The Stockyards

Wow two burgers in a span of four days! I am on a roll. I originally wanted to go to La Bruschetta for lunch, but missed their lunch seating by 15 minutes... who stops seating for lunch at 1pm?! Anyway, since we were at St. Clair West I decided the next option would be The Stockyards. As you may or may not know, I've been eyeing it for a while yet it is so out of the way that I never had the opportunity to go, and I'm also not sure that I want to go out of my way to go to a dinky little place with not much seating. Before I keep rambling on, I must say, this is the most overrated burger joint that I have been to. So overrated that I'm bolding the word overrated.

We got the Beast style burger - $14. My burger from GBC three days ago was half the price and gave me double the enjoyment. That was expensive to be getting just a burger with no sides. 

As much as I normally enjoy thick patties, griddled burgers, cheese, etc. - which this burger had - it just didn't do it for me. This definitely did not get anywhere close to living to its hype. I might have had better luck with just a single patty, because the beef was so overwhelming with blandness that I didn't feel like I had buns or cheese on my burger. The burger had secret sauce, cheese, carmelized onions, pickles. and lettuce. The first few bites were good, but it actually just got tiring to eat. How can a burger get tiring?

messy

In short, it tasted like a really fresh, juicy, thick, double big mac - which actually surprises me because these are usually the adjectives that I want in a burger! For some reason either it just didn't work, or something was lacking. Also, the secret sauce at a lot of places now seem to be some variation of Mac sauce. 

Despite my disappointment in the burger, let me tell you about their 4 piece fried chicken dinner! Absolutely phenomenal.  Best fried chicken I've ever had.

   

Now this my friends, was worth the $14!

Gourmet Burger Co.

I was so hungry for a burger as I had dreamed of one all day at work. I decided to finally try GBC, which is beside Wow! Sushi (really good sushi by the way).

I go and order the $6.95 Works burger, sans the sauteed onions and the tomato. It had lettuce, sauteed mushrooms, regular cheddar, bacon, and GBC sauce. I opted to add jalapenos and their garlic dijon mayo, and ordered it to go. Oh boy did my stomach beat me for that as it had to wait another 10 minutes before it got to feast.

oh the anticipation

I quickly unravelled it to discover:

beautiful.

Wow! A picture perfect burger even though it had been tossing and turning in my take out bag for a while. The patty looked thin at first, but the buns weren't thick either. It also somehow paired perfectly so that there was no extra beef or bun parts sticking out. Nothing about the burger was dry. Taste wise, the ratio I would have to say is perfect - it definitely made me a believer of thin patties again. My only concern was, where's the cheese? No wonder they called it "regular cheddar".

cheese is where?

I wish I had asked what GBC sauce is. I'm going to assume it was some kind of mayo because I couldn't really taste the dijon mayo, and I had this light creamy pinkish sauce that kept dripping out. Price is definitely better than decent compared to many of the other burger joints, which is quite a huge factor for me to be a repeat customer. I also liked their choice of garnishes. OH and guess what? I had their whole wheat bun! Now that's a first. You can view their full menu here. I'll be back....

All Beef Party - Toronto Life

This is an interesting post... Toronto life posted "Toronto’s 25 best burgers ranked in order of heart-stopping, messy magnificence"

The top of the list is Harbord Room, which is one that I've been eyeing as well. Among those that made the list I also would like to try Stockyards and Marben... And I'm also curious about e11even and Queen and Beaver! Didn't think that a MLSE restaurant or a pub burger could be of such significance. I'd like to also know how these burgers were rated for the list...

Stripburger (Las Vegas)

I wasn`t even going to blog about this random burger joint - but I think it`s worth a post on my blog. We stumbled upon it after pool clubbing at 5pm as the first meal of the day (if you don`t count the calories from alcohol). The place had a fancy looking patio - which I wish I took a picture of - and the $2 pints of beer drew us in to keep drinking. I got the bacon cheeseburger with fries, which was their special that day for $9.99.

I demolished it. And the fries too. It must have been good. Frand got their blue cheese burger - also lovely.

And here my friends, is the best hot dog ever - Pink`s Hot dogs inside Planet Hollywood. I also demolished it as if the burger and fries wasn`t enough... on our way back to the hotel. I know it`s not a burger, but I just had to share this delicious, bacon and cheese sausage on which I drunkenly drenched in mayo.

it. was. SO. good.

In-n-out Burger (Las Vegas)

Another place with a big line – fortunately not as bad as the one for Shake Shack in NYC. I had high expectations for this place, and it didn’t quite meet them. No, I was not disappointed, but I just don’t see the hype.

I know, bad pic - the sign was rotating

There are literally only three burger options on the menu – hamburger, cheeseburger, and double cheeseburger. I had a double cheeseburger (of course) with animal fries. I’m going to have to say that the prices shocked me – they are comparable to Mcdonalds, if not cheaper! It was something like $3.65 for the double-double burger, $1.99 for a milkshake, and $5.65 for a combo. Unfortunately I am also going to have to say that the burgers are also comparable to Mcdonalds, with the exception of the cheese.

the double-double

One thing I forgot about America is that they don’t have “poutines” – they have cheese fries instead, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I got the animal fries which wasn’t on their menu. As I was finishing my order, I saw piles of it being made and asked for it instead of regular fries. It had cheese, diced fried onions, and spread. The “spread” is their “secret sauce” for their burgers and fries, which is somewhat similar to Mac sauce.

the "spread"

My next post will contain a better burger. 

Burger week

MAANNN I'm missing out! $5 burgers! Get outta here!  I can't ruin my current 3-pack (2 + a giant roll) 1 week before Vegas *cries*

Uh oh

Oh dear. So... I am now officially employed as a nutritionist. I really hope that my identity can stay anonymous and that none of my clients ever find out about this blog! I have a bunch of burgers lined up for the month of June: In-n-out burgers in Vegas, Heart Attack Grill (Vegas), GBC, and Big Smoke (I need to try this one again). In the meantime,

welcome to my lair...

Milestone's

Milestone's Kobe Beef Sliders.... these things are AMAZING. I have never gone to Milestone's without getting them because they're probably the only things I like there. The cheesiness, the fried onions, and the dip. Make sure to order extra dip. I don't know what it is but I don't want to ruin my own surprise for the magical sauce. It tastes like some wasabi dijon mustard blend. I know, it's not really a burger but definitely one of the things I randomly crave and totally hits the spot.

instagram makes everything look cooler

Slab Burgers

SO let me tell you how I'm on a diet. Again. This time for Vegas in June! It seems like I'm always making excuses about going to sunny destinations to not eat burgers and blog but I sucked it up and decided to treat myself after a workout. Slab Burgers on Charles St. at Yonge and Bloor looked interesting and new, so I decided to try that despite Gourmet Burger Co. being a few doors down (I'll try that next).

had to try it cuz I keep seeing the sign

And here is the menu. They have sauteed mushrooms as a free topping! *cheers*

iPhone edit that menu, ooh yeah.

So what it DOESN'T say on the menu that the "small slab" burger is 4oz, and the regular size is 8oz. I had to find that out for myself on the take out menu as I was walking out the store. First, I found out the guy in front of me got a small burger when his order came up. When mine came up however, it looked like the small Asian cashier was holding a baby with her hand.

that would be the burger, grasping my hand for dear life

Obviously I got the regular. Psh. I have too much pride to get a baby one. Also, I have bad experiences with "smaller versions" of burgers being a thin little patty with a fat piece of bread, pet peeve. 

et voila!

So I opened to find out that it's actually two patties. And two top buns. Why the hell is it two top burger buns? I should've asked for two bottom ones. I did like how the cheese melted and fused so nicely with the burger though. What I didn't like was the fact that they used romaine lettuce in a burger - I don't even do that for my sandwiches! That lettuce is strictly for Caesar salads in my opinion. My burger had grilled onions, lettuce, mayo, habanero sauce, and sauteed mushrooms. I had asked what "slab sauce" was and she said it is like a ranch. No thanks! 

there's no way I'm eating the whole thing 

Actually, I COULD eat it... but MyFitnessPal says I can't. Womp womp. To be honest, my first bite reminded me of a double Big Mac. Now, I love Big Macs, but I was expecting some super fresh burger based on the claims on their site and twitter. Personally, if it is in fact such a fresh, natural burger, I would have liked to have it cooked medium or medium well. I hate to say this but I think my burger was overcooked - there was some hard spots where I expected a soft, melt in your mouth patty. Nonetheless, it wasn't dry, it was a good beef to bun ratio, and enjoyable to eat.  

Bymark

It's not a burger place I know, and I would never come here to eat such an expensive burger- other than the fact that Karla and I came here for Winterlicious. I figured I'd give it a try since this Bymark 8oz USDA Prime burger is $35 on the regular menu and I had it for $25 with an appetizer and dessert.

The toppings were king oyster mushrooms and brie cheese, and it also came with fries. I got it done medium rare, and this is what I get:

the first picture didn't do justice for the size of this thing

It was probably the rarest burger I've had. Don't worry, my stomach was fine after. The beef was pretty bland but somewhat overwhelming and quite messy. I wasn't able to taste the cheese at all, and I love brie :( The first half was good, but it started to get tiring from there and it was also very filling. I wouldn't get this again. For a thick gourmet burger done medium rare, Origin was definitely much better.

the appetizer

The crab cakes that I had for the appetizer was definitely phenomenal for Toronto though. Nothing can beat Maryland crab cakes *sigh*

Holy Duck!!!

It's been a while, and it might feel like I'm cheating because I posted about Holy Chuck Burgers only... two posts ago. That means that I can keep it short because a) you already know that it's located at Yonge/St. Clair, and b) that I am quite fond of the burgers already. So why am I posting about them again? Because there is freakin' GOOSE LIVER aka FOIE GRAS on my burger!

that's right. FOIE. GRAS.

The first observation by Nat was that it was missing veggies. By the end of it I'm pretty sure that a leaf or two wouldn't really have contributed much. I don't even know where to start. The duck fat, bacon, beef, and the truffle oil was such a nice combination that it did not need anything else. The foie gras melted so nicely in your mouth and the flavours were sooooo awesome. Surprisingly, it was not a messy burger at all, granting it extra points for no wasted good food. I am still reminiscing the foie gras taste as I burp, four hours later. As you can see in the picture, it was a pretty generous portion of goose liver for a $25 burger.

We also got these yam chips that were pretty good (they gave us free lemon aioli to dip). Karla had a great suggestion to dip them in the oil that dripped out from Nat's burger since she had a whole puddle. Lucky b*tch.  

you can see how the bun soaked up the grease- and still kept its composure!

Before I forget, I also need to credit them for making the bacon tender enough to chew through without pulling the whole thing out! We enjoyed every moment of it. Very, very, slowly and delicately. It was so delicious- I'm glad we all had a small lunch just so we can feel less guilty about this meal. Towards the last bites of our burgers, all three of us agreed "ah, I'm getting so full..." How ladylike. I was totally lying, guys. I WANT MORE. 

follow the cow's pee to the washrooms!