LOOKING FOR A GREAT BURGER JOINT

[MISTER_C]

I know La Paryse is very good and eat there occasionally although it's a bit of a schlepp from Snowdon when I live.

DiLallo on St Jacques St near Atwater is good value for the bucks ($5 tax in for a tasty burger with double meat). Two of 'em make for a better meal for $10 than what $20 got me at m:burger which is grossly overprived.

B&M on Sherbooke has a decent and larger burger for $4.50

I'm just crazy about burgers.....I'd like to try a few new places to get some variety.

Ideas anybody?

[Aspiring Foodie]

Had a burger at Baton Rouge last night for the first time and was impressed! They can't do ribs anymore but they can do a pretty juicy burger. It was well grilled and tasty, nothing fancy, but worth the 10 bucks.

[MISTER_C]

You are 100% correct about Baton Rouge ribs. Years ago, the ribs at BR were the best....but they lost it completely. Elixor is the place I go to for ribs....they are tremendous. Burgers at BR are good, not great.

[RhondaB]

One of the first Irish pubs in Montreal that I visited, apart from the great beer, the Old Dublin's burgers reminded me of what I remember Kazooz's burgers used to taste like (& their fries were pretty good too). Has anyone been there recently? Last time I tried to go it was after 9:00 pm & the kitchen was closed.

[BLM]

I ate burgers at the Old Dublin around 3 years ago, & thought there were pretty good(among the better ones I've tasted). Apparently the building where the Old Dublin is located is going to be demolished. They're moving to 636 Cathcart during the summer.

[fedelst1]

I have been ruminating over this burger debate for some time, and realized that I totally forgot about mentioning The Bistro on the Avenue on Greene avenue in Westmount. Their burger is consistently very good. and reasonably priced for the hefty burger fries and salad they serve.

This is not a $5 burger, but then again, it is not overpriced for what you get. They are also licensed and have some decent beer available. Their $16 (or was it $17) Bird Bath Martini is one of the best Martini bargains in the city. The size of 2.5 large martinis, they are assured to provide the right effect. Go at happy hour, and the complementary bar food is a meal unto itself.

[swissfoodie]

I'm surprised that no one has yet to mention the fantastic little burgers and fries at Patati-patata...

[Maximilien]

sssshhhhh!

it's supposed to be my own little secret place.

[mzalce]

The biggest surprise I have had while ordering a burger is at JavaU Bistro at Westmouth. Normally I don't like chains for coffee or food, but it started raining and we needed shelter and a place to give lunch to my 3 year old. Since I was hungry I ordered the house burger, it comes with blue-cheese and grilled zucchini and red peppers. One of the best I have had in Montreal.

[Jujulelulu]

Try the burgers at Le faste Fou on la Plaze St-Hubert, they are really good. There's 10 different burgers, my favorite one is the Mexican burger, the Belgian fries are good too and if I remember right there's 3 choices of mayo...

[evildrgo]

All this talk about burgers leads me to one question...

Anyone remember the old Lafleurs recipe? I love their squish-em burgers and I was wondering if anyone in town still served them up in that style?

[RAMGOD]

MBGR (corner of Drummond and Maisoneuve). One of the funkiest new spots in town and all they serve are BURGERS! Three types-AAA, organic and kobe. Toppings limited only by your imagination and the fries are cooked in truffle oil. No dount, that is another gourmet burger joint, but the owner has done the concept extrenely well.

[eat2much]

Easy, if things are really busy they would have a constant supply of burgers going onto and coming off the grill at all times.

[BLM]

They only make their burgers one way(well-done).

[MISTER_C]

M:BRGR is one of the worst ripoffs in the city of Montreal. $8.75 gets you a burger of average size and average quality. They refused to cook it the way I like my burgers (juicy and flavorful). I should have walked out right then and there....it came overcooked with all the juices and flavor fried out of it and burnt on the outside. No fries, no slaw, no toppings, no nothing except a huge bill for 2 basic burgers that failed to satisfy me. Had I added any toppings, they really would have stabbed me. What a freakin' joke!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Compare to LA PARYSE where $7.50 gets you a huge delicious DOUBLE burger with every topping under the sun or DUNN'S who now makes their burgers with the delicious ETAIS UN FOIS recipe.....where $8.25 gets you a huge thick and juicy burger with fries and slaw. One burger at either of these fine establishments provided a better meal than two at M:BRGR.

Absolutely no comparion between B:BRGR and LA PARYSE or DUNN'S.

I would have to have my head examined to ever set foot in M:BRGR again!!!!

[Fritzy]

In the worst ripoffs in the city category: Renoir charges $25 for a very ordinary burger and fries!!!

[maisonbistro]

The fries are NOT cooked in truffle oil - whoever told you that? Do you know what you would pay for that? Plus truffle flavoured oil would not stand up well to constant re-use and the temp needed for proper french fry frying.

[Maximilien]

"and the fries are cooked in truffle oil."

funny.

[riboflavinjoe]

hahaha, cooked in truffle oil. you're a funny guy.

[maurice95]

Have you tried m:brgr on Drummond (old Eden location) yet? It is pricey but the burgers are great. It is owned by the owner of Moishes and has AAA and Kobe burgers.

check out the thread that have been going on here about it:

http://www.chowhound.com/topics/482025

[minno]

****be open minded****
I love this little place on Wolfe Street in the gay village...it's called resto aux village, order the deluxe...yummy by far the best burger...some have copied it but there's just something about this greesy spoon i love.
Description: medium burger served on a white bun nothing fancy, carmelized onions and sauteed mushrooms on one side then a touch of dijon and cream cheese on the other (great blend!) along side is a tin of house gravy (which they also use for their fabulous poutine...my favorite comfort food.) that you can either poor all over the deluxe, dip or dunk ....ahhhhh man the memories....yummy.....i am talking of the burger....
Frites Alors also does a good job for the less adventurous..... ;)

[maisonbistro]

OMG- you are a lifesaver. About 15 years ago, when I first lived downtown, I had a roomate who knew all the great spots in the village. He took he more than once to a little burger place, and I thought their burgers were the best ever. I kind of forgot about it for while, and then when I tried to find it again, I couldn't. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU>

YIPPPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

[minno]

YOU'RE SOOOO WELCOME!!!! That place was my 4 o'clock in the morning dive...
there's another spot that has the same feeling...it's really known for its breakfast i believe it's on notredame, the name is Quoi N'oeuf...enjoy!
:)

[killedwithkarate]

Resto du Village poutine is actually the best ever. It's got a much richer brown sauce and the fries are a lot chunkier than the average. Although la Banquaise and Ma'am Bolduc are fine and dandy, the weird 24/hr greasy spoon on Wolfe has my vote for #1 poutine!

[minno]

number 1 poutine ever!!!!

[rillettes]

Isn't Resto du Village the place where they have a great little pouding chomeur as well? Because, yeah, that place rocks.

[kpzoo]

For those who, like me, are intrigued and would like to try this place, here's the full contact info - the official name is slightly different:

Le Resto du Village
1310 Wolfe Street, Montreal, QC
514-524-5404
Open 24 hours!!

And a review at MontrealPoutine.com about halfway down the page here:
http://www.montrealpoutine.com/review...

[minno]

good looking out kpozoo...that's iniative!

[minno]

the menu is totally greesyspoon quebecois style...great easy eating. I agree with that statement it does rock. :P

[chilipepper]

Not close to Snowdon but I've had good burgers and fries at McKibbin's downtown.

[MISTER_C]

Been there.........not bad, but I've had better. Thanks.

[Kebab]

Ok I might get flamed to death but I like the burgers served at Thursdays (on Crescent) during brunch on sundays. For 9$ you get a real burger with bacon and cheese. The ingredients are good, the bun is warmed up in a pan with butter (from the looks of it) and the meet actually looks like freshly grounded meat and not like frozen patties I see everywhere. Plus for 9$ (last time i went) you get free orange juice, bread/pastries and fruits.

[C70]

no flame from me- I had one there about 2 months ago and it was indeed very enjoyable.

[carswell]

FYI, the most recent earlier discussion on the subject with links to several other earlier discussions: www.chowhound.com/topics/433917

[bomobob]

The Olde Orcharde Pube on Monklande does pretty good burgers. The rest of their food is pretty poor, but the burgers are really quite delicious.
I've heard Oxford Snack Bar is good too, but most everyone I know (including us) stopped going there due to the less than charming behaviour of the proprietor towards staff.

[C70]

Pube? lol

I had a rather dry burger at OO recently, but unfortunately I did ask for med-well. Make sure to ask for medium.

[kpzoo]

>>"I've heard Oxford Snack Bar is good too, but most everyone I know (including us) stopped going there due to the less than charming behaviour of the proprietor towards staff."

Interesting, I stopped going there due to the less than charming behaviour of the proprietor towards customers. ;-)

[bomobob]

Yeah, a real piece of work, that one.

3 of us were there on a sunny Sunday for breakfast, and the girl setting our table was so nice, commenting on the weather, asking how we were, when the tyrant suddenly storms up to her and screams, I mean screams, "I don't pay you to be friendly. Set the table and leave them alone!"
We walked out, never to return again.

[riboflavinjoe]

Yeah, and at Olde Orcharde Pube instead of toothpicks, they give you floss.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-Gq17...

pub becomes pube with me, magic magic e!

[MISTER_C]

Hey....Thanks for the great response so far, considering that I just started this thread yesterday. Can't wait to try some of these places.

I tried Copoli once.....it was huge, but I didn't like it at all. I remember something about the bun turning me off completely.

My fave all-time burger joint was I'll Etait Une Fois near McGill College St., but they went out of business about 15 years ago. Burgers there were about 1" thick, juicy, delicious and reasonably priced. Went there every week for years to satisfy my burger fix. Love to discover a joint that compares to that.

If it's at all possible to include addresses or location....would be appreciated.

Keep 'em coming.....I'm just crazy about great burgers.

[C70]

have you had the burger at cosmos? it's griddle-fried, but real beef and a greasy mess, in a good way.

[MISTER_C]

I've actually heard good things about Cosmo's and always wanted to try them, matter of fact I've got the hungries for some burgers right now and think I'll head over there today.

[bomobob]

If the burgers are as good as the breakfast, I'm there.

[C70]

get a burger with a fried egg on top! and report back!

[MISTER_C]

Had a serious hunger and ordered three burgers all dressed. They were good and price was unbelieveably low ($2.50 tax in). Obviously a no-frills type of place, small, eat at the counter which means go during off-hours. I would certainly go back. Thanks!!!!

[kpzoo]

But did you have the "pa-ta-tes" - my absolute favourite home fries in the city!

[kpzoo]

Scouring the Suburban for the weekly Chalet BBQ chicken dinner coupon (yes, I'm a Chalet coupon-clipper, cat's out of the bag) I stumbled across an item that may be of interest. Mike Cohen's column says that the owner of Dunn's deli has "secured the secret and delicious hamburger recipe from Il Etait Une Fois. It is now available at his four locations."

While the timing is a bit suspect (perhaps the owner is a Chowhound reader?) the burger-eating among us may want to check it out and report back....

http://www.thesuburban.com/content.jsp?ctid=1000266&cnid=1014567
- see "Chatting it up" near the bottom of the article

For Dunn's locations: http://www.dunnsfamous.com/

[BLM]

Yes, I also saw it. I was going to keep it quiet, until I try it at Dunn's.

[Moosemeat]

I am incredibly suspicious, but also, very intrigued. I might have to go to Dunns this week.

Thanks Kpzoo.

P.S. thanks for the response about the cooking classes as well.

[Chai Latte]

"Mike Cohen's column says that the owner of Dunn's deli has 'secured the secret and delicious hamburger recipe from Il Etait Une Fois. It is now available at his four locations.'"

I had a late lunch at Dunn's Deli (on Metcalfe below St. Catherine) on Wednesday. I ordered the Parisenne Burger plate (hamburger with mozzarella cheese and fried onions and mushrooms; side order of fries and coleslaw). I ordered the burger to be cooked to 'Medium' and it did arrive that way. The burger was tastier than usual, but it wasn't out of this world. Maybe the It Etat Une Fois recipe hasn't kicked in yet.

[MISTER_C]

Now that's what makes this site worthwhile. I'm going there as soon as I can get downtown. If I can rediscover what I miss so much that I used to get at Il Etait Une Fois.....I will be a very happy camper, indeed. Many thanks for bringing this to my attemtion.

[Chai Latte]

Well, I just had lunch at Dunn's Deli again. This time around, I ordered the Classic Cheeseburger plate (cheeseburger with fries and coleslaw on the side). I substituted the mozzarella with cheddar and ordered the burger to be made 'Medium.' The burger came out ok, but the cook didn't slap on the cheese until after the burger was done; as a result, the cheese was not melted.

I spoke to the waitress and questioned her regarding the use of the "Il Etait Une Fois" recipe for the hamburger, but she didn't know what I was talking about. I then explained about the newspaper write-up, about Il Etait Une Fois...etc. Her reply? "Oh, well, if it was written up in the paper, then we must be using that recipe now!" She was nice and friendly, but not exactly knowledgeable.

Anyway, to the cheeseburger itself. It was tasty, but it would have been better if the cheese was melted. The burger was nice and juicy, and cooked to Medium as requested. Though it did arrive warm and not hot (probably not the cook's fault and more of a server issue; it was lunch time, and they were getting the lunch crowd).

I've never eaten at 'Il Etait Une Fois", so I have no basis for comparison. Still, it was a good burger, and if you're in the downtown core, craving a burger and not wanting to pay for the more expensive burgers at 'M:Burger', than Dunn's Deli is a good alternative.

[MISTER_C]

ATE AT DUNN'S LAST NIGHT.....

Had 2 classic burgers just like I used to at Il Etais Une Fois. Comes with fries, slaw and dill.

Tasted like the real McCoy. They've got the recipe all right. I am very happy. I will be eating there regularly.

[fedelst1]

It is clear that Mike Cohen is either full of it, or Dunn's is not true to Vern's recipe. Vern used to serve an honest to goodness decent burger at Il Etait un Fois, now Pizziolle on McGill St. Vern understood that you should handle your meat as little as possible, and make the patties to order from fresh ground chuck.

What I experienced today, had nothing to do with Verns recipe. The burger was served gray and almost looking microwaved. The patty was far smaller then Verns, and was compacted, unlike the way the Il Etait un Fois burger would crumble. It was not juicy, but greasy, I ordered medium, this was cooked through with the same gray nastiness as the outside.

The worst was that this was not all muscle. There was a distinct taste of organ meat in the burger. Either this was heart or some kidney in there, whatever it was it was NASTY.

To call this anything to do with Verns Il Etait un Fois burger is misleading at best. I would take Mr. Steer any day. And at $12.50 tax in. It was a hair away from the $13.54 (Tax In) for an M:Bgr Lunch box, or Mr. Steer.

Elliot you should be ashamed of yourself. Stick to Smoked meat.

[MISTER_C]

Can you give me addresses for both? Couldn't find them in the phone book. I'll try Oxford even though the proprietor sounds like a bit of a schmuck. If he gives me attitude, he'll get attitude right back, lol.

[bomobob]

She.

[MISTER_C]

Do you have an address for the Oxford?

[C70]

5630, Sherbrooke W. corner Oxford

[BLM]

Their location on Ste-Catherine is it still in operation or not?

[Aspiring Foodie]

If you're ever in Verdun, La Garage makes what I consider the best burger for the buck. Prices never go above 10 dollars or so (tax an tip not included, of course) and you get a charbroiled burger made with quality ingredients, a big plate of fries and nice ambiance as well. If it's important to you, I have to add that I consider the service to be pretty good (once, when I did not eat my escargot appetizer, the waitress asked me if something was wrong and removed it from my bill when I said I didn't care for it! That rarely happens.)

[MISTER_C]

I go to Verdun occasionally and tried looking it up in the phone book and found nothing. Can you give me an address? Thanks

[kpzoo]

I would guess it's this:

Garage Cafe
275 Rue Hickson
Verdun, QC H4G 2J7
514.768.4630

http://chefmoz.org/Canada/QC/Verdun/G...

Google is your friend. :-)

[MISTER_C]

Thanks

[Moosemeat]

Not too far from you (across from Vendome metro) is Copoli, who boast the city's largest burger. Though it is by no means the best burger in the city, I like it quite a bit. The burger itself is nothing special, but their home made buns are really good. As a bonus, I think they deliver to your area.

[carswell]

Please don't yell (all caps).

The lamb burger at L'Amère à boire on St-Denis south of Sherbrooke is great and you can order one of the city's greatest beers -- Cerna Hora, a Czech-style pilsner -- to wash it down with.

Meatmarket on St-Laurent near Mount-Royal makes a decent burger and very good fries (mixed potato and sweet potato).

Unfortunately for you, both are a schlep from Snowdon. When in that 'hood, I satisfy my burger cravings at Chez Benny, whose kefta on laffa leaves the city's other beef patties on bread in the dust (though, strictly speaking, a hamburger it ain't).

[moh]

"Meatmarket on St-Laurent near Mount-Royal makes a decent burger and very good fries (mixed potato and sweet potato)."

Happened to be in the neighbourhood, we were going to try to eat at Robin des Bois, but it has moved, so we decided to try Meatmarket instead. I had the burger and fries, and I was a bit disappointed. Bun was a bit too toasty and crunchy, but ok. Meat was a bit boring, but ok. Toppings were ok. It was a good burger, but I started dreaming about the Burger Joint in NYC again... I'd eat the burger again, but I wouldn't rave about it. As for the fries, I liked the mayo that came with them. But I found myself picking out the regular fries and ignoring the sweet potato fries. It may be that I am not a fan of sweet potato fries, which is strange, as I love sweet potato everything else (oh dear Miss Louise! How I miss your fine sweet potato pie...) and I love fried foods.

I also think I tend to like juicier burgers.

[carswell]

«It was a good burger, but I started dreaming about the Burger Joint in NYC again... I'd eat the burger again, but I wouldn't rave about it.»

Nor would I. Decent is as far as I go, which for Montreal it is. (La Paryse's paradigmatic Montreal burger, the one people do rave about, is a pretty good fried beef patty sandwich but not a decent burger, IMHO of course.) Juicy is good -- and my one Meatmarket burger wasn't dry -- but hard to get with the current "cook it till it's grey inside" trend.

Strange about the fries. A few specific dishes aside (e.g. sweet potato soup with jalapeños and lime cream), I'm not a fan of the tubers. But I quite like 'em French-fried.