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| Photo by Andrew Hockridge |
Location: St. Lawrence Market
BurgerTours Rating: 8.75/10
| Taste | Messiness | Price | Venue | Pluses |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Awesome | Some Drip | $11-$15 | Restaurant | Veggie, Gluten Free, Liquor |
Website
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| Photo by Andrew Hockridge |
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| Photo by Andrew Hockridge |
It became that time of month again for us to do a #BurgerTour and we originally had two places in mind. We just happened to be downtown the day of so there wasn’t too much hesitation with which one we decided to go to. We decided upon the St. Lawrence Market location on a Tuesday right before the holiday break. Mark and I got Scott to tag along for this one, and as you'll see below, he wrote up a separate review too. It was late in the afternoon, so there wasn’t too big of a crowd dining at the time. We arrived after spending the majority of the day walking downtown and thought a burger joint might do us well this time of day.
When we entered, the waitress kindly gave us an option of the seating available to us and suggested we take the window seat so we could observe the St. Lawrence crowd. I had no problem with this as we were going to be on display in a window, almost advertising The Works and their burgers for the public. It felt like we were test subjects trying these delicious burgers with the odd person staring at us every now and then.
After receiving our menus, the three of us scan it until we decided on something that looked interesting to try. That’s the thing with this place: because there are countless options, you really have to narrow down exactly what you’re craving. Every burger I was looking at had obscure toppings and even stranger names. Who has ever heard of a Reese Peanut Butter Cup burger? Well, The Works has that!
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| Gettin' Piggy With It/Photo by Andrew Hockridge |
There was also cheddar cheese and crunchy onion strings on there as well, but all of it got lost within the overpowering taste of bacon. Now, I’m a bacon lover and enjoy the crisp smell of bacon in the morning, but this was just excessive. It was lacking a consistency of flavour, and could have substituted a few bacon flavours for lettuce, tomatoes or more cheese. In retrospect, the overwhelming taste of bacon was too much. I enjoyed it, but not to the point of satisfaction.
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| Sprite in a measuring cup/Photo by Andrew Hockridge |
The Works prides itself in being a genuine burger crafter, offering 50+ burgers on its menu. And maybe I just happened to stumble upon the wrong burger for me and my taste buds. I hope to travel back one day and dine in with a chance to redeem my perspective. Until then, I hope The Works continues to do what they love doing, and that’s satisfying plenty of burger lovers in the city.
8.0/10
Mark's Review
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| 'The Works'/Photo by Mark Avila |
This location near the St. Lawrence Market I occasionally walked by whenever I’m in the area, but was never really intrigued by it to actually walk inside and dine in. This particular day we happen to be spontaneously roaming around downtown and decided to stop by and grab some dinner. And thank goodness we did! The restaurant itself didn’t look so big from the outside, but to my surprise the interior was quite spacious, and not to mention the rooftop patio which would have been a perfect place to dine had we visited in the summer.
I always love it when a Burger Joint has a large and selective menu, and the Works didn’t disappoint in this category. I was pleased to see a decent selection on their online menu, but was thrilled and quite overwhelmed at the even bigger selection they had in their menu at the restaurant.
Despite the large selection, I took no time on choosing ‘the Malibu Meltdown’, and a price of $14.96; a worthy price for an outstanding burger. Even the waitress commented that it was a good choice. She mentioned that it was a popular burger amongst the staff and customers. So, I definitely had my expectations high with this one.
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| 'The Malibu Meltdown/Photo by Mark Avila |
The Malibu Meltdown is layered with three different cheeses (Havarti, Gouda, and Brie), slathered with Beechhouse sauce, and topped with an O-Ring. You also get an option of choosing one out of their nine gourmet patties (Beef, Elk, Bacon & Beef, Chicken, Turkey, Veggie, Portabello Mushroom Cap, and Crispy Chicken), all of which are “grilled to perfection”. Seeing the Elk meat option, I was not inclined to say yes! This was the first time I’ve eaten Elk meat, so I was looking forward to tasting something new and flavourful.
I was expecting this burger to be heavy on the stomach since there are three cheeses layered on top of one another, but it surprisingly light, yet filling. The Brie definitely overpowered the Harvarti and Gouda as the overpowering flavour in the burger, but as a Brie lover, I didn’t mind at all. The three cheeses were melted perfectly creating a smooth texture when I took my first bite. I was happy not biting into brick which I had expected, knowing the cheeses would harden rather quickly.
The Elk patty was a pleasant surprise for my taste buds. At first, I was expecting it to be thick and heavy, but it was very soft and light, and exuded more flavour than the usual beef patty. I will definitely choose Elk meat as an alternative option when given another chance. Despite the extra charge I say it's definitely worth it.
Overall, the Malibu Meltdown is definitely a burger that is on the same level as the burgers from Toma Burger Addiction and Hole-E Burger. I would consider this one of the tastiest burgers I’ve ever had, maybe even THE tastiest.
It was a close and tough decision, but... my new #1 ~ is the Works!
A successful close to #BurgerTours 2015!
9.5/10
Scott's Review
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| The Juicy Lucy/Photo by Scott Uminga |
Aside from the view, the first thing I noticed was the lighting and atmosphere. Though the dining areas were brightly lit with warm and inviting orange hues, the overall restaurant lighting seemed dim (maybe because of the black-coloured walls?). The music seemed to be a mix of upbeat rock tunes from the 70s to the 90s. Our drinks were served in glass kitchen measuring cups, and the salt and pepper shakers were in the shape of lightbulbs. These small quirks made for a unique, memorable experience.
When it came to ordering a burger, we were given a long menu filled with dozens of gourmet burgers with a slew topping combinations and puns to go along with them. (The menus didn’t have any visual aids, so if that’s important to you I do recommend checking your mobile device or their website for pictures.) Although there are many options, the waitress still gave us the option to customize our choice of meat, bun, toppings, extra toppings, and sides, which is great for vegetarians or adventurous souls with a craving for lean elk meat.
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| Mustard and Ketchup/Photo by Andrew Hockridge |
I decided on the Juicy Lucy with a white bun, a cheese stuffed 8oz beef patty, lettuce, tomato, pickle, extra onions, with no mayo, and ginger ale and fries on the side. The fries were fantastic and coated with flavour: they were small and crispy, with just a light seasoning of salt. The burger was a good size, just enough to hold between your hands without dropping toppings or falling apart. The contrast of fresh veggies and warm, cheesy meat created a mouth watering sensation with each bite.
The price of the meal was fair for the quality of burger, service, and location. I would definitely go here again and try another selection from their limitless list of gourmet burgers. And I would recommend this place if you're with friends or on a date, especially if you like conversation and/or people-watching.
8.2/10
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