I'm eating nothing right now. Post count plus one!
Ohhhhhhhh what a rebel.
I'll be getting a drink soon. That should count, right?
Okay no, seriously though:
I had tried Big Smoke Burger the other day. I like how they offered to swap out a beef patty with something else. Saw lamb was an option; I can't turn down lamb
ever, and I've never had lamb between two buns in my life so I have more than a handful of excuses to comply with the addtional fee of $2.59 to make the change.
With that out of the way, it was time to decide on what pre-set sandwich to have (it ain't a Harvey's where you pick out your toppings). Usually I'm down for anything spicy in the western food industry, because eateries that comply to western folks here in North America have typically been soft (no offense, guys). Authentic Caribbean, South Asian and Chinese cuisine can go really spicy, and that's been the margin I would consider "spicy" at all. In spite of that, I still have hope that North Americans are slowly building more tolerance to foods outside their comfort level, so the Spicy Burger on Big Smoke's menu was automatically a candidate. But given that I was set on lamb, I ultimately decided on the Craft Burger for it includes rosemary in the toppings. I don't recall there being a burger that sold you solely on the sheer variety of toppings it had, but the Craft Burger had sautéed mushrooms, rosemary garlic mayo, lettuce & tomato.
The patty.. was nasty... Nasty as in messy.. messy as in "it's so juicy it can't contain itself". When you have a crappy burger, the meat is dry; there's no liquid fats. With this patty however, squeezing the whole burger will squeeze the juices out. That distinct smell of lamb with the rosemary was as expected. Lettuce and tomato help balance the rich flavour of the meat and mushrooms. The mayo does a great job blending with the meat. I think it helps create a false sensation of the burger melting in your mouth. One could argue a burger needs ketchup and mustard, but I think K&M, which we associate with being a cheap condiment, would've ruined the burger's class. Simply put, I enjoyed it. Probably more than Hero Burger, and Five Guy's. I'd have to revisit Burger's Priest for another try to have a say on this comparison.
Aside from the burger, I tacked on a side of their onion rings and a
Boylan's (bottle of soda). Figured I may as well try everything that's new to me. Maybe it was the location, but onion rings alone were $4.20, the drink was $2.59, but if I got a side + a Boylan's it was $5-something. Talk about a monopoly. The soda itself is not relevant to what is now a review of Big Smoke, but the onion rings were thick. My order had rings cut at a width of almost an inch (includes the batter) with a diameter about 5 inches. They used a breaded batter which held its shape, but like most onion rings, the onion itself didn't stick as well to the batter as I hoped.
Total bill: $18.00 flat; burger, rings and a drink. Goodness me, that's two McDonalds combos. Is it worth it? Unless you're a cheap wannabe food elitist like my dad, you'll probably find reasons to justify spending that much for a burger. Don't know about the sides though.
Their signature burgers are $7.99 alone. Expect to spend at least $6 for any entree.
I'd revisit it again.
And loving every minute of it.
