Burger Review #36: Woody's Burgers

Photo by Mark Avila

Date Visited: March 27, 2018
Location: Long Branch 
BurgerTours Rating: 8.7/10

Taste	Messiness	Price	Venue	Pluses
Excellent	Messy	$11-$15	Restaurant, Bar	Patio, Liquor

Website
 

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Drew's Review

Photo by Andrew Hockridge

South Etobicoke has a long history as a destination to grab an old-school burger with all the classic fixings. These days, the restaurants serving up unique burgers are greater than ever and include made in-house premium beef and custom meat blends, and a variety of grilling techniques, including the use of Canadian hardwood.

One of those places is Woody’s, a small place just off of Brown’s Line in Etobicoke. Woody’s has been serving up burgers since 2009 – before the major burger craze hit the GTA. And it may have been around for a while, but Woody’s is still cooking up a storm in the present day and its burgers are more reflective of Toronto’s old burger scene than what we’ve got now.

They’ve got a small seating area, and a fairly large patio for when the weather’s nice. They sell a number of different types of burgers (turkey, chicken, bison, etc), including a bunch of customized burgers with names like Coronary, Tokyo, and California.

When we entered the joint in the early evening in March, we were a little surprised to see how small it was. Very limited seating so if it's busy, takeout might be best. They advertise a twenty-minute wait for their burgers, and they weren’t kidding. “We’re not fast food,” the menu boasts, “we’re good food.” Umm… I guess?

Boom Burger/Photo by Andrew Hockridge

We both placed our orders, was given a pager that would go off when our orders were ready and sat down. I wasn’t looking at the time, but I’m pretty sure it was about twenty minutes before the pager lit up and started vibrating. We turned in the pagers and went to go request our toppings from behind the glass. I went with the Boom Burger topped with pulled pork, jalapeño, smoked gouda, fried onions, chipotle mayo and smoked ketchup. As a combo with a milkshake and fries, it came out to about $15.

The burger wasn’t bad. It’s a meatloaf burger and they definitely aren’t shy with the seasonings. There’s zero beefy flavour here; most of flavour came from the pulled pork which was a nice addition to this type of burger. The beef itself was lacking in flavour but had a nice texture that was devoid of the sausage-like chewiness that some meatloaf burgers tend to have. The well-done burger also retained a decent amount of juiciness, even if it wasn’t exactly the juiciest burger I’ve had.

Golden French Fries/Photo by Andrew Hockridge

As for the fries, they were a tad under-cooked and dry, but were otherwise pretty tasty. They had some kind of seasoned salt on them, which was sparingly applied (unlike, say, at Five Guys) and which definitely complimented the fries quite well. It's no surprise considering how they're made. Everything, from the burgers to the salad dressing is made in-house at Woody's daily. No Processed ingredients are used. In fact, their meat comes from local farm raised cattle and each 7oz burger is hand pressed daily. But what makes Woody's truly distinctive is the use of wood burning grills.

Overall, Woody’s has amazing, great-tasting burgers and many options for customization. It’s a fairly small place so come prepared to wait. Come with an appetite as the burgers and toppings are large. The prices are also reflective of all the stuff you put on your burger which is definitely much better than any chain burger joint. It's a shame that Woody's is about a quarter of the way to Hamilton, because if they were closer to downtown, these guys would give Stockyards and the Burger's Priest a run for their money.

What are you waiting for?

8.4/10

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Mark's Review

Photo by Andrew Hockridge

It’s been a long while since we’ve been back to the west end of Toronto for a BurgerTour. We’re happy to be back and now tagging our 44th burger joint. For this tour, we visit Woody’s Burgers!

Located along Lakeshore at Long Branch, Woody’s specializes in grilling their burgers over Canadian hardwood, a distinctive taste that gives their burgers flavour and character. They pride themselves in using locally raised meat that are pressed in house daily, and guarantee premium quality and dining experience.

Woody’s has a broad menu ranging from the Classic Beef Burger to specialty burgers that are inspired from ingredients and flavours from around the world. Browsing through their menu as soon as we walked in, it wasn’t long before I made my decision.

Tokyo Beef Burger/Photo by Mark Avila

I opted for the Tokyo Beef Burger. It’s layered with pickled ginger, wasabi mayo, sautéed onions, and topped with my choice of additional pickles and red onions.

My initial first bite was met with the strong punch of the wasabi mayo. It definitely gave me that small taste of Japan, followed by the sautéed onions to ease the heat, and finally the pickled ginger to mellow out those strong flavours in my mouth. It was an interesting combination of heat, sweetness, and light tanginess that created a uniform taste of a burger inspired by flavours from East Asia. The beef patty was grilled close to perfection, good texture, and the smokiness from the grill was prevalent in almost every bite.

Overall, it was an excellent experience. From the food to the service, Woody’s is definitely a new favourite. So, if you ever find yourself in Etobicoke looking for a quick, yet satisfying meal, then Woody’s is the place to go!

9/10

Burger Review #35: Mini Moe's

Photo by Andrew Hockridge

Date Visited: February 23, 2018
Location: Wexford Heights
BurgerTours Rating: 7.1/10

Taste	Messiness	Price	Venue	Pluses
Great	Messy	$11-$15	Fast Food

Website
 

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Drew's Review

For this BurgerTours review, we return to Scarborough for another great tasting burger joint, Mini Moe’s Burgers, Fries and Funnel Cakes. Located on Lawrence Avenue East, this small dine-in fast food place offers burgers, fries, poutine, chicken sandwiches and even funnel cakes! The thing that stands out is that this has been awarded one of the best Halal burger places in Toronto by Halal Foodie. From the grinder to the grill, the burgers are never frozen and cooked fresh, fries are cut fresh and served with a sense of imagination, but let’s not forget, an all seasons-pass for funnel cakes.

Photo by Andrew Hockridge

Mini Moe’s started off as Big Moe’s, part of a chain of burger joints in and around the GTA, but just last year, after a renovation and an entire name and menu change, the place reopened in September under the name Mini Moe’s. Mini Moe’s is just like your average Big Moe’s in terms of preparation, but with additional options on the menu.

We arrived on a late afternoon in late February and there was hardly anybody in there, probably like one other diner. We walked up and looked at the menu. They have several different options, but the prices were getting to me. Their so called “Mini” which is a classic 5 oz. patty cheeseburger was $6. And some of their special creations were $10 including the Goomba, which has a double patty, beef strips and BBQ sauce, and the Cluck ‘N Moo, which has chicken strips stacked on a cheeseburger. So be prepared to have a little extra cash on hand if you want to fill your stomach.

Mini-er/Photo by Andrew Hockridge

I decided to go with the Mini-er which is the second option of the Mini cheeseburger trifecta. It was two 5oz. patties and topped the way I liked: lettuce, tomatoes, ketchup and relish. I also ordered a side of fries, a root beer and the funnel cake, which I asked to be made by the time we were leaving. They were very considerate when dealing with our orders.

Mark and I both headed towards the table to grab a seat. Within a few moments, our burgers were ready. The Mini-er looked like a very simple and plain double patty cheeseburger, but it was the taste of the meat that really brought me to admire this place. The meat was juicy and tender. There was very little flavour but a simple cheeseburger didn’t need additional seasoning or toppings. The buns were fresh and crunchy and mashed really nicely with the inner components. Overall, I was satisfied.
Upon leaving, we thanked them and picked up our funnel cake to take home. I had gotten it without the ice cream as I didn’t want it to melt, but after my first bite, it was extremely delicious. The funnel cake is one of my favourite desserts and Mini Moe’s does make an awesome funnel cake!

Overall, Mini Moe’s surprised me in not only being a simple burger place, but by offering items that you would never expect a burger joint in Scarborough to offer. The staff and the cooks were really friendly and welcoming and I would definitely return in a heartbeat. And I think it’s true of what they say from what Mini Moe’s offers: Big things come in small packages.

7.2/10

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Mark's Review

We take you back to Scarborough for this burger tour where we visit, Mini Moe’s. This joint hidden in the heart of Scarborough offers a variety of delectable meal options ranging from chicken sandwiches, burgers, and funnel cakes. Did I also mention that it’s halal! Mini Moe’s was on our radar for quite some time and tagging this joint was a long time coming.

It was a quiet lunch hour when we walked in, so we didn’t feel rushed browsing through the menu before ordering. I decided to go for the Cluck n’ Moo.

The Cluck n' Moo/Photo by Mark Avila

The Cluck n’ Moo is a cheese burger layered with chicken strips and topped with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and relish. For a change, I had a side of sweet potato fries. My first bite was met by the nice crispiness of the chicken strips, which were complimented by the other flavours incorporated into the burger. There is nothing much else to say about the Cluck n’ Moo, it was decent. I definitely had better renditions, but I wouldn’t consider this as one of my favourites.

If there was one thing, however, the Funnel Cake was more satisfying than the burger. We got one to go topped with Strawberries, and it was surprisingly lighter than others I’ve had and not as sweet!

Mini Moe’s was a nice Scarborough find serving tasty burgers for a respectable price. It wouldn’t be my number one choice if I had to choose a favourite joint Scarborough, but overall it was a satisfying experience and will definitely be coming back.

7/10