iPod, iPad, iPhone, iBurger?

So after working on a project, my meat-craving friend and I were looking for a place to chow down. He mentioned wanting to try iBurger, and we were in the vicinity, so we headed on over to this curious restaurant where waiters are semi-replaced with touch-screen tables. I'm still waiting for the day where McDonald's workers are completely replaced with robots...

Also, no legit camera AGAIN. So blurry pics ahead; you have been warned.

Wheeee, another burger place! If this keeps up, I'm probably going to give Mr. Lew a run for his money. Just kidding; Mr. Lew has more burgers on his blog than I have had in my life. Aaaand again with the impromptu restauranting, which means grainy cameraphone photos.

Touch-screen table

Have I mentioned that I'm a huge klutz? It figures that the first thing I do in a restaurant where the tables are are giant, expensive screens is to spill iced water all over it. Ironically, though, I thought the screen became much more responsive after the spill. Before the spill, it took several touches before the screen would respond. After the spill, the screen became as sensitive as an iPad. Weird, eh? Anyway, for those who haven't heard of iBurger, the menu and the ordering system in this restaurant lie all in the iPad-like tables.

Accessibility - Grade: A-
The restaurant is on Metcalfe street, to the south of Ste-Catherine's. It's about a 5-10 minute walk from Peel metro station.

Service - Grade: B
I thought the purpose of the touchscreen tables was to eliminate waiters entirely, but the only thing it eliminated was the process of ordering from your waitress. Although, since there was only one waitress on the floor, I suppose the tables do allow the restaurant to hire less personnel. Still, the waitress who served us was pretty nice, and the service was pretty standard.

Food - Grade: B-
iBurger actually has a pretty extensive menu for a burger place. Like many other burger places, they serve the standard AAA beef burgers with sides of fries or salad. Unlike other burger places, they also offer lamb burgers, salmon burgers, and even sushi burgers.



AAA burger with salad

You can choose to have a side of green salad, fries, or green salad and fries. I think if you add a buck or two, you can upgrade your side to a poutine or other stuff. My friend ordered a side of fries and salad, and he got a pretty generous portion of both. The fries were well-seasoned, but probably processed. The green salad was very ordinary; it was just greens and carrots tossed in olive oil and balsamic vinegar. 

AAA burger

 My friend wasn't that impressed with the burger. He said he prefers the one from Le Gourmet Burger. Personally, in terms of quality and taste, I thought the burger wasn't bad. The bun was well-toasted, and the ingredients were fresh. If you bite into the patty, you can see the flecks of herbs and seasonings, and you can taste the bits of onion and herbs they mixed into the patty. It was also cooked until it was just pink in the middle. The ingredients - such as the lettuce and the onions - were crisp and fresh.

Colourful but blurry picture of the AA burger

On the downside, I found the patty oddly dry, and it didn't have much of a smokey grilled taste to it. The burger also didn't tower as much as the ones from Burger de Ville or Burger Bar. They were also a bit stingy with the bacon, which is disappointing when you're charging that much for an ordinary burger. I also found that the burger lacked condiments, and that the juices from the ingredients didn't soak up in the bun, which made the entire burger quite dry. And again, the burger was pretty ordinary; there was no pazazz that made it stand out in any way. Still, neither my friends nor I have yet to encounter a case of burnt patties or disgustingly inedible burgers.

Sushi burger

One of iBurger's more peculiar dishes is the sushi burger. I personally haven't tried this burger, but a close friend of mine did, and I just thought I'd share with you what the burger looks like in real life. My friend said that this burger was also disappointing, saying that it felt more like eating an oversized maki than eating a burger. She said that the burger was difficult to pick up due to the lose rice, so she had to pick at it with a fork. She also found that the salmon tartare filling became very heavy after a while, especially with no wasabi or soy sauce to accompany it.

Complimentary dessert

Since we went for lunch and ordered off their lunch menu, our meal came with a dessert and a coffee or tea. The dessert for that particular day was a chocolate mousse. For a free lunch dessert, it was pretty good. The mousse was soft and fluffy on top, but denser and more cake-like on the bottom. It also had a layer of wafer bits lining the bottom, a bit like the crisps in Coffee Crisps. The white flower on top is actually a piece of meringue and not whipped cream. I think that bit confused my friend. :P

Price - $$
Okay, for a burger place, this place is actually pretty pricey, which is one of the reasons why my companion was so disappointed. For lunch, it wasn't too bad. The regular AA burger came with a dessert and a coffee/tea, and it costed us $15 before tax and tip. The sushi burger was priced at $20, the lamb burger at $18 and there was a hot dog for $17. One of the fancier burgers went for around $26. Judging by the ordinariness of the burgers, I'd say students would have better luck finding burgers of similar or even better quality elsewhere.


Final Grade: B-
To be fair, I don't think the burgers were as bad as what many people say. The only problem I had with the restaurant was that they were charging a bit too much for what was just a plain burger. I think if they fixed their prices, touched up their burgers, and expanded on the touch-screen table concept, then they could really be onto something.



iBurger
1237 rue Metcalfe, Montreal
(514) 903-5799
http://www.iburger.net/home.html