A four piece Manchester band that recently signed to the same label as the one that has Wolf Alice (a good sign), Pale Waves (are they called Pale because they all look like they need a bit of sun? I dunno) only have one song on spotify but it’s a helluva song.
With a catchy chorus and delightfully poppy flow, this song sounds like it could have fit right there in some art-house twee movie’s soundtrack. That’s the best description I got. Listen to the music.
* Originally I thought this band was called Pale Weaves, and that brought up odd google results.
Talk about a throw back to early 90’s rock. This Ten Fé single released earlier this year sounds like one of those songs you would hear on the radio in the early 90s and then you would find out who they are and then buy their album off BMG or something.
It’s got that uplifting feeling and with a gospel sounding backing vocal, you can argue that this song sounds like a sober early Primal Scream. That’s high praise yo.
Welcome to part 7 of this burger series. As a reminder, this is a series based on a top 10 list of burgers published in Toronto Life. This has probably been Panic Manual’s longest running and most consistent series. How many things make it to 7? Only thing I can think of is Fast and Furious. Which is now on it’s 8th movie. Can’t think of much else.
Much like Fast and Furious, we pride ourselves on diversity. So for our burger choice this time, we picked Rasa. Nestled into a semi-basement slot on Harbord, Rasa is a restaurant that embraces diverse palettes, and their burger is a perfect example of this theme.
Korean food lesson: Gochujang – a savory, sweet, and spicy fermented condiment. It’s in a lot of Korean things Scrapchi – ? No idea what this is, as it’s clearly not a part of the korean language.
The burger came with yam chips, which was a nice break from regular french fries (or nothing). However, the waitress told us it might not be enough and suggested brussel sprouts. Was that an upsell or an honest opinion? I could not tell.
The Verdict
The RASA burger started off with a negative. The burger came pre-cut. I think it is to show off the rareness of the burger, but it didn’t appeal from a visual perspective to Sarah:
“It just seems more like a sandwich when the burger is cut in half. And this isn’t a sandwich review.”
I didn’t even notice until she mentioned it but then I started thinking about it and I think I also prefered a non pre-cut burger. Also, when you pre-cut a burger, where do the juices go? I guess this burger wasn’t overly greasy as there was little grease, but sometimes a bit of juice is okay. I must disclose that my favorite burger, the Amarillo burger in Austin also comes pre-cut. I think it is done for different reason though, mainly because it wouldn’t fit into your mouth if it wasn’t.
It’s very curious for a burger to be made from beef cheek, because as a working muscle, cheeks have connective tissue that are great when it is slowly cooked. In this case though, the burger was cooked medium rare that skews to more of the rare side (you can tell by the picture). Anyways one bite into the burger and my first thought was that this was a very meaty burger. I like my steaks on the medium rare scale and so the chewiness that this burger had did not bother me. It was actually a pretty tasty burger if not a tad too salty.
The bite was very consistent throughout which was nice, but you also get a sense that your first bite was going to be the same as your last, which kind of dulls the excitement a bit.
Complements
One of the draws of this burger was the Koreanization of it (is that a thing?). With Korean tacos and so many Korean things being popular these days, it is not surprising for the strong tastes of Korean cuisine to be incorporated into your standard burger.
To be completely honest, aside from an additional hit of sourness that is associated with their concoction of scrapchi and gochujang, it wasn’t really overwhelming. As a frequent eater of Korean meals, I guess I failed to really detect the uniqueness of the dressing. In other mouths, maybe it was spicy but I have a very high tolerance for spice so I didn’t notice it. I was surprised by the inclusion of provolone as that is a cheese that kind of just blends in the background. Basically in a burger where you are going to have something as strong as kim-chi flavors, adding in provolone is like bringing a spoon to a knife fight.
One of the things I don’t eat is pickles. Normally this doesn’t matter, but Sarah pointed out it was a bit overwhelming and also “I would rather there have been lettuce than pickles, if they’re going to opt for one green thing on the burger”
The bun was tasty, I think most restaurants except Doomies get the bun right.
Handfeel
With the burger being cut in half, you don’t get a true sense of the size of the burger, because you are always holding only half the burger. It wasn’t greasy so that was good.
Overall
As the #2 burger on this guy’s list, we had high hopes for this Rasa Burger. The burger was meaty and decent, but a bit too salted and perhaps too one dimensional to put it any higher then above average. For $17, I would expect a bit more. The service was also pretty slow, which annoyed me.
As always, here is fellow burger enthusiast Sarah’s take:
“It was a good burger but it was also a pretentious burger. When I was eating it, I was like: ‘this burger seems very self aware’.”
it’s been a long time since Ricky Gervais did a stand up tour and in that time we’ve seen three stints as Golden Globe host, a few moderately successful films and a few successful tv series. So life’s been good for the man. Which begs the question, in the world of observational comedy, can a man like Ricky still relate to the crowd?
The answer is a definite yes.
You might think I thought hard to pose such a question but the reality is that this was one of the topics among many during Gervais’s incredibly self aware and modern show this past weekend.
Armed with a pint, his infectious laughter and too many stories, Gervais put on a hilarious show that tackles his life, the art of the joke, tolerance and modern communication. Nothing is off limits for the comic but the beauty of his show is that he’ll tell you why nothing should be off limits.
I really enjoyed Ricky’s set. His jokes are built from elaborate stories and his punchlines come at you rapidly and often when you don’t expect it and definitely goes where you don’t think it’d go. Some might get put off by his incessant bragging about his success but frankly that’s all part of the act and his personality . Without it, some of his self deprecating jokes wouldn’t hold the same weight and it’s also refreshing to see someone take as many shots at himself as he does with others.
Obviously it goes without saying to catch him on tour. It might be awhile before that happens again.
Fun fact: Ricky Gervais once managed my favourite band Suede
