Joe's Hamburgers

I'm not sure why I decided to go eat a burger in Richmond Hill and blog about it today when I could've just waited a week until I'm in NYC eating Shake Shack.  The chicken shawarma at Joe's also looked quite appealing, but I decided to get a Big Joe's with cheese instead for $5.79. I find that Mediterranean people seem to like having burgers on their menu, like some signs I saw in Danforth for burgers in a Greek restaurant, or that Middle-Eastern man who made the horrible burger I had at Chef Burger (I don't even want to link to that blog post).  Quincy suggested that perhaps they like grilling souvlakis and kebabs so much that they decided to try grilling the burger.  But I kinda like flat-top burgers now...

Behold! Big Joe

So I decided to put some shawarma options on my burger in addition to the typical lettuce, onion, pickle, mayo, ketchup, mustard, etc.  I went for this mixed coleslaw stuff and tzaziki sauce. It was good!  It was kinda like a beef shawarma burger.  I liked how the burger was grilled so hot that my bottom bun felt too warm to pick up, but not the kind that starts getting soggy from all the juices, yet not so hard that all I taste is bun.  Good bun.  The patty itself has probably been frozen, but the 8oz patty was pretty juicy nonetheless.  The cheese was processed and kinda gross. Quincy liked his bacon if anyone cares.

In conclusion: I'm going back.  For the chicken shawarma.

Jetsun's Juicy Burger

I should really just quit blogging after trying The Burger's Priest. However, Richard is convinced that this Jetsun's Juicy Burger would be good, so I agreed to go.  Located right at Yonge/Empress, I saw so many options on Yonge that would make an equally great lunch, but the goal today was a good burger. For some reason, it kept reminding me of Johnny Rockets, but it's not a diner- more like a wannabe growing fast-food chain that only serves burgers.

quite the extensive menu

We both got the $5.49 Juicyburger and added cheese for $1.  Both got a small pop (free refills) and split the onion rings. What I really should've tried was their milkshake- they had 8 flavours of ice cream which could all have been turned into a delicious milkshake but too bad, I wasn't feeling it. Their menu was pretty boring, with only one type of burger and the options were either adding cheese, bacon, or chili, so I expected the condiment section to be a little more exciting.

not excited.

Their fanciest sauce was probably the garlic mayo.  I got lettuce, pickle, garlic mayo, ketchup, and dijon mustard.  I didn't like how the onion was cut and I got the pickle anyway even though it didn't look too fresh. And banana peppers are just a disgrace on any burger. I saw that they toasted my bun, which was a +1.  Then I saw them put the patty on the bun with the cheese still looking cold and unmelted on top.  -5, one of my biggest pet peeves.

Iceberg lettuce totally fails.

Romaine lettuce would probably have been a better choice because it's more flat so it can actually stay inside the burger. The cheese ended up melting a bit, which was a bit better, and tasted like good, unprocessed cheddar that just needs to melt a little more. The bun was a little too thick so I ended up not eating most of the top bun.  The patty... was pretty good, 6oz or so and you can tell that it hasn't been frozen because of how tender it is despite looking somewhat overcooked on the outside.  I wouldn't exactly call it very "juicy", but still had a nice texture that kinda tastes like a thicker Harvey's burger.  

Overall, I don't really understand the niche, because they're not exactly competitive in style, originality, variety or value. We have new fads such as Hero Burger expanding everywhere with their varieties of gourmet burger toppings and condiments, the older burger joints with their regulars that have adapted the taste, other fast-food chains, and full-service restaurants which Jetsun's Juicy Burger is none of the above. Perhaps location, since there isn't a Harvey's around there. So I can see how people would like it, kinda like how people enjoy Harveys.

The Burger's Priest

Ta-da! Look where I finally went to after a two month hiatus from my burger soul searching.  There's never an opportune moment to go since it's far with nothing nearby- except for the beaches.  So after a tanning session we decided to go (well I decided to drag everyone) to this much raved hotspot.  

look how it's even glorified by the sun

We walked in to a cramped little place with literally six stools on the side. No more than 2 average sized people can stand comfortably side by side in the space between the counter and the stools.  How ironic, I thought yummy burgers were for fatties.  

They used a flat top instead of a grill, which is newer to me. I don't mind- unlike those other critics who think that a burger has to be grilled- because sometimes grilling makes the burger too charred and dry tasting. We ordered "The Priest", which was a $9.99 4oz cheeseburger with "the Option."  After 10 minutes of waiting, our burgers are ready.

"The Priest"

This isn't a fair fight. This burger was so amazing, so delicious, and everything went together so well.  They didn't have the fancy condiments, and I just got ketchup, mayo, mustard, lettuce, and onion.  The thinly sliced onion was quite delicious.  The cheese oozing out of "The Option" was quite heavenly.  

the cheese

But wait- where's the beef?  This burger would have tasted quite lovely even without that shrimpy 4oz patty. The beef seemed pretty tender, moist, and juicy without soaking up the bun, which is a positive thing. I was blinded by "The Option"- which is two portobello mushrooms sandwiching gooey cheese deep fried in panko breading.  The bread wasn't toasted and it carried a McDonald's bun sort of style to it.  It makes me wonder how it can hold up those secret menu items, because my burger felt heavy on the bottom bun already. The Priest was the perfect portion, making me completely satiated without feeling like I overindulged. 


The verdict? I need to go back and try a double-double so that I can decide whether or not to crown them for the best cheeseburger. On the other hand, I may just have found a perfectly constructed cheeseburger that I will continue to crave over and over. At first I thought $9.99 was a bit steep, since there wasn't even really any sitting space to enjoy my burger. But I have since changed my mind, it's worth it. I am salivating right now as I blog, thinking about this delicious combination of nature's gifts that man has enhanced. In other words, GO GET IT CUZ IT'S KICKASS.