ottawa foodies

Please don't say the Works, because its not. For the beef burgers they pack the meat too tightly which ruins the texture and they use very fatty meat which hides all the good taste of the beef. It is a decent burger, but far from great. They try to be fancy with the ingredients and the catchy names.

So far the Baton Rouge burger is my fav, that is if its cooked medium (they won't do that for you though). You can really taste the beef and the fire from grill.

I've tried Licks, Caseys, Montanas, Prime 360, Royal Oak, and none of them are as good as some places I've been to in the U.S. or even the Dublin pub in Montreal.

I'd love to try a really good burger sometime, so I'll be watching this topic with interest. I agree that Works burgers really aren't that great -- even if you don't get sick from them. For fast food, I like Lick's and Harvey's. I also like the bacon cheeseburger at the Village Terrace, but that's partly because of the amazing price ($6-something plus tip for the burger, slaw, fries, gravy and pudding for dessert). As far as greasy diner food goes that burger is good stuff.

When I think of all the burgers I've had most of them were gross. We've made some pretty good ones at home of course, but you're not invited. ;-) I'll have to try the Baton Rouge one now that you've mentioned it.

BTW, Lick's uses pasteurized beef for their burgers meaning there's a possibility they might be willing to cook yours medium...

Best wishes in your quest.

I would have to cast a vote for the burger at Chez Lucien.

Give it a try - it certainly won't be worst burger you've had.....

This topic reminded me that I wanted to go back to "Wellington Sandwiches" (1123 Wellington St at Rosemount) and try their burgers. I went once and ordered a sandwich, so I can't vouch firsthand, but whilst there, I heard comments from a couple of the patrons in the restaurant about the burgers. Apparently they were in heaven. Even heard one of the men say it was the best burger he ever had.



So mental note, return and try one for myself. If any of you beat me to it, let me know how it turns out, yeh? I'll create a new vendor...

I like to make burgers at home! That way I can make it taste however I like!
I usually use ground beef with a bit of pork if I have any on hand. Bread crumbs, garlic, onion, parsley, shot of hot sauce, worcestershire sauce, shot of bbq sauce, pepper, egg and that about sums it up. I like to grate in my onion and garlic.

Love to roll up the sleeves and make the burgers as well...An old Scottish WOM recipe used oatmeal instead of the bread crumbs...I have sworn by this. I have been a huge fan of Mr. Steerburger back in MTL.... (The old Pub St. Jacques was a gem as well....closed down)...but nothing will beat the TLC found in home made burgs!

I'll throw in a vote for Wellington Sandwiches - very good! The only problem is they close so damn early. I'm usually not even out of bed yet by the time they close.

If we don't make them at home, our new favourite is the burger at the Metropolitan Brasserie at 700 Sussex (Market area). It is not cheap ($13.99) but there is just something about it - moist, brie cheese (if you ask and I think it makes it $15.99)not over garnished. They also have the best frites, thin, crispy and served with a delicious aioli sauce for dipping.
My mouth is watering just thinking about it! They are also open late, we had dinner once on a Sunday night at 10pm.

You're right about the Metropolitan Brasserie. This burger is so far the reigning champ in Ottawa. It has great balance, especially with the basil brightening the heavy cheeze and beef flavour. Too bad they don't have a take out window.

Well, FWIW, the one time I ate at the Metropolitan Brasserie I ordered the burger and fries and wouldn't even finish the burger. I thought there was too much filler and not enough honest beef taste, and that the value for money was pretty bad.

Chez Lucien for me. But there's something to say about chip truck burgs as well, there's a chippy stand near the beer store on Scott St. that serves a good quick burger. Same goes with the family run greasy spoon nearby called Alfa Diner. There's just something about handmade, homestyle burgs that can't be beat!

I have tried quite a few and so far, my pick would be Le Twist, in Hull, on Montcalm, I believe they grind their own meat, try the one with cream cheese.

(maps.google.com)

The old "Wall Street", strangly on Bank Street, had probably one of the best burgers I've had in Ottawa.

Was a bit of a dump, but the burgers were great.

I think it's a Biddy Mc-sumpthin-cleverly-attempting-to-sound-irish now.

I still enjoy the good old-fashioned kind of homemade burger. I like to take inspiration from the works though. The picture here is of my homemade bruschetta burger with gouda and dijon.

You can check out my recipes here - definitelynotmartha.blogspot.com

I have also been underwhelmed by the works, and I don't tend to order a lot of burgers out....but homemade is SO good and easy....

btw, there is a food-item in the main part of the site for "hamburgers" and it might be more useful to put comments in there for specific restaurants. just go to the restaurant and if they do not already list hamburgers at that place, then enter 'hamburgers' into the box and click 'add food'. really easy to do and makes it easier in the long run for people to find info on the site on burgers.

i've added burgers to several restos in the last few days. most recently just a few hours ago after lunch :-)

Here is the direct link to the hamburgers section, with a full list of restaurants whose burgers people have reviewed so far

Hamburgers