LOVE!!

THE DRAKE HOTEL
1150 Queen Street West
Toronto, Ontario
(416) 531-5042


Jayme has been raving about the Drake Hotel hamburgers forever now. It seems everyone I know loves going to the Drake, but I had never gone until this afternoon. We both ordered the Drake Burger, which is a hamburger topped with aged white cheddar, smoked bacon, and russian dressing; served with handcut french fries, and coleslaw (which I did not eat). I don't need to give any fancy description about this burger, except for IT'S GODDAMN AMAZING!!! So juicy and fresh, the bun was soft, the meat practically melted in your mouth...and i don't know what 'russian dressing' specifically is, but it's pretty tangy and tasty.

Please, take yourself out to the Drake Hotel immediately, and try one of their burgers. This may have just taken over the top spot for my favorite burger in Toronto!

How to make a Breakfast Burger:

I came up with this idea this morning while I was scrambling (get it? ZING!) to find something to make for breakfast! Forged out of brimstone and hellfire - one spicy little breakfast burger was born!

Here's what you do - get that burger (I used a cheese and bacon fuzed variety) cooking up in a frying pan on medium heat. Put a lid over that shit so it doesn't dry out, son! Next up you throw your bread in the toaster oven and get that process started.

Next step is a fast tricky one! Get the burger on the toast and have it melting the cheese slice. Here is where you fry up your egg - I suggest over medium - so you get a bit of runny mess but not too much! Add ketchup, hot sauce, mustard or whatever else you fancy! Mmmmmmmm!

- Pare

Double Rhino review!

RHINO BAR & GRILL, INC.
1249 Queen Street West
Toronto, Ontario
(416) 535-8089


Funnily enough, I spent the weekend hanging out with my friend Rhino, then Sunday night rolls around, and Stephanie and I decided to go eat at a place called Rhino. Anyhoos...

For starters, I had NO idea that they even served food here. I was a bit skeptical, 'cause I never really fancied this place to begin with (I even used to live directly across the street from it, and never ever went). I decided to order their hamburger, because nothing else on the menu seemed appealing.

Side note: As soon as our food came, i got up to reach to another table to get the pepper. The tablecloth was caught under my leg, and I nearly pulled both of our dinners off the table, and spilt my beer everywhere!

The first few bites were alright, but then the more I ate, the less impressed I was. It was very well done, which left no room for juiciness or flavor. I mean, it wasn't the worst thing I've ever had, but nothing to write home about...I also wasn't very hungry, so didn't really eat that much anyway.

In all honesty, we were originally supposed to go to the Beaconsfield for dinner, but when we got there, there was a big yellow sign on their front doors explaining that their liquor license had been suspended. Jerks.



STEPHANIE'S PLAIN (MEAT-AND-BUN ONLY) REVIEW:

The Rhino burger is a homemade burger, which I love, and mine was grilled to perfection. It was delectably juicy enough, but also dry enough so that it wasn't spitting at me when I chewed. I can't tell if it was Angus or Sirloin or any of that, but I can say that it was bursting with amazingly delicious hamburger flavour! I didn't want to stop eating it, I could've eaten that hamburger all night. The portion size was just right: enough to fill me up but not so much that i needed to unzip my pants!

The fries, however, could use some work.

- Stephanie

Spicy!

SADIE'S DINER & JUICE BAR
504 Adelaide Street West
Toronto, Ontario
416-777-2343


The other day I went to Sadie's Diner And Juice Bar for lunch. I met Justin and Lyndsey there and we all talked shit and ate. They both decided to get buritos - but obviously I got a burger!

The burger was really spicy! I love that! It was awesome how they cooked the jalapenos right on top - they leaked spicy juice all into the cheese. Mmmmmmm! The burger was perfectly cooked - not at all dry - which is how most veggie burgers turn out. I don't get to eat at Sadie's very often since I work such odd hours - so this burger was extra special.

FYI, Sadies have sort of wonky hours:
7:30am - 5:00pm Monday - Tuesday
7:30am - 10:00pm Wednesday - Friday
9:00am - 10:00pm Saturday
9:00am - 4:00pm Sunday

-Pare

Ann's Snack Bar

ANN'S SNACK BAR
1615 Memorial Drive
Atlanta, GA 30317


Ann's Snack Bar has been around for close to 40 years now. Somehow it took until early this year for me to even hear about it. From what I had heard it's comparable to the famous "Soup Nazi" that everyone remembers from "Seinfeld". She has rules posted that you must follow or she will get on your case. She is a sweet lady, and I did witness her getting on to a few people (one person didn't close the door behind them, another was leaning on the glass and the third talked on his cellphone).
Her 8 rules are:

Please do not...
1. Lay or lean on counter
2. Consume alcohol or smoke in snack bar
3. Sit or stand babies on counter
4. Illegally park in lot
5. Allow children to slide on rails
6. Stand at counter if seats are available
7. Curse in Snack Bar
8. No shoes - no shirt - no service

Overall, that's not too much to ask of anyone.

I had heard you can wait in line for hours before you can go inside to sit and order your food. I decided to show up around 11:15am to check this place out to hopefully avoid any long wait. I got there and there were already 4 people waiting on the patio. Once 11:30 hit, we walked in and each of us grabbed one of the eight stools at the bar and took a seat. "Miss Ann" then started at one end taking orders and once everyone's order was taken, she got to cooking. I decided to order the "World Famous Ghetto Burger". Her kitchen consist of an electric stove (not unlike one at your own home), 2 small flat top grills (one for meat, one for toasting buns), one deep fryer and a refrigerator (again, just like you have at home).

Once the food was almost ready, she served everyone their fries. She let's you season them the way you want them. She gives you salt, pepper and seasoning mix. Then you watch her build the burgers. This was a bun with ketchup, mustard, and mayo, followed by a layer of chili, then topped with 2 American cheese-covered patties with grilled onions that had been cooking on the burger for nearly the whole time the burger was cooking, and finally your bacon, lettuce and tomato. It comes to you already cut in half, served on a styrofoam plate, with a plastic fork and knife. This burger was huge, practically taking up the entire plate. I stared for a few minutes trying to figure out exactly how to eat this thing. Finally, opting for the fork and knife route. The burger was amazing, the seasoning, the juiciness, everything. I know it doesn't necessarily look fantastic, but trust me... it is.

All in all, if you're in the Atlanta area, go check it out. I'd advise getting there early or be prepared to wait in line. It's worth it. She's been rated by Citysearch as best hamburger in Atlanta in 2006 and 2007 and Best Burger in America in 2007 by the Wall Street Journal.

-Bobby!

ahahahahaha!

My friend Nathan Hazard is amazing! This was his halloween costume. So perfect!
He's got a delicious food blog as well. Check it out here!

SMOKIE MOUNTAIN BURGERS

MC CUTCHAN'S BRASS GRILL RESTAURANT
Fine Dining In The Smokies
710 Parkway (Highway 321)
Gatlinburg, Tennessee
865-463-4168


I spent the past few days down South in Gatlinburg, Tennessee for my friend's wedding. It's a beautiful, really fun place, with tons of touristy things to do, as well as homemade candy places everywhere and good restaurants - including Mc Cutchan's Brass Grill Restaurant. We were happily greeted by a man named Jim; who, upon checking out their website, is the owner!. He immediately struck up a conversation with us about his 41 month old son (when are you supposed to stop counting months?), and was convinced I was from New Orleans.

That aside, we were all hungry...

I was originally going to order the Smokie Mountain burger, but wasn't feeling the bacon. Instead, I got the Sirloin Steak burger with pepperjack cheese. What a treat! It was juicy, flavourful and the spiciness of the cheese was perfect! I wasn't a huge fan of the waffle fries, but who really cares?

I was completely satisfied, and pleasantly full.

If you ever happen to be in Gatlinburg for any reason, you should go to this sweet little pub. Surely Jim will be there to greet you as well, and tell you all about his kid....by then, perhaps he'd be 52 months? Ugggh....

Royal Avec Cheese - Paris!

McDONALDS
Paris, France


When I found out that I was going to Paris all I could think about was getting one of these under my belt! I know what you are thinking - ohh big deal - they mention it in Pulp Fiction or that it's just a name change blah blah.

But until you have one you can't say shit. This thing is the king of all McDonald burgers. Trust me I have eaten McDonalds in over 10 countries. In the Royal Avec Cheese they use real beef - hand packed stuff - not patties! And it was so fresh and hot, and larger than any McDonalds cheesburger here!

-Pare

Room service - London, UK

KENSINGTON HOTEL
109-113 Queen’s Gate, South Kensington
London, UK, SW7 5LR
+44 (0) 207 589 6300


After a long night of drinking pints at the local Dirty Dicks pub in the Kensignton area of London I developed quite the burger hunger! All day I was talking about burgers - and the time was soon coming. On my way up to my room I couldn't find my key to the room - so I had to go all the way back down to the front desk. Needless to say this wasn't helping my BHS (Burger Hunger Situation) - come on! I know you all have found yourselves in a serious BHS!

Anyway, I ended up ordering my burger downstairs while I waited for a new key. I got the key and went up to my room. In the elevator there was a couple visiting from Germany and they kept looking over at me everytime my stomach would groan! "Too much beer - not enough burgers" I mumbled.

10min later the burger arrived! I could hardly wait! I rushed it in to my bed and dug in! It was an odd burger - but tasted like heaven. As you can see from the photo - the burger was cut in half and on a long crusty bun. There was a two blend of melted cheese and red onions (I don't usually go for onions but at this point in the night I could care less). As a final attempt to Xzibitafy my burger I threw a few fries and the salad on there too!

- Pare