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Vancouver, BC, and Western Canada Burger Club


Ling

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It is my great pleasure to formally announce the first round of

Burger Club 2005!

Round One will be held at The Red Onion in Kerrisdale (2028 41st Avenue W) on Sunday February 27th at 7pm.

The restaurant can only hold a table of 10 for us, so the first 10 people to PM me get a seat. I will start a waiting list if there is demand for it. Please note that the restaurant does seat about 30-40, so even if you aren't on the list you are free to come anyway and find a seat on your own. You are also free to visit the Red Onion anytime during the 2 weeks before Feb 27th - your votes and reviews will still be recognized.

Speaking of votes and reviews: Ling will be posting a list of the "rules" later today. We will take an informal vote on Sunday night re the location for Round 2.

And finally:

[Monster Truck Announcer Voice]

This event has been organized through the eG Forums by members but is not sponsored by the Society or its eG Forums. The event is open to all participating eGullet Society members, contributors and their guests. By participating in this event, you confirm your understanding and acceptance of the eGullet Events Policy, to which all eGullet Society members have already agreed.

[/Monster Truck Announcer Voice]

Always remember that you are unique. Just like everyone else.

www.leecarney.com

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Isn't there some kind of law in Canada about cooking burgers, in order to prevent E. Coli problems - like you can't even ask for one medium rare, they can only cook it well done? (I tried searching to confirm this, but couldn't find anything).

My contact tells me that all the meat must be from a federally inspected plant and ground on the premises of the restaurant serving it. We hand grind organic sirloin (federally inspected!) for our burger and will cook it to the guests preferred taste. I can't think of any other way to pull it off. I remember Moderne telling me that they make their patties every two hrs. so maybe they will do this as well?

Owner

Winebar @ Fiction

Lucy Mae Brown

Century - modern latin -

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Vancouver Burger Club Rules

1. Feel free to choose whatever toppings your stomach desires. Cheese, mushrooms, bacon...we don't discriminate. :wink:

2. Feel free to choose whatever burger you want on the menu*, except for veggie "burgers". (Unless you really want a veggie burger...but then you'll be shunned and will have to sit in a corner by yourself. :laugh: )

3. If we've reserved a spot for you, please be courteous and call (or PM) if you can't make it. That way, we can notify anyone on a waiting list that a spot has opened up.

4. Please divide the bill fairly.

*We would like to encourage everyone to order a beef burger though, just so we will all be evaluating basically the same burger.

Edited by Ling (log)
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Thought all of you burger fans would like to know that I was walking down Denman Street today and noticed that a Fatburger is going in where the Thai House used to be. It looks like it'll be awhile before it opens though.

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Best burger atmosphere and location as well as a darn good, grilled Angus burger is Jericho sailing club. Having said that, tried out the Red Lion in West Van this weekend (24th and Marine Drive) and had, I think, the best beef burger I have ever had. Hand ground Angus, really, really good!

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  • 2 weeks later...

It's late, I've shared a bottle of old vines tempernillo and havent taken time read thru the 7 pages of postings - but just in case anyone missed mentioning Flagg's Bistro on Alma btw broadwy and 10th.

Interesting story/guy, he bakes his own buns, a bit "dirty" but such a good burger! I've tried all the others (i read) mentioned as when i first moved here I had a bit of time on my hands and decided that this was my project to find the best burger. I seem to remember that at the time red onion came in at the top, but flagg's beats it and any others.

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Last night, the latest meeting of the Vancouver Burger Club took place at the Red Onion (2028 41st Avenue West, Vancouver, BC (604) 263-0833). In attendance, Vancouver Lee, HKDave, *Deborah*, Ling, dUbVader, hayasaka.k, her spouse & Daddy-A. Meeting was convened at 7:00PM, appropriate eGullet information was shared :wink: and Burger Club rules and future events were discussed :laugh: Vancouver Lee will post the minutes later today :laugh:

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Most of us were worried about what Chris Rock was going to say during the Oscars!

The fries:

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Good fries IMO. Crispy but soft inside. Maybe a bit too much bitter after taste ... but then again, we were there for the burgers:

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Our server, who comped us the fries because of a toppings snafu from the kitchen. I guess they were too concerend about Chris Rock as well :unsure:

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My burger, and the one with the mixed up toppings. I got mushrooms when I asked for onions. Rather than sending it back, I took one for the team!

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This is what happens to a Red Onion burger once *Deborah* gets hold of it! Some found the bun too toasted so that it fell apart as seen above.

My take on the red onion burger? First, the patty is over-cooked. In their defense it's always been over-cooked IMO, and with the whole ecoli scarey-stuff happening, I've just come to accept that. Yet I've had burgers elsewhere that weren't as dry as here.

Second, the entire burger seems like a gathering of parts, and never a "Burger." What I mean, is that each condiment works on its own, and never joins the party ... case in point is the cheese, which comes shredded and is added at the end, so it's cold and only slightly melted. Most of my cheese ended up in the bottom of the basket. I know HKDave shares my opinions on the onions, so I'll leave that discussion to him.

Finally, the bun. Toasted, with some kind of seed-like dusting on top. Nothing great, nothing horrible. I didn't mind that mine fell apart like *Deborah*'s.

gallery_16561_871_13660.jpg

The club members in action.

A.

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Oh, Arne didn't use my line, so I will add: this was the most anti-climactic burger ever!

After all the Burger Club hype, broccoli for lunch...:raz: I wanted juice running down to my elbows, and it was just...meh. Not bad, but not what I'd hoped. Still pretty good value, though, and the fries were good.

Agenda-free since 1966.

Foodblog: Power, Convection and Lies

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I don't know if you're taking suggestions for the next burger to try but my husband says you must try the burger at Feenies. He still salivates when he talks about it and I think it was around August '04 when we were there.

Don't wait for extraordinary opportunities. Seize common occasions and make them great. Orison Swett Marden

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I don't know if you're taking suggestions for the next burger to try but my husband says you must try the burger at Feenies. He still salivates when he talks about it and I think it was around August '04 when we were there.

Yes, Feenie's is definitely on the list. I believe our next outing will be at Vera's Burger Shack. Stay tuned ....

A.

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...

In attendance, Vancouver Lee, HKDave, *Deborah*, Ling, dUbVader, hayasaka.k, her spouse & Daddy-A....

Correction: hayasaka.k's boyfriend! Do I look that old?

Oh, Arne didn't use my line, so I will add: this was the most anti-climactic burger ever!

Agreed. I'm interested in what you all define as a "good" burger experience (waitresses not included). :cool:

I look for:

Bun - Soft, lightly toasted; no sesame seeds (my own quirk) and best if seedless; I think of it more as a receptacle for my meat and toppings, a supporting player to sop up the juices.

Toppings - Cooked mushrooms (so their juices run off with the meat juices somewhere down my wrist :wub:); cooked onions (does anywhere do caramelized?); lettuce; tomatoes; melted cheese; ketchup and mayo. In consideration of toppings and my miniscule mandible I prefer a burger of greater width to height.

Patty - Good compromise between lean and fatty beef; juicy, lightly charred and slightly greasy; doneness is an iffy issue, as sometimes doneness also means cardboard.

Fries - Waxy potatoes, lightly battered and thinly crisped. I like vinegar with my fries, and starchy ones just don't work.

They had:

Bun - Very toasted, remained so to the end (I had some juices at the bottom of my foil packet).

Toppings - Just-cooked/raw largely-diced onions; just-cooked mushrooms (not on menu); my cheese actually resembled perfect little rectangles, I've never seen shredded cheese like this so someone please explain; 1/2" thick wad of lettuce; thick slice of tomato; and what seemed like every hotdog condiment (sorry, I'm a conservative).

Patty - Good charred taste but unfortunately dry. They definitely favour height to width here. Spiffy burger-flipping showmanship, :smile: .

Fries - Waxy and nicely crisped; did notice the bitterness but only slightly. Also had a chili fries option, but someone else will have to comment on that.

I also had the pleasure of meeting RO's root beer float. The vanilla ice cream was a little grainy (icy?), but melted cleanly. It tasted pretty light (fat/vanillin/sugar) but this didn't affect its foaminess. :laugh:

So, is Vera's next?

Joyce

Edited by hayasaka.k (log)
Run the earth. Watch the sky.
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I agree, hayasaka.k, too much lettuce!

I wish I could tell you about the cheese...it was a bit odd! too cold to melt, it seemed? especially when next to that lettuce.

I also am not so crazy about all that mustard...I'm a red relish and mayo girl at heart. I do like sesame seeds on my bun though. For a burger of substance, I like a kaiser sort of bun, still soft-ish, crust-wise, but having been stuck open-face down on the grill for a minute or two to get toasty at the intersection of burger and bun. I like a bun that can withstand the slings and arrows of the (pref. caramelized) onions and relish, and not fall to bits by the time I chew my way to the end of the patty.

But I figure I should eat what they give me, and see what each place considers a burger...so I won't quibble about mustard and whatnot. As long as I can have my onions fried, not raw! and my cheese. But next time I will try not to get my hopes up so high!

Edited by *Deborah* (log)

Agenda-free since 1966.

Foodblog: Power, Convection and Lies

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Some brief thoughts, since others have pretty much said all I wanted to say about The Red Onion burger... :smile:

-I liked the toasty, crispy bun

-meat was a little dry for my tastes, and I thought it could've used some more salt and pepper

-I didn't mind the thick tomato slice or the stack of lettuce--I thought it made the overall burger more moist, considering the meat was a little dry (in The Perfect Burger, the meat should definitely be a bit greasier and be able to stand alone)

-I loved the fries--yes, they were a tiny bit bitter, but I really enjoyed the crisp exterior. They were perfectly done to my liking (a shade overdone for some--they were quite brown)

-didn't like the shredded, cold cheese

(Is it bad that I thought the DQ burger I ate at lunch--with melted processed cheese and a large order of onion rings--was slightly tastier than the burger from The Red Onion? :wink: )

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From the photos, it looks as though ya'll had fun but from reading the comments, it seems that for those of us who had to miss it, we perhaps did not miss out on the best burger club experience ever. :unsure:

sarah

Always take a good look at what you're about to eat. It's not so important to know what it is, but it's critical to know what it was. --Unknown

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Sorry for being so late posting my Red Onion report but I was in the kitchen until 11 last night...

I had a bacon cheeseburger. Nice char, but the burger was cooked past the 'safe' point. Too dry, no juice left. You can cook a burger 'safe' and still have some juice - see the Feenieburger. Personally I'm happy to take the risk on a medium burger (ferchrissakes, I eat things like steak tartare and raw oysters and sushi fairly often, and restaurants are happy to serve those) but Red Onion, as with most other places in North America, won't do it.

Bacon and cheese were great, good flavours and not skimpy. Cheese was grated but not melted (patty had cooled before cheese was added - it was cold in there), which meant a lot of it fell out when I picked the burg. up. I liked the slightly crusty bun.

Too much lettuce for my taste. I asked for raw onions, expecting a few rings or even a thin slice. But they chop their onions into squares, which may work for grilled, but are too onion-y raw. Plus they put the onions on the bottom (under the lettuce), so almost impossible to remove once you find this out. Sauce is basically French's style mustard.

Very good fries. We got chili on one of the fries, which was a hit. They also had some hot dogs on the menu which looked very interesting. If I'm in the neighbourhood again, I'll be going for their grilled dogs and fries. I liked the atmosphere of the place.

Price looked good at first, but doesn't come with fries or toppings. Once you've added those, you're at normal burger prices. I'd rate this burger as under an Earl's or Fresgo burger (my reference standards in the 'we only serve it well done' category), and not in the same league as a Feenieburger (by far the best I've had in Vancouver, but it is $13, plus usually a few Martinis in my case).

Hong Kong Dave

O que nao mata engorda.

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They also had some hot dogs on the menu which looked very interesting.  If I'm in the neighbourhood again, I'll be going for their grilled dogs and fries. 

Ah...we were in there for hot dogs a month or so ago, & they were very dry.

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Just wanted to add 'The Hamilton Street Grill' for Burger Club consideration--the lamb burger I had today for lunch (with sweet potato fries and this awesome mayo dip) was better than the burger at Moderne, and much better than the Red Onion burger. (Oh yeah--and it was better than my DQ burger too. :raz: )

Even though the lamb burger was pretty much cooked all the way through, the patty was thick and juicy. Delicious! :wub: (I actually think this is the best burger I'd ever eaten in my life!)

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Just wanted to add 'The Hamilton Street Grill' for Burger Club consideration--the lamb burger I had today for lunch (with sweet potato fries and this awesome mayo dip) was better than the burger at Moderne, and much better than the Red Onion burger. (Oh yeah--and it was better than my DQ burger too.  :raz: )

Even though the lamb burger was pretty much cooked all the way through, the patty was thick and juicy. Delicious!  :wub: (I actually think this is the best burger I'd ever eaten in my life!)

Ok, with comments like that, you are starting to work your way back into my good books. I take that as a high compliment, considering the amount of food that you are able to consume. As I said, the lamb / yam is the #1 combination around here. Nice to see everybody in.

Neil

Neil Wyles

Hamilton Street Grill

www.hamiltonstreetgrill.com

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