The Burger Thread!

[JiriHrdina]

Originally Posted by Hemi-Cuda

this is where i might get wary. if they invite you and know you're coming, then they can be sure to put the best possible product they can in front of you instead of what the average Joe might get instead

Yup, and in fact generally we don't tell them when we are coming. If they've invited us we'll let them know after the fact that we were by...for just those reasons.

We've been invited to a couple of launches and gone, but then gone back to do the actual review at a different time.

Smash Burger was way better at their launch, than during a busy lunch hour.

[red sky]

Do they try and cover the cost of the bill?
If so, are you hiring?

[JiriHrdina]

Originally Posted by red sky

Do they try and cover the cost of the bill?
If so, are you hiring?

We've had a few places try and we've declined.

[Daradon]

Of those you mentioned the top three I would like to hear about the most are:

South Street
Peters (just to see how you guys compare it, kinda a baseline)
Loungeburger.

Fatburger would be #4

I've actually tried all of those except for South Street. Very different experiences.

[Jbo]

All of those places sound great. If you ever need a guest columnists let me know!

[Muta]

I had the burger last night at National. Absolutely terrific. Will likely go back again this week to consume another. And their pickles - OHMAGAWSH....

[jtfrogger]

I would rank the places to go next as something like this:
Peters - not that I think it will rank that close to the top, but it is a Calgary icon
South Street & Fat Burger - These are along the same lines as many of the other recent burger joints to open up that you have reviewed and I would think they should be a high priority
Lounge Burger - I'm not a fan, but they should be a relatively high priority to get on this list

If you are looking for a burger that most people have not tried, head over to Henry's Pub in the Sheraton Cavalier and have the Hankover. It is actually pretty good, huge, loaded with toppings and cheap. It wouldn't lay claim to the top of your list, but it should have a good showing for a burger most people haven't tried.

The two top priorities for just outside of town should be Chuckwagon Cafe in Turner Valley & Barpa Bill's in Banff.

[Komskies]

Fatburger sucks. They should call that place Leandryblandburger.

[mykalberta]

Not gourmet by an means, but the new pulled pork burger from Boston Pizza is fracking amazing.

[Arsenal14]

Melange at 644 6 Ave SW has a lovely sign claiming to be "the best burger in downtown". Might want to add them to the queue for reviews.

[Voodooman]

Way off the beaten path I know, but if you happen to find yourself in Portland, go to the Deschutes Brewing Company in the Pearl District and try the Yellow Belly Burger. Description as follows...

"Seared Coleman Ranch beef, root beer braised pork belly, jalapeno pesto, whipped goat cheese and candied yellow tomatoes on fresh baked sourdough roll"

Cooked to order, and medium was amazingly juicy, with just the right amount of pink still in the patty. Pork belly, marinated in house-made root beer was unbelievable. The wife said it was the best burger she's ever eaten, and I had it in my top 2 or 3. We both said it put the Alley Burger to shame, which I think is a victim of its own hype anyways. It's good, but the Spicy Chorizo Pork Burger at Dairy Lane/Blue Star is better.

[MRCboicgy]

But would you have enough room for a couple of Voodoo Doughnuts after?

[Erick Estrada]

First post in this thread but I wanted to complement Jiri & Co. on the website that I now have bookmarked. As a fellow burger enthusiast I'm always on the hunt for the holy grail of burgers and you get tired of the amateurs that think Peters is a good burger and yes even CB Drive Inn came recommended to me.

Originally Posted by Byrns

If I'm not mistaken there's a new South Street Burger at Beacon Hill beside the Future Shop.

Yep there is South Street Burger in Beacon Hill just to the left of Future Shop. It's not bad and probably deserves a review.

[Wormius]

Curious if Jiri and company go back and revise their scores at all. I mean, at some point do you guys think that a bun or patty you gave a good score to, wasn't really as good as somethink earlier in your quests that you were more critical of?

Also - is there a difference between a "juicy lucy" and just having toppings/fillings between two patties in a double burger?

[Wormius]

I got a menu in the mail for Nick's. Wondering if their burgers are any good.

[JiriHrdina]

Originally Posted by Wormius

Curious if Jiri and company go back and revise their scores at all. I mean, at some point do you guys think that a bun or patty you gave a good score to, wasn't really as good as somethink earlier in your quests that you were more critical of?

Also - is there a difference between a "juicy lucy" and just having toppings/fillings between two patties in a double burger?

We've talked about doing "re-visits" after we get through the bulk of the core places....when I look at the scoreboard though overall it is pretty accurate. There are probably one or two places that I would say should be a touch higher or lower - mainly ones we did very early on.

It is also tough when you a place you know to be quite good, fails on a given day. That's what happened to Dairy Lane...

A Juicy Luicy is where the toppings are actually cooked into the patty, not just placed in between.

[JiriHrdina]

Originally Posted by Erick Estrada

First post in this thread but I wanted to complement Jiri & Co. on the website that I now have bookmarked. As a fellow burger enthusiast I'm always on the hunt for the holy grail of burgers and you get tired of the amateurs that think Peters is a good burger and yes even CB Drive Inn came recommended to me.



Yep there is South Street Burger in Beacon Hill just to the left of Future Shop. It's not bad and probably deserves a review.

Yeah we desperately want to do South Street but both locations are so far away from our work place it is tough. We typically do our reviews during our lunches so it is tough to get up to either location.

FYI our next review to go up is Fergus and Bix in the next couple of days. I know it isn't a place that has been requested but it is a tasty burger.

We reviewed Burger Inn last week and will put that up next week.

This week we are debating where to go - we might hit up a place like South Street or Peters but we've also heard about a "hidden gem" that could rank as one of the top burgers in town.

[Resolute 14]

Good lord... how bad must CB's be if it ranks below both Zellers AND Harveys?

[PeteLFan]

What's your diet like

[JiriHrdina]

Originally Posted by Resolute 14

Good lord... how bad must CB's be if it ranks below both Zellers AND Harveys?

By far the worst meat we've had.

Too bad - it could be a real cool place if someone put some care into the food there. Great location, great atmosphere - just terrible food.