We went on a little burger bender the other month after our Clive Burger experience. Hey, it's not our fault so many new burger joints have opened up!
This one has a bit of a different background to it though.
Again, a Sunday and we are super lazy to get up and out of the house. By the time we drop the dog off at daycare it's past noon and I'm starving!! We're up in the 'hood (ahem, the North East I mean) and have time to kill. We might as well try SmashBurger while we're up here, it's been on the list for a long time now, but both locations are in the far north ends of the city.
An American chain that has moved north, SmashBurger had rave reviews when it first opened and friends were saying we have to go try it. I remember the news covering this opening and all the hoopla surrounding it. I can only pray the traffic has calmed down even though we arrive right at lunch time. Luckily it has, we're the only people in line! Sweet. I hate lines.
Anyway, they provide little take out style menus for you to read before approaching the counter, or look up on the giant wall menu behind the counter. Same thing goes as Clive: figure it out, place your order, get your number to sit down and wait. Phew - glad I've figured out the ordering process. We both ordered a classic burger as we wanted this to be about the patty itself. Because it felt like I wasn't really trying anything new, I did order the Chili Cheese fries, and M got the Smash Fries (rosemary, garlic and olive oil). Turns out, I should have read the menu. My fries are covered in chili and cheese - but also onions and jalapenos! Shit. So there I sit for the first five minutes trying to pick off any hint of yuckies, while M dives into his.
After all that effort, I am ready to eat my burger! Ouch! Damn it. Burned my tongue on the burger grease. That stuff is like napalm. (And, they are not licensed, so no beer to help with the sore tongue!) Well I guess I have to resort to my fries now, and let my burger cool off. Tasty stuff those fries. Crispy and perfectly cooked. Not even soggy considering all the toppings on them. M says his garlic fries remind him a lot of the Fries & Dolls food truck. They're good, they aren't great. He loves his burger though. A LOT. It was at one point up for debate if this is his favourite one. I think his consensus was he liked the patty itself better than Clive, but the toppings and atmosphere of Clive still make them the winner.
Once mine cooled down enough to finish, I was pretty disappointed. Not only did it fall apart in my hands, it didn't have that "je ne sais quois". It was just a burger. I've had way better, I've had way worse.
I can't say that I'll go back. There's still a bunch more burger joints we haven't tried yet, and I'll for sure try those before giving SmashBurger another chance.
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