The Burger Press - Queen and Bathurst

[downtownfoodie]

Anyone know if this place is open yet?

[ylsf]

So, anyone know when this place officially closed down? I walked by today and there was a sign written on the glass door saying they were closed for good. ...
Didn't re-read this thread but someone probably won the "I bet you this place is closed within 6 months" bet...

Sign on the other window says "Downstairs Deli" is coming soon...

[Pincus]

I know someone with a severe mushroom allergy who would die if they ate at this place. If the mushroom rumour is true.

[Davwud]

This place gets stranger IMHO.

Here's the machine they're forming their burgers with.
http://tiny.cc/1t3qfw

$500 for something completely unnecessary. I have a $2 burger maker that does as good a job. Guaranteed.

DT

[justxpete]

Isn't that a "burger press", for which the shop is named? (see above)

[Davwud]

Well ya. But why not just dish onto a griddle and smash flat with a spatula?? Having this stupid burger press is further reason to believe they have no idea what they're doing.

DT

[atomeyes]

no way.
the press injects flavour molecules through microcompression and metallic plaining.
that way, when the meat touches the grill, you have Flavour Implosion Technology at its finest.
sheesh, you n00b :)

[Davwud]

Damn. I guess I need to read more about sub-molecular-gastro-physiology. And to think, all this time I've been working on ways for taste to explode when clearly, I need to have taste implode!!

n00b is right.

DT

[atomeyes]

you're welcome.
now go buy that burger press!!! one for every room in your house.

[justxpete]

See http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/8484...

[disgusti]

who gives a hell what they're using to make these monstrosities, the fact of the matter is that pile of mush they're passing off as hamburger meat looks like something that fell out of my dogs bowl
i can think of about a dozen other ways to waste ten dollars at queen and bathurst

[atomeyes]

considering that I worked in Parkdale for a bit, i can't help but laugh at your above comment (and no, I'm not thinking of food)

[justxpete]

Exactly.

[GoodGravy]

You misspelled "bowel".

Anyone know what the ratio of meat to mushroom puree is? And what mushrooms do they use?

[ylsf]

haha,,, Good one...

I am actually tempted to try this place just to give my own honest review... Call me crazy.... But would prefer if someone else went first! The yelp review seemed to be posted by someone with a lot of reviews but I didn't look at his other reviews.

[atomeyes]

ok.
Crazy.

[justxpete]

I have to admit - after seeing that lump of brown... beef.. or whatever... in the picture, I'm slightly afraid to try it.

[jlunar]

I definitely have a "you first" approach, despite being literally around the corner from here... so easy, yet that scoop of beef made me not want to try... From a second coworker: their potato wedges were good! Burger was... meh.

[whittle]

Yelp critiques don't pass muster with the CH crowd; they're just ok- always to be taken with many tbsps of salt!

[T Long]

I think there are good and crap reviews on Yelp.....just like Chowhound in that respect.

[OTFOODIE]

You also have to wonder about the name. I have a hard time with places using names ridiculously similar to famous market leaders. How much closer to "Burger's Priest" do you think they could get? Not very.

[caleb542]

Hi, thanks for asking!
Burger Press is just finishing up its last minute preparations for opening. Look for us early June.
For those of you who are curious, new burger joint - Bathurst Street south of the old Big Bop building ... opening early June !

[justsayn]

Looked ready to open when I drove past yesterday. Any updates?

[Davwud]

Is this another "Smashed burger" place??

DT

[justsayn]

yep

[jamesm]

We were just talking about this place yesterday. A bucnh of people went down at lunch and the report is as follows. They uniformly agreed it was not good. The burger mixture looks like Subway sandwiches tuna and is distributed with an ice cream scoop into the burger press machine. The server also explained that the consistency is due to the fact that much of the 'burger' is a mushroom puree. They don't serve fries but potato wedges that were very similar to those you would find in the frozen food aisle in the grocery store. The take-away containers don't fit the larger burgers so everything ends up piled on top and smashed down with all the steam making the bun fall apart. No one had any plans on going back.

[justsayn]

head shake

[Davwud]

So much of this makes no sense.

DT

[justxpete]

You mean in that it wasn't any good, or just in general?

[Davwud]

Are you asking me?? I've never been.

It's just when I read things like "distributed with an ice cream scoop into the burger press machine" and "much of the 'burger' is a mushroom puree" it makes me wonder why anyone would bother with this place.
DT

[justsayn]

or bother opening it lol

[Davwud]

Ya really. I mean, it all just seems stupid.

DT

[jamesm]

I don't think they advertise the mushroom puree. The person who was told this by the server said afterwards that she felt like the server kind of let it slip more than anything.

[Davwud]

I would hope not. I mean, who would really want a burger that's full of mushroom puree??

DT

[GoodGravy]

Mushroom puree sounds dodgy for a place selling burgers by weight. The usual expectation is the burger is all meat and no fillers. As for the ice cream, scoop, that's not unusual for portion control. The $500 burger press IS unusual when a spatula does a perfectly good job of flattening the ball o' meat into a disc.

[justxpete]

I think you guys are being a bit nit-picky. Who cares what they're using? Maybe they like it for consistency. Maybe they like it for it's aesthetics. Maybe they use it because they like it. Who cares? Criticize the food by all means, but the equipment, in this context? It's a bit much.

[jamesm]

My reference to the ice cream scoop was more of a comment on the consistency and texture of the meat and the comparison to tuna at subway sandwiches. It does make sense for portion control and isn't a big deal unto itself.

And that's a good point about the mushroom puree being used as filler and selling it by weight.

[justxpete]

I was more referring to the burger press.

[OTFOODIE]

There's a place in Waterloo I've been taken to a couple of times, Harmony Lunch, a really old-school greasy-spoon diner.

http://harmonylunch.cedarcreek.ca/

They scoop out their meat mixture with an ice cream scoop onto a griddle and then smash it down with a spatula. Their meat is not beef, its pork. Once they're are mostly cooked, the meat patties are picked off the griddle with a fork into a huge pile of onions simmering on another part of the griddle. The standard burger comes smothered with onions. The burger is really quite unforgettable, except for the indigestion you might suffer afterwards. Some of my friends swear by the place.

[kwfoodiewannabe]

"indigestion" is a polite term for describing the feeling you will have hours after consuming a "Harmony slider"... nevertheless, a rite of passage for the locals here!

[justxpete]

"burger press"

[LexiFirefly]

I'm thinking they must like the flavour as generally mushrooms by the pound cost more than ground chuck. It doesn't sound appealing to me but it really doesn't make financial sense to use a filler that costs more does it?

[GoodGravy]

Adding any filler makes it something different from the usual burger whether it's breadcrumbs or foie gras. Maybe that's their play? The yelp review mentioned spicy ground chuck so maybe they have different mixes to differentiate them from everyone else. Maybe they're trying to beat people's expectations by doing things differently (order by weight, flavored fillers, etc.)

[Davwud]

Maybe it's just a stupid idea.

DT

[LexiFirefly]

I think it's dumb. I also really don't like mushrooms so I'll give this place a pass i think despite the fact i love burgers. They have however gotten a pretty big thread out of it so good for them?

[OTFOODIE]

Mushrooms give off water, so they would moisten the burger as they cooked. I like mushrooms with beef, so maybe it works, and I expect they will find a following. I can't see myself going out of the way to try them.

Also, I buy both mushrooms and medium ground beef for 2.99 these days.

[Strongbad789]

In Cooks Illustrated's attempt to make a better turkey burger, they eventually settled on mixing chopped raw white mushrooms into the meat which (according to them) provided three benefits: increasing tenderness, providing extra moisture, and boosting meatiness thanks to their high level of glutamates. I suspect it's the same idea here.

[jamesm]

Turkey needs to have tenderness increased, more moisture and meatiness. Good beef should already have those qualities so trying to add them with mushroom puree shouldn't be necessary.

[LexiFirefly]

Med ground beef isn't chuck unless it's advertised. If you are getting chuck for that much I'd like to know where!!!! I know a lot of people who spend the extra for mushrooms on their burger, I just don't do it. I'll wait to see if justsayin likes it! :)

[justsayn]

Hey Lex, I've been travelling for a short bit. Just getting caught up on the board now. The mushroom kind of spooks me, but it is so near where I work/live that I will try it out for sure. I had a friend visiting and he heard all about BP so I took him for lunch. He ordered the double cheeseburger and fries. I didn't say a word to him because I didn't want to "bring down" his experience. I had a double with no cheese. My buddy didn't think too much of it at all and I decided once and for all to never go back. It does not come close to the Johnny Rockets I used to love in LA and Chicago. It is missing the tasty crust and grilled flavour. It is just crumbed beef in my opinion.

[justsayn]

I got up the courage and we walked over for dinner. The place was closed at 6:30. No hours posted anywhere. They lost our business for another month.

[jlunar]

It's open! One of my coworkers had lunch here on Thursday.

[ylsf]

What did your co-worker think? I am really curious now... Sounds like a weird concept and the raw "meat" picture from the review at yelp looks pretty gross (even for raw "meat"... guess that is the mushroom puree mixed in) : http://www.yelp.ca/biz_photos/uqbBs0k...

Maybe they will find a market for it....

[jlunar]

Co-worker said is was "okay" which didn't lead me to rush around the corner and get my own. I don't know if I can't take one for Team CH and test the meaty waters...