Burgernator ~ Toronto ON

MAY 2013

It was back in May when I decided to take a Saturday saunter over to Kensington Market to take in the sites, do some grocery shopping, and get lunch.

I wandered through the market trying to decide what to eat as there are so many cool little eateries. But then I came across this burger place that really caught my attention. Burgernator. It just sounded cool. And the colour scheme made me think of my own blog.

And they had a mission statement for burgers. That suggest the take their product seriously.

I went in and it was pretty dead for noon. There were the two seniors and a couple of individuals here and there. Eventually more people did come, but considering it was packed on the streets, it seemed a little strange. Like people were not joining the burger revolution.

More of their burger claims and manifestos were on the wall, extolling the virtues of their fresh, organic and pure burger aesthetic.

Prices are similar to other modern burger joints around, which means pricey in a fast food environment. I went with a Commander Burger $6, with a side of Burgernator Fries ($5.50).

Burgernator Fries are chili cheese fries served with sour cream on top. The fries were a medium fresh cut fry and deep fried to a nice crisp, so that there was a bit of a crunch when you bit into them. The chili was thick with meat and beans. It was not bad, but did not have anything bold or outstanding about it. Real shredded cheese melted over top, and the sour cream add a nice cool creamy component to the mix.

There were many BMD's (or burgers of mass destruction) to choose from with unique toppings from the The Resistance burger (a masala turkey burger with mango chutney and curry aioli) to the Captain Jerk (beef patty with grilled pineapple and jerk sauce) to the Burgernator challenge itself (triple patty between 2 grilled cheese sandwiches, caramelized onions, mushrooms and Burgernator sauce). There are also veggie burgers (soy patties or crusted portabello mushrooms).  For me, I just wanted something a little more simple.

I went with a Commander Burger. The first thing I noticed was the Burgernator sauce all over. The second thing I noticed was it was a pretty small burger. The third thing I noticed was that they used two top buns for my burger, which I think is pretty awesome. What happened to the bottoms though?

The Commander Burger is a all beef 4oz patty (admittedly a smaller patty compared to the 6oz BMD's) with Burgernator Sauce (something a little more sophisticated than a fry sauce - ketchup and mayo - but more aioli like) lettuce, tomato, pickles and cheddar cheese.

I'll just cut to the chase, I found this burger really mediocre. The fresh ground meat was . . . just ok. I didn't get a nice meaty flavour from the meat. I didn't really taste it all. I won't lie, I'm also one of those people who prefer processed cheese slice to real cheese. The buns were actually really good - slightly toasted but still very fresh.

But when at a burger place the standout is the bun, there's something wrong. Don't get me wrong, this was not a bad burger, but for a joint crying for a burger revolution, Che Burgera would not be raising his bun. Also, none of the burgers have bacon on them, and to me that's kind of important on a great burger. Right?

I think the revolution needs some tweaking. The marketing and the message is there, but there are already a lot of bland burger out there.

Burgernator
269 Augusta Ave, Toronto ON
theburgernator.com