Burger Shoppe (2009) – Part 2

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): Under $7

Price Range (Total Meal): $8-$12

Service/Style: Counter

Reservations: Not Required

Short Review: A classic cheeseburger with all the traditional toppings. Totally delicious. At 4oz, perfect for the small appetite!

The Meal

Meat Type: Naturally-raised beef

Patty Weight: 4oz.

Cheese Type: Cheddar

Bun: Toasted, White

Toppings: Lettuce, Tomato, Onion, Pickles

Garnishes: Mayo, Ketchup, Dijon Mustard

Sides: None

Drink: Vanilla Milkshake

Service: Friendly

Presentation: Metal Basket

The Ratings

Burger: 7.5

Sides: N/A

Service: 7.0

Atmosphere: 6.5

Overall: 7.3

The Long Story

So here is an older review of Burger Shoppe’s quarter-pound “baby” burger.

Having already reviewed the ambience and service in my previous post on the Riverdale location of Burger Shoppe, I’ll get right into the burger.

Beef Nerds: The baby burger patty at Burger Shoppe is thinner than the regular one, but still fresh and juicy. I was particularly hungry that day and this was a side-snack to my main course burger, but for anyone looking for a light meal or something to satisfy a quick craving, this burger would hit the spot on its own. The beef was flavourful, tender, and medium-grind. Not too much evidence of spicing, but the beef itself had good flavour and didn’t need too much complement. The toppings were pretty much the standard burger toppings, but of course you can pick and choose as you like from the default toppings Burger Shoppe puts on their sandwiches. All in all, a tasty snack or light meal on its own.

All in all, I liked my baby burger snack at Burger Shoppe, and since my first experience there almost two years ago I’ve gone back and enjoyed the same thing several times. If you’re in the Queen/Broadview area and looking to grab a meal on the go (or standing at the lunch counter for some quick people-watching), you won’t go wrong at this tiny, tasty shoppe.

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!

Inaugural Review – Nota Bene, Part 2

Date and Restaurant Info: Same as the last post.

Short Review: A burger probably best tried well-done. Extremely Rich,Oily, and Decadent. Not for the average burger-goer or faint of stomach!

 

The Meal

Meat Type: House-ground Wagyu Beef

Patty Weight: 9oz

Cheese Type: None

Bun: Plain White, Toasted

Toppings: Foie Gras

Garnishes: Ketchup, Mayo, Mustard

Sides: Fries, Baby Pickles

Drink: Rum and Soda

Service: Top-Notch

Presentation: Simple but pleasing

 

The Ratings

Burger  6.4

Sides     9.0

Service 9.5

Atmosphere      9.0

Overall  7.0

 

The Long Story:

This was my “main course” burger for my birthday dinner, and I want to put a qualifier on this particular burger review: the main reason this burger didn’t get a higher rating could be considered my own fault in the ordering. The moral of this story is burgers –  even Wagyu beef burgers, which are made from the same breed of cow as Kobe beef  – aren’t steaks, and shouldn’t be ordered as such. I suspect this burger might have been much tastier if I had ordered it medium-well instead of medium-rare.

Previous to this I had thought it was prohibited in Ontario to cook burgers less than medium-well, but apparently there is an exception for establishments that grind their own meat in-house. So I learned something new with my birthday dinner.

I won’t repeat too much detail about Nota Bene as a restaurant, which I already covered in my previous, first, Beef Whisper post – great fine dining atmosphere, pricey but delicious, and top-notch service. Our server was actually the guy who sold me on trying the Wagyu burger. I noticed it on the menu and asked him about it when ordering.

“What’s the 9-oz Wagyu Beef Burger with Foie Gras like?”

He rubbed his stomach and literally got a far-off gaze for a second. “Decadent. You might need a knife and fork. It’s so rich it’s actually hard to finish.”

“This,” I thought, “”I have to try.” So I went for it.

 

Burger Blog Beef Whisperer Review - Wagyu Beef Burger with Foie Gras, Nota Bene

The Wagyu beef patty – oily as one would expect from such a fatty meat – arrived on a plain white bun that also glistened with juice from the patty as well as from the thick slice of foie gras, the only topping, which draped the burger like a slice of extremely rich cheese. Like the other Nota Bene burger, it came with 3 condiment plates for self-garnishing of mayo, ketchup, and mustard, as well as the crispy french fries. The sides were as delicious as they were last time.

 

This paragraph is for the Beef Nerds. A few details about the meat: the patty was made of coarsely-ground, loosely packed, Wagyu beef. I did not detect any spices or seasoning, so you get to really taste the meat. The outer cooked part of the burger had a nice lumpy homemade consistency, and by itself tasted flavourful and juicy.

Overall though, the burger was an unusual taste, and in the end I didn’t love it. I had no problem with the Wagyu beef in itself; I am definitely a fan of fattier types of beef in burgers. I also liked the blend of flavour that came from the addition of the foie gras to the beef and bun. Even though many people might find the idea of foie gras on a burger freaky, I’m all for unusual toppings as long as they taste good, and this mix worked for me. My problem was the cooking of the beef – again, probably my fault, as I ordered my burger medium-rare and got exactly what I asked for. Medium-rare steak lovers, you know when you get to the centre of your steak and you get to the red part? That extreme flavour, combined with the rubbery, buttery, chewy texture is a delicious experience, right? Well, if you ask me, it does not translate over well to ground beef. The outside of this burger tasted pretty great, but the rare center of ground-up meat tendrils had a texture akin to lumpy, chewy pudding: not what I look for in a burger.

Again, to be fair I suspect this burger, when well-cooked, might be a damn tasty. Although it’s kind of my fault for ordering it that way, Nota Bene should make a point of recommending people get this burger medium-well or better. My feeling with this meal was that although it was kind of an interesting gastronomic experience, it was not a great burger experience, and certainly not worth the price tag. Maybe I’ll change my mind if I do a second review sometime in order to try this burger more well-cooked. But then, at $40+ for this particular plate, it might be a while before I get around to it.

Inaugural Review – Nota Bene, Part 1

Date: Friday, May 29, 2009

Restaurant Name: Nota Bene

Location: 180 Queen St West

Phone: 416-922-6400

Email: info@notabenerestaurant.com

Web: http://notabenerestaurant.com/

Price Range (Burger): $20-$30

Price Range (Total Meal): $30-$40

Service/Style: Fine Dining

Reservations: Recommended

The Short Story: A Tasty, Rich Steakhouse-Style Burger. Delicious but Pricey. Sharp cheese and sweet onions provide a nice flavour complement. Excellent Service!

 

The Meal

Meat Type: Brisket

Patty Weight: 6oz

Cheese Type: Sharp Stilton

Bun: Plain White, Toasted

Toppings: Caramelized Onions

Garnishes: Ketchup, Mayo, Mustard

Sides: Fries, Baby Pickles

Drink: Water

Service: Top-Notch

Presentation: Simple but pleasing

 

The Ratings (out of 10):

Burger: 8.2

Sides: 8.5

Service: 9.5

Atmosphere: 8.5

Overall: 8.7

 

The Long Story:

Welcome to the first review of the Beef Whisperer! This is a special entry: not only is it the first review for this site, it’s also a double-review day, with two burgers reviewed, and on my birthday! Hell of an inaugural entry, if I do say so myself.

But I digress….

So in celebration of my birthday I got taken out to Nota Bene Restaurant, here in downtown Toronto. A fairly new restaurant, Nota Bene is located near the Entertainment District on Queen St. West, right near University Avenue, and has a dark but clean modern look and decor. Very much a fine dining atmosphere, the ambience was busy but cozy, the decor was comfortable and uncluttered, and the service was excellent. Our waiter was the perfect blend of attentive and unobtrusive, and was able to give a lot of advice and opinions about the items on the menu. I hadn’t actually planned to eat a burger that night, but upon reviewing the menu I saw that they had not one, but two burgers, both with different meats and toppings, and I decided I had to try them both, starting with the “”Jennifer’s Stilton Brisket Beef Burger”” – that’s the actual name on the menu.

So, on to the meal:

The burger was a ground brisket patty, with Stilton cheese and caramelized onions as toppings. The sharp cheese and onion tastes might be strong for the more conservative eater, and I myself am not usually a fan of Stilton, but it the flavours actually worked out really well. The burger was presented on a large plain white plate, which it shared with a bowl of fries that were (I suspect) deliciously double-fried. The plate came with three small garnish bowls, so I could add ketchup, mustard, and mayo as I liked. The whole meal was capped by a small plate of tiny sweet pickled gherkins.

My First Blog Review Burger - Nota Bene - Brisket Beef with Stilton and Caramelized Onions.

 

Beef Nerds, this paragraph is for you: the patty was ground brisket, and tasted lean without being overly dry. The texture was a little fibrous, which added to the flavour experience. A medium grind and a well-packed patty created a homogenous texture without making the burger overly smooth or overly lumpy.  Tasting it on its own, I felt the flavour and texture reminded me of a spicy, shredded roast beef – in a good way.

 

From the first bite, this burger was great, if a little oily. Served on a small bun – exactly the same size as the patty inside, and the burger was properly cooked – medium-well with a consistent flavour experience from start to finish. The meat was well ground and tasty, not overdone with spices or filler in the burger. You could really taste the beefy briskety goodness, which was very well complemented by the sharp-but-not-too-sharp Stilton. The caramelized onions added a sweet aftertaste that served as a great contrast to the cheese.

All in all, a lovely experience. I would highly recommend this to anyone looking for an upscale burger. The fries were delicious, hot, fresh, and perfectly seasoned to go along with the meat.

My only complaints with this burger would be that it was a little oily, and that delicious as it was, it might not warrant the $20+ price tag; I’ve eaten several $12-14 burgers in Toronto that could give this brisket a run for its money. But combined with the service, decor, atmosphere, the overall experience was still good value, and I would definitely come back for second bites.