Magoo's in Etobicoke Burger Review

Went to Magoo’s  in Etobicoke on a recommendation but I must tell you it was not my first choice.  I desperately wanted to review Dangerous Dan’s; however, when I arrived there they had some problems with their equipment and told us to come back thirty minutes.  I could not wait this long and after longing into the window from across the street wondering if they were ready, my friend and I gave up and hit a pub on the corner.  So screw you Dan you won’t be making the final list! I'll be reviewing Magoo's this week instead.

Now onto Magoo’s, this is gonna be a short one.  Basically it’s as if there used to be a Lick’s in the same location that was sold to Mr. Magoo, and then Mr. Magoo decided not to change a damn thing.  The appearance, layout, and set up is the same as Lick’s save for some colour choices, and the menu is very similar plus or minus some minor details.  There’s 50’s music and it seems like a place to take your kids, in fact, everyone else had kids with them.

The burgers come in 4oz or 6oz and you can get a combo with fries and a pop for $10.  I ordered a 6oz with cheese (.95) and bacon (1.50) for a total of $12.62, about $4 less than I’ve been paying at most of Toronto’s burger joints. They also have regular fries, spicy fries, onion rings, chili fries, and poutine.  There are no substitutes with combos so you’re stuck with regular fries, they won’t even let you pay the difference.   They have all the standard toppings with the few exceptions of guacamole, bruschetta, and Magoo sauce (AKA Lick’s Guck Sauce). The burger was good even though it was well done; the only problem was that the cheese was not melted; it was just kind of sitting there hating its existence. 

The fries are where the difference from Lick’s comes through.  If you can remember, Lick’s fries were the worst I’ve had so far and thankfully Magoo’s are better.  Fries were fish n chip style and a bit bland.  A friend of mine ordered the spicy fries and they are much better.  They’re not spicy despite their name, but they’re the perfect crispness especially compared to the soggy regular fries.  Very pissed that I got trapped into getting the regular fries when I asked if I could get spicy fries!!  If you wanted to order a-la-carte style, you’d be spending quite a bit more and it just seems like they’re gouging you at that point.

Note the classy trays

I must say that most of the staff were incredibly friendly and seemed to know the customers very well. 

I honestly can’t get over how similar Magoo’s is to Lick’s.  It’s not a bad thing, Magoo’s and Lick’s are both good places, it’s just disappointing to review two places that are so similar.

Pros:

·         Good Value.

·         Friendly Staff.

·         Great Spicy Fries.

Cons:

·         No gourmet toppings

·         Non-melty cheese

·         Can’t substitute my fries?! You kidding me?! Change that ASAP and your score would go up half a point!

The few changes from Lick’s make Magoo’s the better joint, but not worth passing a Lick’s on your way there.

7/10

Review of The Burger's Priest in Toronto

The Burger’s Priest has received a lot of hype in the last little while.  It’s been voted the best burger in Toronto on Blog To’s list: http://www.blogto.com/toronto/the_best_burger_in_toronto/.  I used this list as my personal burger guide for a long time until  I decided I’ll be making one on my own, and I must say that I don’t agree with their ranking.  The Burger’s Priest is good, but it’s not the best joint I’ve been to.  

The location is quite small but there is enough room to dine-in if you’re less than three people and it’s not during peak hours.  There’s a counter along the wall with some stools and it does the job adequately.  The menu is rather limited at Burger’s Priest, consisting of a cheeseburger, double cheeseburger, the Priest, The option (vegetarian) and What’s Right (double cheeseburger combo with chili fries).  They have the usual fries and chili fries with typical toppings of lettuce, tomato, pickle as well as premium topics of bacon, fried onions, and deep fried jalapenos.    The Burger’s Priest has received buzz not so much from this menu, but they do have a secret menu which includes items such as The Pope and The Vatican. You must check it out before going in: http://www.theburgerspriest.com/secret-menu/.

I went ahead and ordered the Priest off the regular menu (cheeseburger and the option, two mushrooms and cheese that are breaded and deep fried) with fries and a pop.

The price came to $16.70, which is pretty much what I now expect to pay at these gourmet burger joints..  They only take cash, no debit or credit. 

This burger had far too much cheese, I mean it was just oozing out of the option but there was so much that it wasn’t gooey, it was starting to get firm and gross.    The meat was a bit overdone and seemed to break apart into pieces.  The seasoning and texture of the burger was very similar to a Wendy’s patty, although a bit larger.  The meat was good and I wished I had just ordered a double cheeseburger and been spared the overly cheesy mess. 

Fries were only slightly seasoned and were very similar to what you would find at Swiss Chalet, which is a good thing.

The Cheese is just hiding and waiting.

The staff was friendly and seemed really into working there.  Unfortunately in the end I feel as though The Burger’s Priest has become a victim of its own hype.  I recommend you go there and check it out, but if you never do, you won’t be missing out on too much.

Pros:

·         Secret menu is interesting.

·         Good vegetarian option.

Cons:

·         Secret menu is….secret!!

·         Pray your meat isn’t overdone.

·         Too much damn cheese.

7/10

Holy Chuck Burgers

I first discovered Holy Chuck’s on Yonge and St. Clair after leaving my Doctor’s office.  I used the old Urban Spoon app and was pleasantly surprised to find a cool looking burger joint down the street.  Being told my blood pressure was on the verge of becoming high didn’t stop me from trying the place, and this is one place that inspired me to write this blog.

They have the most interesting menu I’ve seen to date.  All gourmet style burgers including one with Foie Gras that goes for $28.  I could go over the list but I’ll let you adventure on it here http://holychuckburgers.com/our-menu/. 

This was the first time I ever wanted to order a veggie burger over meat.  They call it animal feed and it consists of panko crusted Portobello mushroom stuffed with feta & cream cheese, deep fried, topped with lettuce, tomato & lemon herb aioli.  But for the purposes of this blog I had to order meat and went with the Holy Chuck Burger (their signature) which is just a double cheeseburger with bacon and caramelized onions.  They tell you not to add anything and they’re right, this thing is amazing!  First of all this is the first time I`ve been asked how I`d like my meat (rare, med, well etc.)  I ordered medium and although it did seem a bit pink, this was the juiciest burger I`ve ever had!  Cheese was oozing and dripping everywhere, this was also one of the freshest burgers I`ve ever had.  The bun was extremely soft and soaked up all of the juices making it even better.  My only complaint is that the beef was a bit too pink for me, maybe I`ll order it medium-well next time.

The burger is definitely the star of the show

The fries were soft and short and well-seasoned.  They know that the burger is the star of the show and they don`t try to take the spotlight.

The last time I came here I ordered a lamb burger, but I was much more impressed with the beef burger this time around.  The location doesn`t have a great atmosphere and you won`t feel enticed to hang around. 

$16.75 for a burger, fries, and drink is a bit steep the burger alone is definitely worth it.

The Pros:

·         Juiciest burger

·         Great menu

·         Very fresh

The Cons:

·         Not the most inviting atmosphere

·         Fries were mediocre

Overall this is a great spot when it comes to the great burgers, and I`ll definitely need to try a fudge, bacon, sea salt milkshake next time. 

8.5/10

Big Smoke Burger Review

Big Smoke Burger

This week I visited Big Smoke Burger on King St West.  Big Smoke used to be known as Craft burger.   Craft burger was always a place people talked about when you brought up burgers. 

The location was fairly small.  There is a single bench along the wall with chairs across the small tables lined up in single file.  The tables are crammed so tightly that you cannot pass between them if you’re sitting on the bench, and everyone has to get out of the way if you need to go to the washroom.  This is worse than getting up in front of everyone in the middle of a packed movie theatre.

They offer chicken, lamb, beef and vegetarian patties.  There are a whole bunch of gourmet burgers; I ordered a Big Smoke Burger which horseradish mayo, caramelized onions, smoked cheddar, tomato & lettuce.  They offer fries, onion rings, poutine, and salads as sides.  There are 8 signature burgers to choose from but unfortunately the choices feel limited.  All the burgers seem similar and they don’t seem to encourage customization at all. 

My Big Smoke burger with fries and a pop came up to just under $15.

The only issue is that for $15 for a burger, I expect to be full and bursting when I’m done.  Maybe I've crossed the threshold of pure gluttony as the folks next to me were complaining about how stuffed they were, but I could of ate another burger without stopping to take a breath.  Don’t get me wrong, it was delicious; the meat was tender, and the horseradish mayo gave it the perfect tang, but it was just a tad too small. 

I'm leaning towards pure gluttony as the problem

The fries here were good, but they were either cooked in lard or the oil had not been changed in a while and that left the fries with a strange, smoky taste. (Description of fries was given by my girlfriend who accompanied me. For the record, I seem to be completely oblivious to these sorts of things and now bring her along). 

The staff were very friendly and the wait was 8-10 minutes.  The location was dimly lit and had a nice atmosphere.

Pros:

·         Friendly staff.

·         Fair price.

·         Nice Atmosphere.

Cons:

•      Not filling.
•  Tight space.
• trange taste on fries.

Big Smoke burger does everything fairly well, but larger portions will definitely add value.  I know there isn’t much wrong here, but there’s nothing that stands out in any way.  I’m a little disappointed with everything.  It’s not bad, it’s just not great.

6.5/10