| The start of the hunt for Vancouver's best burger
By Andrew Morrison - WE
Thursday, Feb 14, 2008
Vera’s Burger Shack’s
Joshua Carr shows you
his big meat (the G-Money
burger, that is). |
I’ve just come back from serving as a judge
at the Canadian Culinary Championships
in Toronto, scoring our country’s top chefs
as they squared off in several competitions.
It was a grueling three-day marathon, during
which time I ate nothing but the most carefully
constructed, meticulously considered,
and expertly plated dishes, from donuts made
of salt cod and skate, and miniature lobster
sandwiches dusted with bacon “powder,” to
smoked salmon coloured with basil “paint,”
and succulent king crab crusted with soy-flavoured
pop rocks.
|  |
Although I enjoyed the trip, I’m glad it’s
over, for in the week prior to my departure,
I’d been focusing on something far less fancypants
for this column: burgers.
In a parallel universe, there are people
who take burgers just as seriously as haute
cuisine, grading colour, juiciness, originality of condiments and accoutrements. I’d been
criss-crossing the city in search of a favourite,
bouncing from Feenie’s to White Spot and
all places in between. While I’ll revisit this
theme in the coming months, the first two
establishments I’d like to explore are of the somewhat middle-of-the-road variety: specialty
burger joints that are slightly above the
fast-food monopolies but under the gourmet.
Fatburger is an icon in this category. Any
food business that includes the word “fat” in
its name knows it’s catering to people who are
occasionally willing to let themselves
go, and I welcome their
encouragement. Dubbed “The
Last Great Hamburger Stand,”
Fatburger is a 55-year-old
American chain that has now
mushroomed into 93 locations
across southern and western
North America, and its brand
appeal is very strong.
The two locations in
Vancouver, one a wrist shot
from GM Place (111 Dunsmuir,
604 669-9640) and the other a
frisbee toss from English Bay
beach (1101 Denman, 604 689-
8858, Fatburger.com), are both
bright and garishly kitschy,
like fake ’50s diners pimped
out by Fonz wannabes. Even
though they emanate a fast-food aura with
oppressively bright lights, lame uniforms, and
the mingling smells of grease and industrial
cleaning fluids, their burgers are juicy and made to order. Unlike most fast-food joints,
they even have a tip box placed in a prominent
position by the cash register (whenever
a customer drops a coin in it, the cashier
yells out, “Fat tip!”).
I paid plenty for my combo meal: $15.16
after tax. Those more inclined to patronize
McDonald’s might scream “Rip-off!”, but I
felt like I got my money’s worth. My onet-hird-pound Fatburger with mustard, tomato,
onions, pickles, relish, mayo, cheese and
bacon was a monster. The lean beef was
splendidly juicy, the fries were hot and
crispy, the gravy full of quasi-meat flavour,
and the fountain soda — a Coke — was
huge. As a special promotion (just with this
particular combo), they added an identical
burger to my basket at no charge.
Despite the prefab vibe, all was perfectly
satisfactory, from the guilty-pleasure food
to the snappy counter service. Would I go
again? Absolutely. In fact, to measure consistency
I went twice on back-to-back nights.
Now, five days later, my memory is incapable
of distinguishing between the two experiences.
Despite the attractive pull and polish
of Fatburger, I’ll always have a softer spot
for Vera’s Burger Shack, my other mid-range
fave. The original location (now
closed) was just 100 yards from my house
in West Van, allowing for the occasional
beefy zephyr to perfume my office. There
are now eight locations to choose from in
Vancouver, and last week I hit up one of
the newest (1455 Broadway, 604 732-6238,
VerasBurgerShack.com). At Vera’s, it’s
always been about variety for me. There
are 16 different sandwiches on the menu,
from the classic six-ounce-patty Vera Burger
($5.29) and the “Cantor” with salami and
fried onions ($7.29), to the “Baja” with
guacamole, hot peppers, salsa, and shredded
cheddar ($7.99) and the double-patty,
double-cheese, double-mushroom “Frank”
($7.29). To test drive this location (which I
hadn’t visited before), I went for my mainstay“BBQ Burger,” a $7.99 treat with bacon, provolone,
and sweet barbeque sauce. The meat
had far more flavour than Fatburger and the
sauce had plenty of toothsome zing, but they
positively cooked the crap out of the bacon
this time around, causing me to peel the
strips off the bun and sadly toss them aside.
Vera’s might not have a jukebox subjecting
me to Bryan Adams (as was the case at
Fatburger), but the look isn’t contrived or
gaudy. The service was far more human, too
(they even let me change the channel from
TSN to CNN while I munched), and their
poutine ($4.99) is a must-have for gluttons:
the cheese curds weren’t too rubbery (they
actually softened and melted) and the gravy
was rich and piping hot.
So, Vera’s wins this first round. Next month
I’ll be pitting the east side’s Splitz (4242 Main,
604 875-9711, SplitzGrill.com) against the
west side’s Moderne Burger (2507 Broadway,
604 739-0005, ModerneBurger.com), the latter
of which is soon to reopen after a year’s
worth of renovations. I’m looking forward to
both, not least because soy pop rocks and
basil paint aren’t likely to make an appearance.
|
