and snacked on some fries on the way. You can tell that their fries are extremely fresh, they have that taste of potato skin like you get from chip trucks. When I finally got home and took some pictures of my food, I finally got to try the burger! It was a great first bite I must say, the burger was so flavourful and aromatic. I could hardly taste any condiments the whole time because the burger was so overpowering. I can see why they stick to the simple ingredients because the burger really speaks for itself. I was a bit turned off by how white the bun is and thought they could have grilled it a bit more but I couldn't taste it anyway. The fries were lightly salted but they gave me a bunch of condiments to go which was nice. I enjoyed that most of them were very thick but some were the sides which were thin and crunchy, a nice variety. It was a lot of food in the end as it was hard not to finish everything... for future reference, I would definitely go for a smaller patty.

Food: 4/5 - Great classic burger, nothing fancy.
Decor: 3/5 - Bright inside and out, really sticks out.
Service: 4/5 - Friendly & fast customer service, but I was first one there.
Willingness to come back: 4.5/5 - There's a lot on the menu I'd like to try
Overall: 4/5
Website: http://bigboysburgers.com/