Ottawa Foodies

I cooked these bad-boys up today after posting that message in the forums about having a hankering for burgers. These are made from 100% (non-certified) Organic Angus beef raised out in Almonte at a buddy's place. It tastes very different from the beef we get from another local farmer down south of Kemptville who raises something more like a Hereford if I am not mistaken.

This Angus is fattier than the Hereford we get so we do have to drain the pan after cooking a few. One package (comes delivered, wrapped in butcher paper) made up 8 good-sized burgers. I did not weigh the package before defrosting (in a zip-locking bag in warm water - change the water 3 times when it's cold, and it's done).

Locally-raised, farm-fresh, grass-fed beef is so much more flavourful than the bland stuff from the supermarket that you don't need spices to make it tastey. I did not even use salt nor pepper, and ate it with home-made buns (link below) which I made while it was thawing. Just a bit of mustard on the bun and I was in heaven!

A bit of black on a burger is a good thing. I cooked these in their own fat about 5 minutes on each side in the President's Choice anodize aluminum frying pan. One of the larger ones.

EDIT : here are the buns www.ottawafoodies.com

Threw caution to the wind last time I ate at The Works (Westboro), and ordered my Navan Breakfast (Havarti, chipotle ketchup, caramelized onions, double-smoked bacon) Elk Burger done medium.

As the menu states, I did have to sign a waiver.

But, man, was my burger tasty. Flavourful, juicy, and pink. Like many people, I've had my fair share of tough Works Burgers, so this is one way to get around it.

Were I to get a beef burger, I'd likely request it done medium-well, rather than medium, just in case.

Remember, of course, to use your discretion when ordering your burger anything less than well-done.

I tried the Beverly Hills Lawsuit (fried egg, leaf spinach, havarti cheese & double smoke bacon) this visit and was once again underwhelmed by the dryness of the meat. Even though it's cooked medium-well (quite pink) it is somehow very dry. Maybe the patties are just too thick or maybe the burger needs some kind of sauce. Either way, I found myself having to dip the burger into ketchup to get it down. The only real flavour in the meat is the nice grill-smoke flavour. Patties that are very thick like these should be seasoned! The egg added nothing to the experience and I couldn't taste the cheese. There was a generous amount of spinach (although too stringy for me) and the bacon was tasty.

Wifey enjoyed her Spartacat Special (gouda cheese, crispy bacon & fresh avocado). The avocado was a bit unripe and she didn't mind the dry meat as much as I did.

Here's my story from May 2005: After having had several great meals at the Beechwood location, I visited the Westboro restaurant with a friend who had never tried a Works burger. Service was friendly although uninformed (the waiter told us all of their buns have sesame seeds when in fact none of them do). On a whim, I tried a turkey burger. Bad idea!! I was sick for the following week with salmonella food poisoning -- not a fun time! Both of us remarked that our burgers were tasteless, dry, and quite overpriced. Nothing like the experience I remember from the Beechwood location. I will not be back. (Yes, I should have returned a *pink* turkey burger, but I dismissed it as normal because I'm not a ground meat expert and I know that ground pork is sometimes pink when cooked. The fact is, a burger restaurant should know how to safely cook burgers!)

Best burger in town, hands down! Had the "Junior" which is a quarter pounder, and big enough to fill me up just right without anything on the side. I also like that the buns are 65% whole wheat. My wife had the Junior as well and really liked it. And at just over 4 bucks even better!

Better than The Works! Close to Chez Lucien... very close. I had the Montreal burger recently - think I should probably get a Rx for Crestor or something - it contained a burger patty, bacon, cream cheese sauteed mushrooms and some aioli. Freakin' good. My burger was cooked medium, thus retaining some good beefy flavour. All in all, it was a taste sensation.

agreed this is easily one of the best burgers in the city. the bun and toppings are simple, nothing fancy. it's the PATTY that really stands out here. they're grilled to order and incredibly flavourful and juicy.

really it's just a simple, honest, burger that's done right.

recommended!

Another absolutely perfect burger today! That will be all ...

Absolutely perfect! Served on a scrumptious kaiser bun with pickles, lettuce and onion. Big burger, and very flavourful. Tough to imagine a better burger.

Once again a very wonderful burger!

Had the "Black and Blue" for lunch today, with blue cheese on it. Mmmmmm, stinky cheese! Everything about it was great except I'm not sure if this was the "black" part or not, but the burger was charcoal black on the outside. Luckily it did not taste really burnt so it was still yummy. I'll try it again next time I'm there and hopefully it won't be so charred. Yummy pickle on the side, served with lots of onion and tomato and lettuce.

We've been going here once a month lately and I've had one of the burgers every time. Contrary to what many people say it is possible to screw up hamburgers. Fortunately these guys actually make a really tasty one.

This time the burger was cooked through -- no pink at all but still very juicy and tasty. I didn't try it but wifey liked it as much as last time. Fries are decent.

Wifey proclaimed this Portobello Swiss to be the best burger she has had in Ottawa -- much better than The Works. I tasted some of the beef and had to agree that flavour and texture were superior to the Works.

The first burger they brought was quite pink/red in the middle (my son almost ate the piece in the photo). We complained and they brought another that was only very slightly pink (more like it is at the Works). This was the one we ate and the one we enjoyed.

So go eat the burger but check that it isn't undercooked!

Le montrealais is my favorite burger in this joint.

Cream cheeze, bacon and mushrooms if i remember correctly. (aside from the normal lettuce, tomato, etc.)

The fries are dark and not always crispy but who cares... they come with Mayonaise!!! And we all know that everything is good with ? mayonaise? Right?...

It sounds crazy with all the food available at Tucker's lunchtime buffet - but the burgers are what we go for.

If you don't want to wait for it, you have to get there early. It's a homestyle burger, real meat, thick as my palm and you get to add your own toppings. They use non-healthy fresh white buns, which makes them even more delicious. I use fresh stuff from all the other counters in the buffet to make it special. I use jalapenos from the french fry station, lettuce from the salad buffet, mayo and you can have them add bacon and or cheese as well. With the exception that they will not serve a burger "before it's time", which is where the wait comes in, they are very accomodating - if it's not terribly busy you can grab two at once.

No use going at supper time though, no burgers.

Repeat my last comment for this burger exactly! Darned good job once again. Very enjoyable.

I ordered the plain burger (I forget their name for it, maybe "Ranch Burger"). It was billed as having been smoked with mesquite. It was a pretty big burger when it came, and cooked just right with not too much char black on the outside. Came with ample lettuce, onion, tomato and a big slice of dill pickle. I added a bit of mustard and dug in! The mesquite was subtle but noticable. When I left I noticed a smell of smoke in the air outside so I suspect they do their own smoking on-site.

Thumbs up, I'd order it again.

Like UrbanRoutine I only seem to eat this stuff while on vacation... otherwise I'm not much of a Fast Food Lover. But, there is something about driving down the road with my hand in a take-out bag munching on McD's fries! I too only like their regular burgers, not a fan of their Big Macs etc. But a regular Hamburger or Cheeseburger is a perfect combo of pickles, onion bits, and condiments.

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Snoopy Loopy - Ya crazy as it sounds... but then again McDonald's has had a OF Page McDonald's since April 2007 (Previously only listed Coffee, Bacon & Eggs Breakie, and French Fries).

I think there totally is a place in this world for McDonald's. I have always dug the basic cheeseburger as the perfect road food.

Whenever we head down the 401, lunch is usually two cheeseburgers. They're cheap (less than $3 for two), not super filling, and they're all hot, cheesey and pickle-y. It's hard to argue with that.

It's a weird middle ground, since you figure that everybody knows what a McDonald's hamburger tastes like and either likes it or doesn't.

Me? I see no problem with giving a review of the double cheeseburger. Because it's delicious.

(That having been said, this could lead to a slippery slope of pro-McD's vs. anti-McD's reviews; something that is probably best avoided.)

Are we seriously reviewing burgers at McDonald's? Or is this an ironic post?

The double cheeseburger will always be my go to fast food fix after a night of debauchery on the town.
I know it's crap food... but who cares

The hamburgers are very good at Tucson's. I've been there often, and I'd say burgers are the best thing on the menu. The fries seem homemade, too; they're more on the thin side and still have a sliver of skin.

The burger tasted very good: nice char-grilled flavour and a generous but not dry bun. I had the "Surf and Turf" burger (dressed with a creamy shrimp and crab sauce in addition to the 7 oz beef patty). Overall flavour was nice, although the richness made me glad to have chosen the refreshing salad over the fries.

Although the platter tasted good at lunch, it gurgled and cramped a bit in me in the afternoon. I have a sensitive system though -- I'm sure you'd be just fine. ;-)

Awesome!! Thick, juicy, flavourful with a hint of something extra in the meat, onions and/or garlic. Fresh toppings. Even delivered was great!

Ok... The place is a bit 'Blue Collar' ... but when you compare their burger with the one just down the street, at The Works The Works, it comes surprisingly close, but without all the fancy toppings.

Real good burger at a fraction of the cost of a Works burger, and the wait staff will not try and cross (or up) sell you. Think "Would you like extra so and so with that ?" or "What appetizers/dessert would you like today ?". They also promptly deliver the food , so you will not be persuaded to buy another round of drinks.

I met an ex-waitress from that very Works. She told me of a contest they ran amongst the wait staff one month. The non-burger sales were measured and the wait staff with the most cross/up sales (from non-burger sales), wins.

And it all started with McDonald's famous line, "Would you like fries with that ?".



PS: The pic is for illustration purposes only. Kinda like a "Suggested Serving" picture from a frozen food box.

The burgers here are pretty good, certainly better than anything you'd get at a fast food joint, but not spectacular. The first time I had one, it tasted as if made with kafta meat, very savory, but the second time (while the usual cook was out, admitedly) wasn't quite as nice.

The fries are always excellent, though. Fresh, thick and golden brown. Burger platter also comes with a bit of slaw, of the non-mayonaisey variety. Good stuff.

Zym - I believe it's actually against food law guidelines to cook hamburgers anything less than well-done (unless you sign a waiver like at The Works). At the place I used to work people would sometimes request a rare or medium burger and we would always say flat-out no due to the laws. Anyways, my point is that probably your burger wasn't supposed to be undercooked and the grill person screwed up - next time send it back :)

It was a big burger at a decent price with lots of toppings and a great bun - normally I'd be pretty satisfied. I'm still trying to figure out, though, just what it was that didn't click with this. I think it was undercooked for my liking, and I recall that they did not ask me how I wanted it. I don't mind not being asked as long as they are going to cook it on the safe side of not asking, but cooking something medium or less without asking is just plain wrong and potentially dangerous. This could have been such a great burger if only it had been cooked more!

I was agonising over what to have for a main - the Joe Montferrand was so incredible the other day that it won out in the end so I got another one - only to be disappointed that it was nowhere near the same incredible hamburger I had the other day. There was hardly a hint of mesquite in it. It was still a good burger, but just a bit above average, not mind-blowingly incredible like the other one I'd had.

I think they have some work to do on consistency.

Was flipping through the menu and saw the "Joe Montferrand" burger, and immediately knew before even reading more about it, that I had to order it! How could you not order a Big Joe Mufferaw? C'mon!

Wow! Easily the best hamburger I've had in 10 years, and I'm not an easy win on that front. The bison is raised locally, and fed with draff (spent grain) from the brewery. Symbiosis at its best! It had a wonderful mesquite flavour and was absolutely to die for!

These guys easily have the best selection of burgers in the city. Hands-down. And they do them very well!

Their burger selection is in the form of a matrix. Down the left you have about 15 different combinations of toppings with some very wild and original combos like the "Feta Burger" which I had, with feta cheese, salsa and lots of black olives.

Along the top you have your choice of 5 different types of meat : beef, chicken, bison, salmon and one other which I forget. (EDIT: I think it was actually 'Veggie' so they are not all meats). I had the bison.

So you have a choice of about 75 different kinds of burger!!!

Mine was extremely tasty and was served on a bun which looked to possibly be home made. My friend commented that he wouldn't be able to get his burger into his mouth, at which point I squished mine down hard with the palm of my hand. It was still difficult to get in there and I've got a big mouth :-) But that's a good thing - lots of eating! Very well done A&L!

This is the BBQ Bacon Supreme Burger ($8.99) my son ordered. He told me it was good. I am sure that he was hungry after 2-hour non-stop exercise.