BURGER PRIEST
1636 Queen Street East
Toronto M4L 1G3
647-346-0617
Open Daily 11am-11pm
Here's the deal: Angela mentioned to me that she wanted to get hambloggerwithcheese fired up again and immediately I thought of The Burgers Priest. There's a couple of reasons why. First, Angela is a Toronto ex-pat living in San Francisco. Secondly, she hasn't eaten at TBP. Thirdly, it's by far Toronto's best burger.
So it's only fitting, that upon the return of hambloggerwithcheese, that The Burger's Priest gets to bat leadoff.
The Burger's Priest is somewhere between Shake Shack and an In and Out. It definitely leans toward more to the Shake Shack side of things (in fact, it's veggie burger is almost identical to the Shack veggie), but it somehow doesn't get pigeoned holed into the "wannabe" category that so many other food spots in Toronto get thrown into. Perhaps it's a combination of serving really good food and serving it consistently. TBP delivers a straight forward, well made burger, allowing it to shine in Toronto's fast food scene where quality often plays second fiddle to quantity.
Although, I'd like to think that the lynchpin to The Burgers Priest's success is due to their "unspoken" menu items. Consider them a darkhorse; often unknown to the majority of customers and definitely approached with buyer beware. Most people don't order these items, not because they aren't delicious but because of the sheer audacity and resolve it takes to tackle one of these enormous creations. If a cheeseburger is penance at The Burgers Priest, the secret menu items are self flagellation.
Introduce the Vatican. While not the most daunting of burger behemoth at TBP (that title belongs to the Tower of Babel), it is no walk in the park. The Vatican breaks down like this: a grilled cheese makes the top bun, followed by trimmings, beef patty, bun, trimmings, beef patty, condiments and then finally a grilled cheese for the bottom bun. It is as Kanye would say "fucking ridiculous".
Usually when creations like these are cobbled together, you're knee jerk reaction is to think "thisiswhyyourefat.com" and "gross". While the first thought is true, the second is entirely off base. Sure, the Vatican will most likely cause you to lose consciousness and gain 5 pounds instantly, but that's just the cost of doing business with God. The Vatican - in many ways like it's architectural namesake - does not disappoint. The combination of all the ingredients work together marvellously. RIght amount of cheese, right amount of meat, right amount of bun. For whatever reason, the Vatican does not feel too rich, which is ironic given it's name and composition. It's actually surprising how "doable" a burger like this really is. It speaks volumes about the quality and portion size of TBP's burgers. Try this at Dangerous Dan's, and I guarantee your large intestine and asshole would explode without fail. At TBP? You feel as if God himself is inside your belly.
This is why - in my books at least - The Burger Priest shines. They can serve you a plain ole cheeseburger and you'd be as happy as could be. Contrastingly they could serve you a Vatican, and you'd feel equally content and proud. Without hesitation, I will say that The Burgers Priest is definitely Toronto's gold standard when it comes to burgs and the rest of the pack has a lot of work to do if they want to topple the new king.
- Chenyip
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