I'd like a burger, neat, please. - Burger Bar

Happy New Year, everyone! And here to kick-start the new year is another burger post!

So, I'm not a firm believer in high-end burger places. Then again, I'm not a firm believer in anything, so take that as you will. To me, though, a burger isn't a fancy food, and thus shouldn't be treated or priced as one (*cough$100burgercough*). I thought Burger Bar on Crescent was another one of those fancy frou frou burger places, until my friend took a bunch of us there for her birthday.

Granted, the restaurant was still really nice for a burger joint, but at least non of their menu items were too outrageously priced. I guess looking pretty comes with the whole being a resto-bar on Crescent too.


Accessibility - Grade: A
It's on Crescent. Five minute walk from Guy-Concordia. Come on, it's on Crescent.

Service - Grade: B-
I've been here twice, and I found the service mediocre both times. The first time was for my friend's birthday, and the restaurant had a full house, including a table of 30 screaming high school girls. Our waitress was very nice and helpful, but became flustered with the amount of orders and got nearly all our bills wrong. Still, it was understandable with the amount of people and the screaming teenagers. The burgers also took a really long time to come out.
The second time, we went for lunch, and there were two or three other tables around us. The waitresses were all lounging at the bar, mixing drinks for themselves, and took our orders with couldn't-care-less attitudes. Our burgers still took half an hour to come out.

Food - Grade: B+

Wild mushroom burger

The menus are pretty basic. You have a page of appetizers, a page of different types of burgers, a page of sandwiches and some other types of food, and you have a page of cocktails and alcohol. They have a large selection of burgers containing non-conventional burger ingredients, such as fried eggs, asparagus, eggplants, etc. For the vegetarians, they have a few salads to choose from, or you can replace your beef patty with a vegetarian black bean patty in any burger. You can choose a side of fries, coleslaw or green salad, but you can also upgrade your sides to onion rings, sweet potato fries, poutine or a caesar salad for $2 extra.

Supersonic Burger

I ordered the Supersonic Burger, which contains bacon, pickled peppers, pickles, tomatoes, lettuce, Jalsberg cheese, spicy mayo and topped with onion rings. I stuck with a side of green salad this time around. Now, let's start with the good, shall we?

Onion rings are the sonic waves?

The burger was pretty big and definitely filling. I wasn't exactly sure where to take my first bite out of this Leaning Tower of Cholesterol without having it implode upon itself. The bun was lightly toasted, which added a nice crispiness to the burger, and also allowed it to soak up juices more easily. The bacon was smokey and awesome, as bacon always is, and it was cooked to just the right texture. For me, that means that it wasn't jaw-breakingly crispy, nor was it super chewy and hard to break through. The patty was pretty thick and deliciously beefy, but I found it just a tad dry. It could have done with a little more seasoning too. They really weren't stingy with the ingredients though, seeing as how this burger was was practically filled to the point of explosion. The green salad was just an ordinary green salad.

Mixed green salad

Now for some downsides. For once, my lame, punny title actually has something to do with the content of the post! Because eating this burger is anything but neat. The moment I took my first bite, all the spicy mayo came plopping out the other end of the burger and splattered all over my plate. The mayo also didn't taste very spicy; it doesn't really compare to Le Gourmet Burger's spicy mayo. The contents of the burger also wouldn't stop shifting around, so I had to keep moving everything back into place. They give you two napkins per person, and for good reason. 

Sweet potato fries

The sweet potato fries were also a bit disappointing and definitely not worth the upgrade. They tasted like they were baked instead of fried, which is healthier, yes, but not as tasty. If you're looking for good sweet potato fries, try Le Gourmet Burger instead.

Price - $$

For a burger restaurant, I'd say the prices are slightly above average, but definitely affordable. Still, considering their location and their nice ambiance, I suppose it's to be expected. My burger was $14 before tax and tip, and without any upgrades, but it still contained some ingredients that would have costed extra at other burger joints. The prices of the other burgers seemed to ballpark around this price, with some of the fancier ones being a bit more pricey. Of course, if you order drinks, then prices are a different story altogether...

Note (update): I went back recently, and I think they may have upped the prices. The supersonic burger is now $18, or thereabouts, unless it's just more expensive for dinner. The food is still good, but the higher prices make it no longer as student-friendly as it was before... 

Final Grade: B+

I rather liked my experience at the Burger Bar. Their food may not have been an eye-opener of any sort, but they serve some decent burgers for a downtown burger joint. They also have a really nice ambiance, so it's a great place to bring dates, have parties, or to just hang out with friends. Plus, their location is so convenient!

Burger Bar
1465 Crescent Street, Montreal
(514) 903-5575
http://www.montrealburger.com/