Burger Review #15: Jackson's Burger

Photo by Andrew Hockridge

Date Visited: August 10, 2015
Location: Yonge & Dundas
BurgerTours Rating: 6.1/10

Taste	Messiness	Price	Venue	Pluses
Good	Messy	$6-$10	Fast Food	Veggie, Gluten Free

Website

---

Drew's Review

The Burgerziki with Onion Rings/Photo by Andrew Hockridge

The one thing about Jackson’s Burger is that they are quite active on social media. Posting images of their burgers to Instagram daily, and updating statuses on Twitter and Facebook constantly is one way to draw customers. And that is the very reason why #BurgerTours stumbled across it.

It was through Instagram where the people at Jackson’s Burger interacted with us and commented on one of our photos, and we felt the need to take it upon them and give their burgers a try. I don’t know about you, but it seemed like they were calling us out.

Screengrab of Instagram comments

We decided to go in early August, right after the lunch rush one day and as we entered the joint at Yonge Street, just south of Gerrard, the place was dead. Literally. The only person we saw was the guy working the grill, who gave us no more than a nod as we walked in. It felt like it was closed or just about to close, even though it was only 2 in the afternoon. During this time, Mark and I were able to glance over the menu and decide what to order.

Jackson’s Burger offers a wide selection of burgers to choose from; signature classic burgers or a unique creation which they call “for international lovers.” Each of the burgers on the International menu seemed very appetizing and quite unique, so I was leaning towards getting one of them. The two that stood out for me were the Burgersake and Burgerziki. The Burgersake had battered cod fish on it and sampled ingredients from Japan, while the Burgerziki had a hand-chopped chicken breast and sampled toppings from Greece. I gave one final look before I had in mind what I was going to order.

Photo by Andrew Hockridge

The guy gave a call to the back and then a server quickly came out to take our orders. I went with the Burgerziki as I wanted to try a burger with tzatziki on it. With a quick purchase, we grabbed a table at the back of the joint and waited for our burgers to be made. Within about ten minutes, the waitress/server comes over to our table with the burgers in hand and hands us our meals. She then offers to get our drinks which were in the Coke fridge this entire time while we were waiting, but it wasn’t too much of a hassle.

Giving a look at the burger as I unwrapped the foil, I was alarmed to find the tzatziki dressing and the chicken breast all over the place. In other words, I knew this was going to be a messy meal. So I prepared myself with extra napkins. My first bite I took brought to my attention how similar it was to a chicken gyro or souvalaki. But having it placed between to buns really surprised me. The buns were soft, but nothing special. The meat was chewy but the burger in whole was covered in tzatziki sauce, so it really didn’t allow me to distinguish the flavour of the chicken.

To go along with my Burgerziki, I ordered a side of onion rings to compliment the burger, as I knew Mark had gone with the fries. They were crispy but were lacking flavour. And to be honest, I really didn’t want to finish them.

Overall, Jackson’s Burger didn’t live up to my expectations. I was honestly looking forward to their hand-crafted signature burgers, but I was little dissatisfied when it came to the overall taste of the Burgerziki. Jackson’s Burger has quite the selection of burgers to choose from, but sometimes ingredients that someone thinks should be on a burger doesn’t quite necessarily mean it has to be on a burger. We’ve reached a point in the burger world where quality is greater than quantity and most of the time, less is more. But when a certain place lacks the quality, they fail to meet the requirements of running a well-established burger joint.

That being said, the chicken breast and tzatziki should stay in a gyro and not between two buns. So maybe, if I ever return though, I’ll try their beef burgers and maybe then, my judgement will change.

5.2/10

---

Mark's Review

The Burgogie/Photo by Mark Avila

Located just south of Yonge & Gerrard, this burger joint was a total surprise. It's a small joint, but with a lot of character. The interior was plastered with their entire menu from their sandwiches to the burgers. You will definitely not be lost when making your decision.

Browsing through their online menu I was immediately drawn to the 'International Lovers' section. The 'International Lovers' are burgers inspired from different foods from countries around the world. With a pretty decent list of eight countries to choose from (Canada, United States, Japan, Greece, Italy, Mexico, Switzerland, and Poland), you will definitely enjoy a burger with a 'international' flare. I was torn between the 'Burgersake' or the 'Burogie'. As much as I would have loved to try a Japanese fusion burger on my first visit, it would have to wait for the second. I decided to go for the Burogie.

The Daily Specials/Photo by Andrew Hockridge

'The Burogie', a spinoff from the Polish dumpling, Pierogi, is a burger full of flavour and crunch, but gave mixed reactions. A small burger loaded with lettuce, pickles, sour cream, coleslaw, and potato latkes, you would expect an explosion of flavour right from the first bite, but that was not the case. I was underwhelmed by the lack of flavour from the burger itself. I wasn't expecting it to taste like an actual Pirogi, but I was hoping it would give off a distinctive taste. It tasted like your usual burger with an overpowering taste from the coleslaw. Looking back, the coleslaw was all I could taste. I got no taste from the potato latkes; all I got from it was the crunch.

Overall, it was a decent burger, but I would have liked to have gotten more flavour and that authentic experience of eating a Pirogi. It was definitely a satisfying visit, and this joint is definitely a go to if your in the area. I'll be looking forward to my second visit soon! And maybe I'll give the Burgersake a try next time.

7/10