Welcome to part 4 of the Burger Review. This is a series based on a top 10 list of burgers published in Toronto Life.
If you have been following this series (and you better be), you will know that thus far the burgers have not met our high standards of excellence. We were seriously doubting our source. Surely the guy ate a burger a day, but I mean, how refined is his palette? Or perhaps how unrefined is our palette? There was a lot of doubt and angst at this part of the journey.
It was with some trepidation that we continued. The next burger took place at the Wickson Social, a place from the owners of the Queen and Beaver and the Oxley.
The Burger:
The Burger & Fries – hand chopped steak, aged cheddar, house cured bacon – 19$
Just a reminder, the control burger in this experiment is the Skyline burger (that is the middle of the pack) with the upper range being Casino El Camino’s Amarillo burger from Austin, Texas.
The Verdict:
Since the Wickson Social menu takes it’s inspiration from British grub, I’ll quote a song from English band Primal Scream about the experience:
I was blind, now I can see
You made a believer out of me
I was blind, now I can see
You made a believer out of meI’m movin’ on up now
Getting out of the darkness
My light shines on
Finally, a good burger.
The burger came with a nice crispy bun that was firm but fair. Unlike the greasy mess that was some previous burgers, this burger had a clean taste and experience and never broke shape during the whole eating experience. Excellent handfeel. I loved the fact that my fingers did not glisten with grease after eating this thing.
The patty itself was excellent. The menu highlighted that this was “hand chopped” steak and the meat definitely had a more refined quality to it. It certainly didn’t taste like grounded up chuck. I wonder what hand chopped steak burger actually means. Do they take a steak, and then chop it up into bits and then use those bits to form the patty? We will never know. A mystery unsolved for the rest of eternity. Nevertheless, the patty was very tasty.
Complements
The burger itself was simple and to the point, much like the English. There was the high quality patty, a very nice aged cheddar and bacon on it. There was nothing else besides those items. No tomato, no lettuce. The burger didn’t need any of it. You could make an argument that the bacon in this burger was not necessary, as the saltiness of the bacon detracted from what you should be focusing on – the patty. This is coming from a guy who routinely goes to the butcher shop, buys bacon and then figures out what to do with it afterwards.
Complaints
The only complaint we had was that the burger was pretty small for 19$. It was by far the smallest burger we have had and for 19$ you expect a bit more. I don’t even think it was 1/3 of a pound. Maybe I’m cheap. I don’t know. The fries were also the weakest we’ve had so far, but this isn’t a fries review. The fries were too thick for my liking.
Overall
It’s been an emotional rollercoaster of ground meats over the last few months, and I for one was very happy with this burger. If anything, it vindicated this guy’s list (although we are still highly skeptical). Another bad burger would have left severe distaste in our mouth and minds but the quality of this burger has shown that there is light at the end of the tunnel.
Here is fellow burger enthusiast Sarah’s take on it:
“This burger was definitely the best we’ve had so far. It helped to restore my faith in the concept meat between two buns. And I liked the pepper kick. I’d go back and eat this one again (if I was celebrating something like finding a $20 bill on the floor, because this burger wasn’t cheap.)”
We have decided this is now at the top of our list (for Toronto).
Burger Scale
Amarillo Burger, Casino El Camino – 10$ USD
The Burger, Wickson Social – 19$
Prime Beef Double Cheeseburger, Museum Tavern – 19$
Skyline Burger, Skyline Diner – 14$
Game Burger, Antler – 18$
Vegan Mac Daddy, Doomies – 16$