Law & Orders - Innisville (Perth) On

#lotwwintercatchup This Review is from Feb 2020

Back in February LJ and I took a weekend trip to Perth Ontario. I've already talked about some pizza & wings we got there, and even a great burger. But on the way home for lunch, we got ANOTHER great burger.

I had read about a burger joint called Law & Orders. We love the show Law & Order (especially SVU), but I don't think this has any connection. Actually that's not true, they have a food truck that is Law & Orders SBU (Special Burger Unit). Very cute. But the owner's name is Jamie Law, but I'm sure he must be a fan.

From doing a simple search online I learned about the existence of the restaurant and that it was well reviewed. What I didn't realize was that the location in town was inside the local college, and the college was closed. The other location is outside Perth in Innisville and we had actually driven past it on the way to Perth but I didn't even notice it (looking back, I don't know how I didn't see it!). So that's the one that we ended up going to on our way home.

The buisness itself has a short but interesting history. Law opened up in a little building on the site back in 2014. In 2017, an explosion blew that building to smithereens and burned what was left. While they were devastated, they rebuilt on the land a bigger, better restaurant.

The outside is bright red/orange (again, how I missed it on the way in I don't understand). They have a big deck off to the side during warmer month for sitting. Inside is pretty open with the left side all dining tables and a door/wall that opens up in the summer. On the right is more tables and chairs but also counter seating. Ordering is done at a window up the middle, and you can sit on an old but nicely kept car seat as a bench.

The crowd was very mixed; families, seniors, snowmobilers. It was packed and we were lucky enough to get a table. We checked out the giant menu board which is divided into the general menu and the pizza menu.

One of the things Law & Orders is famous for is it's Rhippo Challenge. It's 2 Rhippo Burgers (2 1/2 pound beef patties, with a fried egg, bacon, and cheese) and 1lb of poutine. If you can eat it all in 20 minutes it's free, you get a t-shirt and photo on the wall; if not, it's $24.99 and some personal shame. While this sounds awesome, I didn't do it. I was hungry, but not 2lbs of beef hungry.

We went to the counter and Katie was taking orders. While the place was packed, we got there at just the right time that we were the only ones in line so we could ask questions and chat with Katie about the place a bit. Both of us got burgers, with LJ going for the Mac Bites and me the onion rings on the sides. We went back to our table and didn't wait long for our order.

L&O's has fresh cut fries, and I love fresh cut fries, but I also love a deep fried battered onion ring. I got a medium order of Onion Rings ($6) because that's the smallest it comes, but it's a generous portion of rings. These were good; they came out hot and crispy, but they could have stayed in the deep fryer just a bit longer in my opinion.

LJ got the 5 piece Mac & Cheese Bites ($5 for 5 pieces or $10 for 12). Katie said that these were really good and she loves getting them. It's basically Kraft Dinner that's breaded and very good. They too came out nice and hot, with that crispy outside but slightly goey inside. I personally think they need a creamy dip like ranch but they are still good plain.

LJ sometimes just likes something simple, so she just got a regular Hamburger ($5.50). It's nothing too exciting to look at but that's a classic 1/4 pounder there. She liked it, and she doesn't always like thicker, homemade burgers.

In contrast, I like a little more on my burgers, but my go-to is almost always a bacon cheeseburger. I have to be honest, I was tempted for their Innisville Inferno burger (1/4 lb patty with sriracha, cayenne pepper, hot sauce, jalapenos and cheese) or the Overkill 1/2 lb patty, bacon, cheese curds, fries, gravy and deep fried pickle), I mean those sound awesome. A lot of the burgers come with a fried egg on them, but I'm not crazy about fried eggs on burgers. What caught my eye was The Ringer: 1/2 lb patty, cheese, bacon, and onion rings for $10.

My burger was stacked tall and ready to make a mess. The burger comes with the patty, the bacon, cheese and onion rings. For my toppings I went with lettuce, tomato, pickles, ketchup, and mayo. I found the construction interesting as they put the onion rings on the bottom under the patty instead of the top as I've seen most places put it - it worked though! LJ was surprised that I got this burger and ordered onion rings, worried it was onion ring overkill, but it just seemed right.

This was a very very tasty burger. Fresh sesame seed bun, and fresh veggies on top. The beef itself was meaty, had a nice crust but good soft juicy inside. The onion rings were crunchy and there was enough sauces to not drown the burger but keep everything from being dry. The bacon was crispy but still chewy in a good way, and the cheese was nice and melted. This was just everything I was looking for in a burger that day and it did not disappoint.

All around the food was really good. I certainly would go back and get the same order again. Those other burgers sound interesting and if I lived nearby I would for sure try if I ate here more. The Rhippo Challenge sounds fun, but as I get older I just can't eat as much as I used to. But the fries, the poutine, the deep fried pickles, even the pizza all sounds good. I'm not sure when I'll be back, but I look forward to it.

Final Verdict: Guilty as Charged (being charged with being awesome)
[Law & order gavel sound]

Law & Orders
13694 Highway 7, Innisville ON (near Perth)(and 1 other location)
lawandorders.ca