The village Tap House. West Vancouver, BC Canada

The best thing about the tap house burger was the soft sesame seed bun. Is that a good thing? The rest of the burger was just slightly above average. Good flavors, fresh veggies. There was way too much ketchup on the burger. Actually any amount of ketchup in a burger is too much for my taste. This is a funny thing, because ketchup is perfectly all right on my fries. The burger was served with a couple of large deep fried onion rings in top (nice) and a pickle wedge on the side. I like my pickles in the burger. Fresh cut fries, very nice. The burger itself was a 6.5/10 but the Tap House has great beers, so the burger beer paring options are outstanding and along with the other accoutrements the overall score gets bumped to an 8/10 .

Definitely a place to check out: http://www.villagetaphouse.com/

Vera’s Burger Shack. Vancouver, BC Canada

Vera’s started out as a Kit’s beach front, burger take out joint and grew to a chain of restaurants throughout Vancouver. Franchise anyone? The restaurants are small kitschy eateries. A fast food order type place with a liquor license. The patties are fresh made, grilled to order. My burger was a juicy drippy mess. Always a good sign. Vera’s makes very good burgers. Overall an 8/10 for my bacon cheeseburger. My only complaint on the burger was the cheese. Grated instead of sliced, the cheese did not melt over the patty. A chunk of cold cheddar on top of a hot patty just didn’t cut it.

There was a hair in my fries. Luckily the fires were served in their own basket. So the gross-out factor did not extend too much to the burger. The fries sat at the table untouched. They looked underdone anyway.

A solid burger establishment, check out Vera’s at: http://www.verasburgershack.com/

Modern Café. Nanaimo, BC Canada

The signage drew me in, a historic landmark from the 1940’s. The décor was in fact modern, exposed brick, trendy looking place. The burger unfortunately did not keep up with the décor. I can’t go over 6/10 for this bacon burger. The patty was small, the sauce was non existent. To be fair there was actually sauce on the bun but two small dabs were almost undetectable. Why bother? The menu said grilled sourdough bun. I got a tasteless whole-wheat bun. I do not like the bait and switch on menus. Alas, I would go back for the ambiance and to try some other things on the menu, but I wouldn’t have another burger here.

I can’t find their website. But read more on a few other blogs here:

http://www.gonanaimo.com/blog/2008/02/modern-caf-nanaimo.html

http://www.nathaniel.ca/blog/?p=1108

Longwood Brewpub, Nanaimo, BC Canada

I’m told that this is the only Brew pub in Nanaimo. Let me know if I’m wrong. Any place that makes its own beer is usually pretty good on the burger side as well. I had the Longwood burger with bacon with a pretty good Longwood Ale, AKA Woodies Ale.

Everything was pretty good if not a bit average. This is a perfectly acceptable and typical burger. I’ll give it a 7/10. The burger here suffers from big bun small patty (in this case also overcooked) disease. And what’s up with the whole wheat bun? Let’s be clear, burgers are not supposed to be healthy. Dripping fat juices over your fingers, a clear sign of a great burger is not lean cuisine or heart healthy. This one didn’t drip enough. Can you tell I’m not ecstatic about the burger?

I asked for hot sauce for my fries and they brought me a homemade concoction which they use for their chicken wings. Now this stuff was really good. Thumbs up for making your own wing sauce. So now I obviously have to come back for some fat on a stick. I’m thinking of a hoppy India Pale Ale pairing.


I’m also told by the server that their best seller is the Fish & Chips. So I guess I’ll be back a couple more time. I’m thinking about the dark German wheat beer they brew in this case.


Check them out at: http://www.longwoodbrewpub.com/

Aura – Laurel Point Inn. Victoria BC Canada



The Point Burger. Alberta beef, aged white cheddar, caramelized inions, bacon, mushrooms, tomatoes and a house made bun.

This is a big burger, voted best in Victoria. Best burger I’ve had in Victoria so far, but always looking for better. This burger is all about the bun. Home made and outstanding. Great flavour, nice dripping juices. I’ll give this burger 8.5-9/10. Were those canned mushrooms? Demerits for what looked and tasted like a prefabricated frozen paddy.

Get rid of the canned mushrooms, make your own juicy paddy. Cook it med-rare with just a ting of pink in the middle and you’ve got a truly perfect burger. So close and yet…

I’m going back for the lamb burger on the menu.

Check them out at: http://www.laurelpoint.com/dining

Burgers etc. Burnaby BC, Canada
Voted best burger in Vancouver by CTV News. Right off the top a first class burger. I don’t know if it’s the best burger in Vancouver, but I’ll give it best burger in Burnaby. For now anyway, these ratings can quickly change.
The burger was juicy, three napkins, if not a bit overdone. Nice touch on the grilled bun. I’ll give this a 8.5/10 this time. Suggestion, make your own fries. Chuck out the frozen stuff.
I’m going back for the smoked chicken wings next time. This place has its own smoker in the back. Definitely check it out. http://www.burgers-etc.com/

The Sunshine Diner, Vancouver BC, Canada
Add half of an avocado to a bacon cheeseburger and it becomes the “Fat Elvis Burger”.
Fabulous burger I have to say. Juicy house made paddy, perfectly cooked with just a hint of pink in the middle. Accompanied with fresh veggies and bun with lots of crisp bacon, this is a 9/10 for sure. Points deducted for serving open face, I hate that. But that is once again just a person preference. Come to think of it everything is a personal preference so never mind. And also deductions for generic thin McDonald’s like fries. Still, a great burger in a kitschy diner experience.
Check them out at: http://www.sunshinediner.com/

Food. Life. Fodder.

Food. Life. Fodder.
http://2abpsslcpooassb.blogspot.com/

Glow Restaurant Lounge
Victoria BC, Canada
Prime Rib BurgerGlow has been getting some talk as one of the best burger in Victoria, so I had to check it out. My rating: 8/10. Not a bad burger at all. It’s big burger that’s for sure. The chipotle mayo adds excellent spicy flavour. My complaints are that the bun was not fresh and their patty is preformed frozen (at least it looked that way). Give me a fresh bun and a fresh beef patty cooked pink in the middle and you got yourself an outstanding instead of a good burger. The fires were pre cut frozen as well, but they saved them by sprinkling on a salt cumin spice mix that was fantastic. Usually I like fresh cut homemade but I’ll give them this one.
Lamb burger on the menu for my next visit.
Check them out at: http://www.gloeuropub.com/

Kobe Burger,
Browns Social House, Richmond BC, Canada
Ages cheddar, crisp bacon, onion rings, homemade bbq sauce and home cut fries.
Very impressive burger, for $18 it should be. The Kobe beef comes though big time. Fat dripping juicy patty, which of course makes it quite tasty. Thoroughly enjoyable. Rating: 9/10
I’m starting to like Browns a lot. I asked for a newspaper. They did not have one. Five minutes later someone brought me a fresh paper that they actually went out and bought for me. Wow, who does that kind of service? Outstanding.
Check them out at: http://brownsrestaurantgroup.com/

Crave, Vancouver BC

Organic beef burger with bacon and cheddar, nice. The burger tasted great. My only knock on the whole thing was a square focosia as the bun. As a burger traditionalist, what the hell? Just use a really good round bun and don’t serve the burger open. I don’t get that either. It’s funny how you can be nitpicky on certain things. The result of course is a demerit to an A-, even though I still can’t get those fries out of my mind.Check them out at www.craveresaurants.com.They just opened a new location in West Van. I look forward to the trip

Portage Store. Canoe Lake. Algonquin Park.
This picture makes the burger look better then it actually was, a lame burger. I actually embellished the picture a little by removing the plastic container of “miracle whip” placed on top of the burger. Where to start with this? My two main issues: Thin overcooked chard patty and condiments in single serve disposable packets. To be fair the fries were pretty good and the veggies were fresh. But, I just couldn’t get over the patty and the condiments. Sorry to say this one is a 4/10.

Thumbs up on the Upper Canada Lager. Good Beer. But alas, even the beer couldn't save this one.
www.portagestore.com