Bison Burgers?

[JulieVR]

Does anyone have favorite places that serve up bison burgers in Calgary?

[JulieVR]

OK, I just got back from Redwater Grille, best bison burger I believe I've ever had... and a great deal at $13 including a mixed greens salad or yam fries.

[ByeByeBaby]

Aargh! I was going to go there for lunch today. Damnit.

Also serving bison burgers is the Bear and Kilt pub just down the street from the James Joyce on Stephen Ave. Unfortunately, like most places already mentioned, the bison burgers are as Canadian as hockey pucks. The rest of the menu is pretty solid; the beef dip is one of my favourites in town and the fries are totally awesome; crispy and thin. Service suffers at lunch, but hey, it's downtown -- what do you expect. I really like the pub atmosphere (esp. now that it's non-smoking - yay!) which feels a lot more authentic than the Joyce's Diageo Shop-Style Pub #4 decor. (Seriously: http://www.irishpubconcept.com/why/de...)

I also saw bison burger (frozen) in the North Hill Safeway meat department this evening. Probably one of the better ways to get a bison burger, and I'd wager that mixing in a couple of slices of ground up bacon would make the whole thing carnivore heaven.

[alex8alot]

YOu can also buy frozen ground bison at Blush Lane at the market to make your own patties if you are inspired. There is another bison vendor at the market, on the other side, but I have forgotten the name. I just autormatically stock up on chicken and bison at Blush Lane.

[bohunk]

My recommends for bison is buying it from the source.

I buy from CRM Ranch. It's the O'Connors family who also own (and supply) Cilantro, Buffalo Mountain Lodge, Deer Lake Lodge, etc. We phone up and order one of their value packs and fill the freezer with meat. It's nice when you phone and actually get to talk to Dr. Terry Church, the ranch's vet! We pay by Visa and then they drop off our box-o-meat off at Cilantro's for pick up. Burgers are good, roasts are awesome, ground bison makes great pasta sauces....

http://www.crmr.com/ranch

Way less expensive than some of the other buffalo I've seen around town.

[yen]

Thanks for this excellent suggestion! The prices look awesome.

[alex8alot]

Do you know if there is a minimum order? My freezer gets clogged on a weekly basis with baby food, but I love the idea of this great sounding bison being at hand.

[bohunk]

I honestly don't know if there's a minimum order. We always buy one of the bigger packages because we have an enormous deep freeze that needs to be filled — baby food is in the upstairs freezer ;)

[alex8alot]

thanks. Yes, I am angling, hinting and will soon start pleading for a deep freeze in the basement. I am definitely going to look into your rec

[yen]

I just called them, and they hummed a little bit before telling me no minimum order, especially if i go to the ranch to pick it up. They did imply that a "reasonable" amount be ordered if they deliver to Cilantro.

[ureviewcalgary]

Yen is correct in writing about the lack of fat in Bison making it dry out. I haven't had a decent Bison burger in a restaurant...but I did buy some Bison patties from Venture/Heaslip Meats on McLeod Trail this past weekend and they were really good on the BBQ. Give 'em a try!

[bohunk]

Wait, I forgot about Wildwood Grill (pub). They do a very nice Bison burger. Although the lamb burger is even better.

[John Manzo]

Lamb burgers- yum- I had one at James Joyce... burgers need some fat, which as already iterated is why bison doesn't make the best burger. We have some duck burgers with foie gras inside in our freezer waiting for the right time to cook 'em!

[yen]

Julie,

There's lots of places that serve up Bison Burgers, but none of them (in my memory) do it right.

The problem with Bison is that because it is so lean, when cooked to well done, it tastes like a hockey puck. You need to go someplace that grinds their own bison from a muscle cut, and is able to cook the burger to medium rare, or medium at worst. Most places get "preformed" bison patties, which usually come from a mystery selection of Bison. And thus, i wouldnt recommend it. Cooked to well done, you'd be better off with beef.

[marcopolo]

Both The Buffalo Cafe and Ironwood Stage and Grill do them in Inglewood as well. They're ok there as well (nothing special), ha ha.

[bohunk]

Burger Inn does them. They're ok there (nothing special).