Vancouver, BC, and Western Canada Burger Club

[jamiemaw]

Triple C (as opposed to the Triple O). 

Whole wheat bun sounds great, do you remember when they didn't use buns long ago, was some kind of bread (it's been so long since, but that still sticks in my mind   )

Haven't been to CC for quite awhile now, but used to frequent it on quite the regular basis.  Was getting a bit weary of their menu though, so I must check it out now; are there any new items of Julian's available at all locations yet?

 

Julian has removed a few items from the menus and is in the final testing of several others - the roll out of various ones, such as the very good won ton soup, is imminent.

I imagine the two establishments are partaking of a head to head combat of sorts, which is a good thing for the customers.  How long has Michael been at Earl's?  Oh, and how much is the new Triple C going for?  Any hints on other menu changes, such as the pasta's and mains?  How about the soup, I remember the two choices (B&C and the Chicken) being on there for foooooooorever)  !

Yes, the CFD sector is extremely competitive. Margins are low and are very volume-sensitive. There is a huge investment in service and chef training. And a number of things have to be accomplished very efficiently and very well: site procurement, design, construction, sytems implementation, distribution, menu development, etc.

Michael Noble has been at Earls since mid-February of this year. As you probably know he has been highly involved in Bocuse d'Or as both a competitor and as a trainer/mentor.

The 'Triple C' is about $10, depending on options.

I can't comment on other menu changes yet - not until their roll-out, at least.

See won ton soup, above.

Also, I found it interesting, if I heard it correctly on one of the Global features of dining, I believe it was the really interesting one about menu development, IIRC the guy was discussing Saltlik, mentioned owning both some CC & E locations?  Any idea who the creative mind is behind MS and how the competition affects them?

Saltlik, which is owned by Earls, is operated by Stewart Fuller and will open on Alberni Street on December 9th. There are successful locations in Banff and Calgary.

In addition to Earls (operated by Bus and Stanley Fuller) and Saltlik, the Fuller family also owns Joey's Global Grill, which is expanding rapidly in Washington state. Their new store on West Broadway, just east of Granville (opposite CRU and Memphis Blues) will open in the second quarter of 2006. Chris Mills is the head of development for Joey's, which is operated by Jeff Fuller. The Fullers also have an interest in the Cactus Club, and operate The Beach House at Dundarave Pier on behalf of a partnership.

Jim Romer is the Executive Chef for Milestone's and heads up the product development team. I should think that he finds the convergence in CFD challenging but stimulating.

Edited November 25, 2005 by jamiemaw (log)

[Vancouver Lee]

Did you notice that your hamburger was served 'lid on' and warmed? Julian Bond has developed a special low heat 200˚F stainless surface for slowly heating the bun through. That's the level of detail he's going to - chain-wide.

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I did notice the lidded presentation (which is how burgers should be presented, IMO) but didn't notice the warmth, other than the fact that the bun was beautifully soft yet still allowed a proper bite to be taken.

I'm glad you pointed out the crust, too. I recall noticing it, but that observation was forced aside by the onrushing burgasm.

Do you think Julian would mind if our burger-crazed group descended en-mass to sample his new creation?

[gingerfreak]

that burger looks awesome - if there's a mass egullet swarming count me in!

[fud]

Are you telling me I've been searching high and low for the best burger and it's been staring me in the face every day I walk to London Drugs?

My god! Someone get me to the CC now!!!

Plus they have cool bathrooms there (you will see this being a theme in my reviews).

[~cayenne~]

Are you telling me I've been searching high and low for the best burger and it's been staring me in the face every day I walk to London Drugs? 

My god! Someone get me to the CC now!!!

Plus they have cool bathrooms there (you will see this being a theme in my reviews).

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Umm.... which London Drugs ........ inquiring minds need to know....... to plan our burg.....

[fud]

Umm....  which London Drugs ........  inquiring minds need to know.......  to plan our burg.....     

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Oh well the CC on Broadway and Ash is one block from the London Drugs on Broadway and (is it heather?) I don't remember!

We should swarm here and HSG. Imagine a "burger crawl". Start in the AM, get a breakfast sandwich at Melriches, then break and head to CC for their "Turbo" and break and then back to yaletown for some HSG lamb action and maybe twist the rubber arm for some Gingerbread pudding.

Oh god I better start working out now.

[jamiemaw]

Did you notice that your hamburger was served 'lid on' and warmed? Julian Bond has developed a special low heat 200˚F stainless surface for slowly heating the bun through. That's the level of detail he's going to - chain-wide.

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Do you think Julian would mind if our burger-crazed group descended en-mass to sample his new creation?

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I think he'd welcome the opportunity, although because it's a test item, you might want to give Julian a head's up by contacting him through CC corporate head office (same address) You should also check out the won ton soup and a few other of the new items slated for roll-out.

[snacky_cat]

Burgers, Etc. on Hastings @ Gilmore in North Burnaby.  AWESOME burger, cooked medium well and served with cheddar and mushrooms.  Terrific flavour with a nice amount of messiness to it.  Fries were good but not great.  Washed down with a pretty good chocolate shake ... it needed a little more chocolate syrup IMO, but the quantity was good ... real ice cream etc.

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Our lab decided to descend the hill today and hit Burgers Etc... for lunch - all of us who pass by it on our way home at night had been eyeing it since before it opened, and the recent awesome reviews lit a fire under our butts.

Man, was it ever good. One guy had the brisket burger, but the rest of us went for plain old burgers (ground chuck steak- very moist, juicy, low on grease, good meaty flavour - cooked medium well). Between all of us we managed to order most of the available toppings and all of the different sides. $7.50 gets you the basic burger and a choice of one side (I had sweet corn, which was delish, others went for mashed potato, fries, coleslaw, potato salad, mushrooms, baked beans...). You can add extra sides, or order anything from the BBQ end of the spectrum. They do 3 sizes of BBQ platter too, the choice sampler ($12.95 for two meats and two sides), the etc. sampler ($29.95 for 5 meats, I think, choice of 3 sides), or the menu sampler ($59.95 for a supersized version of the menu sampler plsu chicken wings).

As an aside, my menu memory seems to be much better during the workday. If I went here for dinner and tried to remember all that, it'd be hopeless. Maybe it's cause I didn't drink with my lunch. That must be it.

Anyway, the food was fantastic and got great reviews from the whole group. The average bill with tax and tip was about $11. Portions were just the right size, there was no grease factor at all, and the staff were really warm and friendly. We shall all be back soon, no doubt.

Now I'm going to go breathe stinky onion breath over the one co-worker who didn't come.

[Chef Metcalf]

We had one of the regular burgers at the CC on the North Shore today.

Beef was tasty, bun lightly toasted and generous cheese and bacon.

It was a high quality burger, so I'm looking forward to trying the turbo.

Compared to our last visit to the CC at Park Royal (which didn't even come close to hitting mediocre), this time round got top marks for food and service.

They did have the new wonton soup on the menu though, as the hostess who seated us recommended it to us...but we were on a burger mission so gave it a miss.

[chocomoo]

Oh.my.gosh. I had the best burger tonight at Fiction. Best burger I've ever had in my life. Made with braised shortrib meat, it was succulent and really flavourful (I realized that I also thought that Moderne's burger was meh because it wasn't seasoned). The toppings were aged cheddar, leaf lettuce, a roasted tomato, and wild boar bacon. I mean come on, can it get much better than that (I mean, without going into the $30 price-point range)? The burger was so tall I couldn't even fit it into my mouth! And it was only $13!! I almost took a picture (I even took out my camera) but there were some people I didn't know & I didn't want to seem too much like a geek. Oh it was slightly pink in the middle too! And the condiments for the fries were tomato jam & truffle oil aioli!!!

[Ling]

^ I remember Sean telling us about that burger...that's for reminding me! So many promising burger places...

[Vancouver Lee]

So many promising burger places... 

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Indeed. I didn't know Fiction even had a burger on the menu, let alone a really good one. Seems that there will be no shortage of places for Burger Club 2006.

[makanmakan]

we tried for a cactus club burgasm tonight and were sadly disappointed. our server had no idea what we were talking about regarding the turbo burger that was being tested out and had a rep about town already. so, as we were salivating for burgers still, we ordered a couple of burgers. he had cheddar and bacon and i had cheddar and shrooms. they were alright. weren't terrible and weren't jaw droppin', hootin' and hollerin' amazing. we also had to ask for new fries as ours were barely luke warm. ick. we will try again, once we know for sure that the turbo is attainable.

the beer was good though

next up, burgers etc.

[Vancouver Lee]

we tried for a cactus club burgasm tonight and were sadly disappointed.  our server had no idea what we were talking about regarding the turbo burger that was being tested out and had a rep about town already.  so, as we were salivating for burgers still, we ordered a couple of burgers.  he had cheddar and bacon and i had cheddar and shrooms.  they were alright.  weren't terrible and weren't jaw droppin', hootin' and hollerin' amazing.  we also had to ask for new fries as ours were barely luke warm.  ick.  we will try again, once we know for sure that the turbo is attainable. 

the beer was good though 

next up, burgers etc.

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Sorry to hear that Makan x 2. Did you ask your server to ask a manager about it?

Fear not, however, as I'll be trying to contact the folks at CC tomorrow to arrange a Burger Club visit for some group burgasms.

[BCinBC]

I believe the "Turbo" is already the new burger, so Makan^2 and Chef Metcalf may have been eating what they thought were regular burgers, and which were in fact regular burgers, but were also Turbo burgers. Anyone still with me?

After seeing the photo, I had to stop by CC on Friday night. I asked about the test burger, our waitress said she didn't know what I was talking about, I asked her to ask the kitchen, the kitchen reported that they had just (as of Friday or Thursday) changed the burgers. My burger was juicy, cooked medium and served on a whole wheat bun. It was a very good burger. Being non-commital as I am, I can't say it was the Best Burger I've Ever Had in BC, but yes it was very good. If you want a cheap but meaningful beef dosage, it's a good way to go.

N had the pasta "Alfredo" which had mushrooms and tomatoes - not very "Alfredo" but tasted great. And not just regular button mushrooms.

As CM said, the won ton soup was on the Broadway Features menu too, further leading me to believe that the new menu roll-out is already underway.

PS: Fries excellent!

[makanmakan]

we tried for a cactus club burgasm tonight and were sadly disappointed.  our server had no idea what we were talking about regarding the turbo burger that was being tested out and had a rep about town already.  so, as we were salivating for burgers still, we ordered a couple of burgers.  he had cheddar and bacon and i had cheddar and shrooms.  they were alright.  weren't terrible and weren't jaw droppin', hootin' and hollerin' amazing.  we also had to ask for new fries as ours were barely luke warm.  ick.  we will try again, once we know for sure that the turbo is attainable. 

the beer was good though 

next up, burgers etc.

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Sorry to hear that Makan x 2. Did you ask your server to ask a manager about it?

Fear not, however, as I'll be trying to contact the folks at CC tomorrow to arrange a Burger Club visit for some group burgasms.

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no, we didn't. guess we could have but we were exhausted and starving and couldn't be too bothered by then! ah well, guess we'll just have to wait for the group burgasm!

btw, the fresh fries we ended up getting were quite good. liked the crisp outer and very tender inner.

[BCinBC]

^ Like I said Makan, you may have already eaten the "Turbo" burger. They changed the all of their beef patties last week. I'm pretty sure I had the Turbo on Friday night, and you ate there after me.

Mine looked just like Canucklehead's:

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[makanmakan]

^^ yup, bc, that looks like the burger we had too. i've never had their old burger so i have nothing to compare to. i do recall though, that it was so damn big i had to do the burger squish and take the tomato out in order to fit it in my mouth!

my other half kept on saying that i really have to try the burgers etc. burgers. he keeps on insisting that it's the best one that he's had so far. he also claims that their baked beans is in high competition to the ones at memphis blues (my fave bb's in town)!

just a thought though, our server was pretty blank faced when asked about the test burger. you'd think that the management would give the f.o.h. staff a heads up when they change staple menu items. mind you, i know nothing about running a restaurant, but that's what i would do anyhow...lol!

[BCinBC]

Ha ha, our server was similar when I asked. I had to ask her to ask the kitchen if they knew anything about it, which is how I found out that they had just changed over the patties.

Incidentally, they are supposedly also turning over their wine menu. They were out of selection I asked for, and a couple others. At this point our server decided to recommend a wine to us, choosing one that she had just told us they were out of. Ah ha.

I have had very good service at the Park Royal CC tho, so I'm chalking it up to the server not the system.

[Vancouver Lee]

I just got back from lunch at the CC at Broadway and Ash, and confirmed with them that the Turbo Burger, Burgasm, whatever you want to call it, has now officially replaced the old burger on the menu. Any burger that is ordered there now is one of the new ones.

Unfortunately, quality control seems to have slipped a bit already. My bun was not warmed and the burger itself lacked crust and (relatedly) wasn't nearly as juicy as before.

Am I the only one to find that the second time isn't as good as my memories of the first time?

The good news is that there's no need for special arrangements to get a sample of the new burger. Is there still enough interest to plan a special Weeknight Edition of Burger Club before Christmas?

[Chef Metcalf]

I really shouldn't let myself read this thread.

Every time I do I get such a burger craving (much to do with all the burger porn posted here I suspect ), so we may have to hit CC again tonight.

So, sound's like we had the turbo burger patty but with a white bun (open faced and warmed).

The meat wasn't really juicy like you guys^ described it though.

Ours was more like Vancouver Lee's second descrition.

The fries were good, thin and crisp...but a little mealy-chalky inside.

The garlic mayo the waitress offered helped us force them down (in record time) though and it was great on the burger too.

I like the type of fries at Go Fish much better.

Crisp but moist inside.

I suspect this preference is from too many years of a Triple O Cheeseburger platter (fries please, no potato salad) addiction.

Now they've changed the fries and the bun so I don't go anymore (but I'd do anything to see the recipe for the triple O mayo and find out what sort of artery clogging oil it's made from ).

I vote for "burgasm" instead of turbo or CCC for the name.

Edited December 1, 2005 by Chef Metcalf (log)

[fud]

Fear not, however, as I'll be trying to contact the folks at CC tomorrow to arrange a Burger Club visit for some group burgasms.

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Hmmm. That CC has a "test kitchen" behind it on Ash. Perhaps we can get them to give us the entire test kitchen for a group rate so we don't scare the other patrons

[gingerfreak]

Fear not, however, as I'll be trying to contact the folks at CC tomorrow to arrange a Burger Club visit for some group burgasms.

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Hmmm. That CC has a "test kitchen" behind it on Ash. Perhaps we can get them to give us the entire test kitchen for a group rate so we don't scare the other patrons

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On the other hand...just think of the marketing opportunity: "if it makes these food snobs THIS happy, just imagine what this burger can do for you!"

[cnspriggs]

Hi all!

I just got back into Vancouver after being in Oregon for a few months and had my fingers crossed there might be a burger club meeting in December (I'm gone again in Jan...) so if there is a meeting I'm for sure into trying to make it! If I get a vote Mon/Tue's are best for me!

Cheers!

The good news is that there's no need for special arrangements to get a sample of the new burger.  Is there still enough interest to plan a special Weeknight Edition of Burger Club before Christmas?

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[BCinBC]

Fear not, however, as I'll be trying to contact the folks at CC tomorrow to arrange a Burger Club visit for some group burgasms.

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Hmmm. That CC has a "test kitchen" behind it on Ash. Perhaps we can get them to give us the entire test kitchen for a group rate so we don't scare the other patrons

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On the other hand...just think of the marketing opportunity: "if it makes these food snobs THIS happy, just imagine what this burger can do for you!"

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Here's the ad that just ran in my head. Picture if you will...

VanLee cast as an executive who is berating his minions in the board room.

Minion 1 played by Canucklehead leans over to Minion 2 played by Deborah.

CANUCKLEHEAD

Geez, someone could really use a good [sound FX] doing! cookoo! [/sound FX].

DEBORAH

Or maybe just a good Burgasm!

Cut to V, C and D walking down Broadway and entering Cactus Club. Seated by a lovely hostess. Order and receive food - everyone is obviously starting to shed their office stresses. V takes a bite of his burger, goes into Burgasm routine, pauses to wink at the camera, returns to Burgasm.

Cut to Meg Ryan staring at V, then turning to waitress and saying:

MEG

I'll have what he's having.

And starwipe... and scene!