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/

Craft Dog

Date visited: Dinner on Friday Jan 4, 2014

Company: Grabbed food with +Will before seeing Aladdin

+Will and I walk down Church street quite often to get meals and we happened to spot Craft Dog one time while getting lunch at another restaurant. We noted that we had to go back to try their gourmet home-made hot dogs one day. We tried to go there early on a Sunday before but unfortunately they were only opened at noon. Hot dogs are one of +Will's favourite foods so he was pretty keen on returning. We only had an hour or so prior to seeing Aladdin at Ed Mirvish Theatre on Friday night so we thought this was a great chance to finally try Craft Dog nearby for dinner.

This newly opened restaurant has very comical and eye-grabbing signage outside for anyone walking by which is how we first noticed it. Even entering the place, the decor is very bright and similar to a fast food joint. All their order options are hanging on the wall written on hot dog-shaped black boards. There's about 12 different choices in addition to a daily special. Each hot dog has different meats infused into the wiener and an arrangement of different toppings. They ranged from $7-$13 not including a drink or fries. Their 'meal' option gives $1 off the order of a drink and fries which isn't much of a deal. They also have unique, house-made pop flavours instead of the regular ones you get everywhere else and craft beer.

Checking out the menu, there actually wasn't many options I really wanted, either there was a topping I didn't like on it or I didn't want the meat it was made it. I finally decided on the Chicago Shout-Out after debating between that or the Naked Dog but there were so many toppings you could choose from for the Naked Dog, I didn't feel like deciding. The Chicago Shout-Out was made of Beef Chuck and Pork Shoulder topped with Yellowy Mustard, Sweet Pickle Relish, Raw Onion, Tomato, Pepperoncini, and Celery Salt. Will ordered the Philly Cheese Steak Dog made out of Local Beef topped with Sweet Peppers, Onions, Provolone, and House-Made White Cheddar Wiz. We also got Fries and a Drink to share. 

We sat down to wait for our order which they said they would bring over to us. Our fries came first and they said there's home-made condiments we can dress them with. We walked to the counter and indeed they had Smoked Ketchup, Curry Mayo, Petter Mayo and Homemade Mayo. My favourite was the Curry flavoured one but they were all very well made. Their fries were very delicious, lightly salted, and home-made.

So our hot dogs finally came and they looked so huge stuffed with all their toppings! The wieners fit perfectly in their buns and wasn't falling apart. The hard part about eating these were the falling toppings everywhere. The Chicago Shout-Out had a lot going on in terms of flavours, the mustard and onions were very overpowering. I did noticed that the dog was filled with lean meat and didn't taste like regular preserved hot dogs. It was fine quality. The Philly Cheese Steak Dog had a much smaller dog than the other and the didn't have very much flavour not did it taste like Philly cheese steak. There was a lot of cheese on this and I didn't really enjoy the Wiz. Both of the dogs fell short for us in terms of flavour. 

+Will is a huge hot dog fan and he was very disappointed in our meals especially for how much they costed. I appreciated the concept and what the Craft Dog is trying to do for hot dogs here but it wasn't for us. I have to mention that the guys serving us though were extremely friendly and attentive. They filled up our pop when it was done and let us try another one of their funky flavours. The Cola Root Beer and Vanilla Cola were great!

Food: 1/5 - Good quality hot dogs but nothing came together to make it a good meal.

Decor: 3/5 - Very shiny and clean, reminded me of a average fast-food sit in place.

Service: 4/5 - Awesome service, so nice and welcoming. 

Willingness to come back: 1/5 - Unlikely I'd go back, but if I did I'd definitely get a Naked Dog and dress it myself.

Overall: 2/5

Website: http://www.craftdogs.com/