Burger Review #38: Shamrock Burgers

Photo by Andrew Hockridge

Date Visited: July 29, 2018
Location: Highland Creek
BurgerTours Rating: 7/10

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

Website
 

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Drew's Review

Photo by Andrew Hockridge

Craving a burger, and not in a drive-thru rush? If you’re in the area, try Shamrock. It’s a bit of drive, but if you live in the east end of Scarborough, it’s definitely one of the better burger joints out there.

Shamrock Burgers was established in 1970 by Mr. Danny Maleganeas, and has since grown to three locations (2 in Ontario, and 1 in Alberta). This place at first glance doesn’t look like much but when you walk in, the staff are super friendly and there are few places to sit. The place itself is a bright and clean, fast-casual atmosphere with a mixture of "rock and roll" and Irish themed décor.

Photo by Andrew Hockridge

When Mark and I walked in on a sunny summer day in late July, it was just after the dinner rush, but diners were still trinkling in. There were seats and tables to sit at, and we were eager to get a table. So we made our orders brief.

Now, the food...

Shamrock’s menu consists of homemade fast food items such as burgers, fries, prime rib steak on a bun, chicken wrap, poutine, chicken souvlaki, and much more. Their goal is to offer a "fun, friendly and interactive rock and roll experience coupled with great homemade food to their customers". Overall, they have stayed true to their initial principles of using quality ingredients, and providing fresh made-to-order meals.

I really enjoy their list of selections on the menu. Lots of tasty toppings, your choice of cheese and a saucy selection complement the standards. Can't decide between fries and rings? Don't! Go for frings!

Double-Decker Grilled Cheese Burger/Photo by Andrew Hockridge

I decided to go with the Double Decker Grilled Cheese, which was a massive beef patty between 2 grilled cheese sandwiches, 2 pieces of side bacon, red onion, romaine lettuce and tomato. The bread had a decent amount of thickness, so the ratio between the bread slices, and patty wasn't too bad. This was an overall tasty grilled cheese burger, and definitely filling. I also got a side a golden crispy fries and a Vanilla milkshake, because I was starving, clearly.

Overall, the food is crazy good. Not bad value for what they give you which is a huge burger. If you're a burger fan, or just craving burgers, this is a great place to go. The place does seem a little small and cramped and not that great of an atmosphere, but if you're there just for the food, it's amazing.

This place is well worth any drive you need to take to get there or bus if that is you only option. I am very jealous of the people in the neighborhood that have access to this all the time. But leave your conscience behind because you will be carrying lots of greasy calories out with you.

7.5/10

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Mark's Review

For this Burger Tour we take you to east Scarborough to the neighbourhood of Highland Creek, where we visit Shamrock Burgers. One of two locations in the GTA, Shamrock Burgers is known for delivering a unique burger experience starting from friendly service, to an “edgy and youthful rock alternative”, with quality ingredients and burgers.

The rock and roll theme populates their menu with the Classic Rock, Rock Star, and Famous Combos.

I opted for the Gaelic. Since Shamrock screams Ireland, might as well go for an Irish-inspired burger.

The Gaelic/Photo by Mark Avila

The Gaelic is layered with lettuce, tomato, sun-dried tomatoes, sautéed mushrooms, shamrock cheese sauce, and house made lemon-tarragon aioli. Unfortunately, the sun-dried tomatoes were not available.

The meat was juicy and sweet. The citrus from the lemon aioli contrasted with a smooth sour flavour. No flavour overpowered the other; it was a perfectly balanced burger.

Good experience and delicious offerings. Will definitely have to try their edgy rock and roll style burgers next time!

6.5/10

Burger Review #31: Cowboy Jack's Juicy Burgers

Photo by Andrew Hockridge

Date Visited: June 06, 2017
Location: Eglinton East (Permanently Closed)
BurgerTours Rating: 6.8/10

Taste	Messiness	Price	Venue	Pluses
Great	Some Drip	$11-$15	Restaurant	Veggie

Website
 

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Drew's Review

Photo by Andrew Hockridge

Howdy! For our 35th BurgerTour, we take you to the east end, Eglinton and McCowan to be exact, to dine at Cowboy Jack’s Juicy Burgers. Before Mark suggested it a day earlier, I had not heard of this joint, let a lone knew of its existence. I’m pretty familiar with Scarborough, but hearing about this one was a surprise. We treated this like any other BurgerTour and had no idea what to expect. I had done very little research on what they had to offer before the actual visit.

Photo by Andrew Hockridge

We decided to go on a day when we were both off during the second week of June. It was a Tuesday, and I wasn’t expecting much of a crowd. We entered the establishment a little after 11 in the morning, and not a single diner was to be seen. There we many tables to be sat at and it was very well decorated. Every wall was covered in a Western theme and really brought this joint to life.

We walked up to the counter and took a good hard look at their menu to decide what we were going to order. Every option sounded like it was going to be a good one and I was having a hard time decide. After a few minutes, I decided to go for the 5oz. Home Burger with a regular size Home Burger Poutine. I was fairly hungry but the poutine portion looked huge. I decided to save my appetite just for that.

5oz. Home Burger/Photo by Andrew Hockridge

Within a few minutes, our burgers were ready. My burger looked remarkably ready to be eaten. I was small, compact, but don’t let the size fool you. This burger was full of flavour. After the first bite, I was drooling over the taste of the meat. It was tender and juicy, and cooked well to perfection. The toppings were a nice addition and complemented the burger very well. I had ketchup and mayo on it, just like I do every time I have the chance to customize my toppings, and it mashed really nicely together with the other toppings, which were lettuce, tomatoes, pickles and onions.

Home Burger Poutine/Photo by Andrew Hockridge

The Home Burger Poutine was by far my favourite. Little chunks of burger thrown into fries, cheese curds and gravy is all I really needed. And the regular size was just enough. I was so full and satisfied that I still had a little poutine left over and took it home with me.

Overall, Cowboy Jack’s is a nice small place with great food at decent prices. What's not to like? It's delicious, fresh and high-quality food and it's a family run restaurant. The atmosphere is terrific with great Western touches but not enough to bother you. We experienced terrific service and overall, very friendly and welcoming. And these burgers are just dynamite. You can truly taste the difference that quality makes. Oh, and the Home Burger Poutine is a strong recommendation of mine.

7.6/10

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Mark's Review

Angus Beef Burger/Photo by Mark Avila

This BurgerTour takes us to east Scarborough where we visit a family run burger joint that is known for their use of natural ingredients, and fresh blends of herbs and spices. For this tour, we take you Cowboy Jack’s Juicy Burgers. They recognize themselves for offering preservative free burgers with no added artificial flavours.

We were the first customers of the day and were greeted with a nice welcome as soon as we walked in. The menu was simple with a traditional approach to home style burgers. They also had a vegetarian burger option, and additional offerings of sandwiches and wraps.

I chose the Angus Beef Burger with my own choice of lettuce, onions, pickles, tomatoes, ketchup, and mustard. It was nothing spectacular and tasted just like any other Angus Burger I’ve had in the past, but probably one of the best.

Overall, there is nothing much left to say other than the service and food were satisfactory.

6/10

Burger Review #25: Mama's Boys Burgers

Photo by Andrew Hockridge

Date Visited: September 26, 2016
Location: Birchmount Park
BurgerTours Rating: 7.5/10

Taste	Messiness	Price	Venue	Pluses
Good	Messy	$11-$15	Diner	Veggie, Patio

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Drew's Review

Signature Original Cheeseburger/Photo by Andrew Hockridge

When it came to selecting a burger joint for this month, Mark had a few places in mind and one of them was in our own backyard: Scarborough. The place we chose was Mama's Boys Burgers. The name of the joint was intriguing because anything with 'burger' in its name is worth trying and gives BurgerTours a hope of ambition.

Located in Scarborough at Warden and Danforth Road, this restaurant first operated as a Portuguese restaurant and moved to another location in 2011. That's when Mama's Boys swooped in and opened up a traditional Greek family-owned diner, perfect for families and locals.

Mama's Boys Burgers serves delicious, locally-grown, grass-fed, Angus beef burgers at affordable prices. They also have a selection of authentic Greek dishes on their menu includingp chicken and pork souvlaki and pitas and gyros. But what we came for were the hamburgers. And after doing some research, they appeared to be establishing themselves as Scarborough's go-to burger joint.

Mama's Boys has six burger options and countless toppings for your burger. Looking over the menu, I wasn't in for a huge meal and wanted to keep it simple, so I decided to go with the Signature Original Cheeseburger with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, bacon and relish. I also ordered a side of golden French fries along the side. They also offer milkshakes, but I opted for a can of root beer.

After placing our order and about a 10 minute wait, our burgers were ready. The burger looked decent enough to eat and was above average in cleanliness (no mess presented itself). The meat was thick and juicy and cooked well to perfection. The fries that came with the combo were golden, thick-cut wedges with a small cup of ketchup on the side.

The next few seconds were spent taking photos of our meals, shortly followed by us devouring the burgers like they hadn't got a family. The taste was alright, but lacked something and I didn't know what it was. The meat was a little dry for my tasting and their wasn't anything that stood out in terms of flavour. The fries were okay, but they didn't stand out. They were a nice complement to the burger, but next time I will probably settle for the poutine.

Overall, the signature Mama's Boys burger I had was mediocre to say the least. It was below my expectations and it lacked a certain element. This establishment was very welcoming and the service was very quick. Mama's Boys is the type of diner to eat at for a quick bite to eat, but if you're looking for class and creativity, look elsewhere. I admired my dining experience and I hope to return in the future with a more positive experience.

6.5/10

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Mark's Review

For a third time in a row, we have another special BurgerTours review. Well, for me at least. This tour marks the twenty ninth burger joint that we have visited, and a special visit since this review lands on my birthday month. Carrying on a tradition we started a while back, Andrew gets to treat me out to a meal for my birthday! For this birthday review, we take you to Mama's Boy Burgers. 

It was a rainy afternoon and we really didn't want to travel outside the area, so we decided to stay local. Recommended to me by one of my coworkers, Mama's Boy is a family run diner located in east Scarborough on the corner of Danforth Rd and Birchmount Rd. They are known for their finely grilled and charbroiled burgers, and steaks, fries, and Greek dinners. Even though their Greek selections seemed tempting, our main purpose here was, of course, the burgers. 

The burger menu was quite small, mainly sticking with traditional options, with the choice of singles or doubles. I opted for the American Double ($7.25). This burger consists of a double beef patty layered with lettuce, tomato, and melted cheddar cheese.

The American Double/Photo by Mark Avila

Taking that first bite was a quite a challenge.. in a good way. This burger was fully loaded all throughout that it was almost impossible to keep it together. As the layers of lettuce, tomato, and grease started to ooze out of the burger, my taste buds were being treated to an explosion of flavour. There was something in this burger that made everything blend so well together, probably making this one of the best traditional style burgers I've had in a long time. The beef patty was grilled and seasoned close to perfection, and my side of French fries were cooked to a crispy golden brown. 

As a family run diner to the locals of east Scarborough, Mama's Boys would have to be one of the best burger joints located close to home. Good food and the feels of a homey environment takes this place near those top of my list, and one to return to. 

8.5/10