Burger Shoppe (2009) – Part 1
Date: June-23-09
Restaurant Name: Burger Shoppe
Location: 688 Queen St E
Phone: (416) 850-7026
Email: N/A
Web: http://www.burgershoppe.com/
Price Range (Burger): $8-$12
Price Range (Total Meal):$13-$19
Service/Style:Counter
Reservations:Not Required
Short Review: Tasty burger, good beef with juicy flavour. The “garden” style toppings and balsamic reduction added a simultaneously rich and light flavour contrast. Tasty fries, medium cut and crispy.
The Meal
Meat Type: Naturally-raised beef
Patty Weight: 6oz. (estimated)
Cheese Type: Mozzarella
Bun: Toasted, White
Toppings: Portobello Mushroom Cap, Fresh Greens
Garnishes: Balsamic ReductionSides: Fries
Drink: Boylan’s Root Beer
Service: Friendly
Presentation: Metal Basket
The Ratings
Burger: 7.5
Sides: 7.5
Service: 7.0
Atmosphere: 6.5
Overall: 7.4
The Long Story
I’d done this review a while ago, but then got distracted from this blog for about a year and a half. I’m hoping to get back into it and keep people entertained and informed about good new burgers in and around the GTA (as well as wherever else I travel), so to start I’m posting some older reviews that have been sitting on my computer since 2009 – a double-review of Burger Shoppe over on Queen Street East.
First off a little about Burger Shoppe. I tried out Burger Shoppe’s (also known as BQM – Burgershoppe Quality Meats) Riverside location, a lunch counter which was the original location. Since then, a 2nd and 3rd location have opened up near the corner of Ossington and Dundas, and on Queen West, respectively. The 2nd location is a full-size restaurant with a slightly upscale feel, including plentiful and attractive seating as well as a full bar area. The 3rd location is listed as a “diner”, and I don’t know anything else about it. I’m going to make a point of going to both of those locations for another review at some point.
Burger Shoppe on Queen E. is a cozy location with a counter along the outside window where about 6 people could probably stand and eat at the same time (not in a bad way – it’s just a small location), so I was just grabbing take-out this time around, but the location, while tiny, is cute and friendly, and the service is good. As this was near the time Burger Shoppe had first opened, things were a little chaotic with the staff and service, but I’ve since been and it seems like they’ve pretty much figured things out.
For my first time at Burger Shoppe, I decided to try a burger that at the time was called the “Riverdale”, but that I see on the online menu now as the “Ossington”. It’s a standard BQM beef burger with greens, mushrooms, and a balsamic reduction, as well as mozzarella. Sounded like a light but hearty flavour, and since I was also going to be trying out the BQM “baby” burger on this same outing (see next review), I decided, why not?
Beef Nerds: BQM uses locally-sourced, naturally-raised beef for their burgers, so as to be expected, the final product when properly cooked is flavourful and juicy and healthy-tasting. The patties are medium-grind and relatively tightly-packed so retain moisture despite the burgers being relatively well-done (as is the requirement in Ontario). Long story short, Burger Shoppe makes a juicy, fresh-tasting patty. The toppings were also a very nice complement, with the mushroom adding a hearty flavour that nicely countered the light flavour of the balsamic reduction and greens. If I have one criticism of the burger, it’s that the balsamic reduction, while flavourful, did make the green kind of mushy on the burger. If the greens had been a bit crisper, I think the taste would have gone from very good to amazing.BQM makes medium cut, crispy fries which were enjoyable and gave a light crunch.
All in all, I enjoyed Burger Shoppe very much, and having gone back several times now, can say that when you want to stray away from the typical cheeseburger with standard toppings, the “specialty-topping” menu options here offer some really tasty alternatives such as the Ossington I tried this first time. (Mental Note: do a review of the Hawaiian sometime soon too….)
Cheers!
