Day 57: Burger from South Street Burger

Toronto is quite a burger place. Lots of places, lots of hype, but in the end, it's a chain, called "South Street Burger" that, for me, takes the cake. Whenever I go for a burger, I look for what I call a "truly outstanding burger"

What makes a "truly outstanding burger"? I'll start with the bun. Like so many foods, whether it's a dumpling or an empanada, or a sub, or a sandwich, or a wrap, or a burger... the starch is the secret. For me, a good bun has to be soft, it has to be toasted. I know I've seen recently lots of ciabatta breads for sandwiches, and for me, when it's too hard, it causes all the "stuff" in the middle to just squeeze out and ruins the filling. Baguette sandwiches, you ask? Yes, it's the french way... not my way.... the French way. Me, I'm not French. Another advantage of a soft bread is that it just soaks up the flavour, the juices, the oils, and fats of the meat and the fillings and acts as a vehicle for flavour. If you can cook the bread on top of the meat, even better, you really do get all those flavours to penetrate.

When I think about what I love about McDonald's Filet-o-Fish, it is the soft bun. Also, obviously, then meat is important. The secret is in a soft meat, usually by using fresh, high quality beef. A char from a barbeque is a huge bonus, but not present on this burger. A little bit of pink in this South Street burger is good too, and it's possible at this joint only because the meat is thick and fresh.

Fillings are also important. Guacamole adds a wet, squishy, texture and a contrast to the soft/crunch bun, and the meaty burger. Blue cheese adds a new level of flavour and is the perfect complement to beef. Tomatoes have to be fresh and huge. But on top of all of that, at South Street Burger, they have a smorgasboard of different topping, including cajun onions, wasabi mayo, and mango chutney.

And then there's the fries, made by New York Fries. I always eat my fries first so that they don't get cold. I like my fries slightly crunch on the outside, yes, like McDonald's fries. The epitome of the wrong fry, in my opinion, is the Swiss Chalet fry. A great burger can be ruined by a bad fry or bad onion ring. When I get fries from South Street Burger, I pour them all over my tray, add freshly ground pepper, and then take the lid off of the cajun spice, and dump it onto of the fries and mix them. And then I dip it into a ketchup laced with Tabasco Jalapeno sauce. Damn good.