Burger Review #21: P & L Burger

Photo by Andrew Hockridge

Date Visited: April 25, 2016
Location: Queen Street West (Permanently Closed)
BurgerTours Rating:7.65/10

Taste	Messiness	Price	Venue	Pluses
Great	Some Drip	$11-$15	Fast Food	Veggie, Gluten Free

Website

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Drew's Review

The Matty/Photo by Andrew Hockridge

The P & L Burger has been on our #TourList for nearly a year, and after much anticipation, we finally got around to trying this burger joint.

Opening in 2013, the P & L Burger has had quite the support from the Toronto burger community and gained a larger crowd by placing a win on the CMT show, “Burger Wars”. The P & L Burger is a side-venture off of a Parkdale restaurant, Parts and Labour, operating since 2010. The P & L location sits on Queen Street West, directly near a Burger’s Priest, Toma Burger Addiction and a now defunct Gangster Burger; interestingly enough, this is where 15% of Toronto’s top burger joints tend to operate. (And now we can say we’ve been to all 4.)

We entered the Queen Street West location on a day in late April, and as opposed to going in the early afternoon, we arrived shortly before the dinner rush. As soon as we walked in, I was pretty surprised to find the space really narrow. The dining area had very little seating room, and had bar stools up against the long, narrow wall, against a long narrow counter. It reminded of the Burger’s Priest at Queen and Coxwell because of how tight the space was for people to place an order, then wait, and wait, and then shuffle through some people to grab a seat (if there is one). Even so, you’re practically closer to other diners you don’t know than the ones you came in to eat with, which to me, I’m starting to grow a fear with.

We quickly glanced over the menu before making our decisions and I decided to go with the Matty. It looked very appetizing and in my opinion, I wasn’t going fully overboard. Maybe it was also because I wanted to say the Matty out loud. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯The Matty came with American cheese, pickles, onions, ketchup, mustard, and all of it placed in between two pressed buns, because that’s how I like my burgers. I ordered it as a combo with a side of French fries and a root beer. At this particular moment, I was thinking, “Andrew, why don’t you go all out and get something the ordinary Andrew would never order?” “Because Andrew, there’s a lot out there that you haven’t tried yet and I’m not sure if you will have an allergic reaction to it or not.” So I took the safe route. Once I placed my order, we grabbed a tall chair, facing a bare wall. In this setting, I think I’d rather be facing a bear wall instead of a bare wall.

After a few minutes of not hearing my order being called, I thought I was losing my hearing. But it turns out it was because it got rather noisy in there in seconds. And so I walked, aggressively, to the back where they hand out the burgers and waited a few minutes longer. By this time, Mark had already gotten his meal, so I was a little eager to get my burger and indulge. Not too soon later, my order was ready and I brought back to the table with me what looked like a grilled cheese sandwich/burger combo with all of the fillings on it. It looked messy, but I was determined to get this burger into my mouth, and it wasn’t going to be easy.

The 'Messy' Matty/Photo by Andrew Hockridge

The sandwich was already falling apart before I could take a bite, and most of the toppings ended up falling out of the burger entirely. The buns, which resembled toast, were thin and crispy, and after my first bite, it was a mouth full of delicious flavours. It was like having an original hamburger, and the only difference was that the buns were pressed on a grill and made it a little difficult to keep a hand on the toppings inside the burger.

The fries on the side were a tasty side option, and I highly recommend them when eating a burger.

Overall, P & L was a different experience for me in the sense that I really had a superior expectation about this joint, and somehow, left disappointed. The burger I had was definitely one to crave for and I would certainly get it again, but other than that, the Matty is just your typical hamburger with really no specialties about it. You keep being you, P & L, and maybe sometime in the future, I may get my sense of satisfactory burger cravings back.

6.8/10

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Mark's Review

I say we've ignored this joint on Queen West long enough. P & L burger has always been on our lists of places to visit, but we never seemed to force ourselves to step inside. After long months of waiting, P & L has finally been tagged by #BurgerTours.

We were immediately greeted as we walked in, but had no idea of what to order. They have a decent menu size, so I didn't feel overwhelmed looking over their selection. In the end, I ended up choosing The Castor. 

The Castor/ Photo by Mark Avila

This burger is a beast! Fully loaded with cheddar cheese, peameal bacon, crispy onions, lettuce, BBQ sauce, and spicy mayo. At a first glance, the presentation was a little sloppy, but the taste makes up for it. I was expecting the BBQ sauce and spicy mayo to clash, but they fused so well to create a balanced flavour of spice and tanginess.

There is really not much critique I can say about this burger, everything about it seemed almost perfect.

Overall, this meal was quite satisfying, and I would consider the Pastor to be a new favourite. Among the burger joints that we've visited on Queen West (west of Spadina), I say P & L is definitely one of, if not, the best.

8.5/10