Eddy's Place: 3.8/5

Bacon Cheese Burger

$7.25

Score: 3.9

I love the look and feel of Eddy’s. The front facade is unassuming, but there are beautiful murals on either side of the building. Once through the doors you see an open kitchen with orange laminate counter tops and stools to watch the cook at work. As you venture further back into the long building, you find yourself in a double row of cozy booths – with the same orange tops. To the left are two magnificent 6 x 12 billiard tables – and they’re always in use. The bottom half of the walls are covered with the same basement carpeting your parents had in their rec-room in the 60s. As you reach the back, the walls turns to dark brown wood and brick paneling. Geoff remarked "The old fashioned décor is a nice touch, as is the eclectic collection of wall decorations, from moose antlers to a beer can fishing rod, to a picture of dogs playing pool."

I let them know we were coming and someone was nice enough to reserve four booths for us. I thought my booth was snug, but Dani said hers was roomy and Geoff's had a bar across the middle which made getting a second person in and out quite tricky. Bendy Bess had no problem though. Choose your booth carefully! Our server was quick and friendly. Cary ordered a float and our comedic waitress veered into the corny when she brought it out and said "Don’t let it float away!" Nelson noticed they serve "both Coke and Pepsi products. Bonus. No cups. Classy! Love a good restaurant that has soda floats."

I've been to Eddy’s a few times and came last week to case it out for Burger Club. The restaurant was packed and for whatever reason our burgers took quite a while. When the waitress scampered out with our meals she said, "I hope these are the most delicious burgers ever after waiting so long!" They were really good and when I asked "what happened at the grill?" She replied, "we’re really busy today – I guess we’re out of practice. We need to train more."

Fast forward a week and they must have practiced lots because our burgers came out fast. The patties were handmade and had great variability in size and shape. Dani noted “Hand formed patty a little bigger than the bun.” The flavour of the plentiful and perfectly cooked bacon came through; so did the generous portion of great tasting real cheddar cheese. Nelson observed “Tasted the bacon more than the burger.” Bess reminisced: “The burger reminded me of my father-in-law's burgers. "Kenny" burgers are the standard by which I judge all others. Too much mustard though.” I don't know if it was the waitress’s power of suggestion, or I was so hungry by the time the burger came out, but I thought last week’s burger tasted a bit better. I think this week’s patty was thinner and may have got lost in the mustard. The burger came with lots of fried onions which were really good, but they also contributed to a soggy bottom. Nelson described it as a "A 6-napkin burger!!" and was equally excited about the fried onions. Russ was enthused about the cheese: "I spy with my little eye: real cheddar!" The greens were fresh and there was lots of tomato. The soft sesame seed bun was tasty and a good size for the patty.

Geoff liked his burger: "Burger itself was solid, nice crispy portions of bacon. Definitely not a "cookie cutter" burger, the patty was obviously hand crafted, and done to my liking. I will come back for more." Mike wrote "Patty wasn't flavourful but the toppings made up for it. Bacon was great, and fries were good too." Eddy’s is inexpensive and Cary commented "Platter is a pretty good deal AND you can get BEER (or wine) with it!"

Esther tried the Poutine and said "The fries were really good. Gravy in the poutine really good as well." Dani said "the onion rings are awesome!"

When I was doing my research I came across Marion Warhaft’s nice review from 2012 where she mentioned that Eddy’s is known for its corned beef sandwich. The article has a great picture of the long time grill queen - Annette. On examining the menu, Geoff was "intrigued by the non-burger portion and may have to come back for the $9 Kuby + Perogies."

Heard Around the Booth

It’s been a while since we've been educated on the obscure by Cary. Today we learned he used to work at McDonald's where they used caulking guns loaded with Special Sauce, Tartar Sauce, and Mayonnaise to "Shoot the Goo" onto McBurgers.

It Takes a Community to Order a Burger

April was late arriving so texted in her order en-route. Geoff was placing the pre-order, but he doesn't pack a cell phone so I got the text: "Please order me a mushroom Swiss burger with bacon no pickles or onions no relish." I passed this info on to Geoff. The problem is, Eddy’s only lists one burger on the menu and it’s not a mushroom Swiss.

Geoff is a scientist and he was now faced with an unsolvable equation. He asked Esther to take a picture of the menu for April so she could see there was no mushroom Swiss burger and modify her order. Esther did, and April texted back: "I want a mushroom Swiss burger" and added "Order a second one for Bess." Geoff writhed and squirmed, took his hat off, put it on again and realized to make matters worse, the discussion of fries hadn't even come up. He was forced to make a compromise.

April and Bess arrived, and shortly after our waitress brought out their meals: two bacon-cheese burgers, one with fries. The punch line here is there's a menu next to the till, and when it came time to settle up with Annette – head cook and cashier - there it was: "Mushroom Swiss Burger" written on the wall.

Bistro 7 1/4 (closed): 3.7/5

Bacon Cheese Burger
Platter: $12
Score: 3.9

BBQ/Peach/Slaw Burger
Platter: $15
Score: 3.4

Fried Egg Burger
Platter: $14
Score: 3.4

It's been almost a year and it was great to get together for lunch again! Geoff put it nicely: “It is good to be immersed back in the Burger Club cast of characters.”

Early in September a marketing company out of Montreal envisioned “Burger Week” and enlisted the help of some local beautiful bloggers to promote the Winnipeg edition. They came up with a very eclectic list of contenders, several of which don’t have a burger on their regular menu. The traditional burger joints that come to mind when you ask a Winnipeger “who makes the best burger?” weren't on the list. I saw this as an opportunity! Several were gourmet restaurants and I was curious to sample their submission - and the most I would be out was $10 because that was a condition of Burger Week. I dined at Bistro 7 ¼ with another burger-clubber alumni (we’ll call him Brett) during Burger Week and today 13 of us reconvened for lunch.

Tastes vary, and with each restaurant we visit, someone loves their burger and someone leaves disappointed. Usually the group rating settles somewhere in the middle. At Bistro 7 ¼, opinions were all over the place. Maybe that’s because we’re a little rusty though – it’s been almost a year since tasting burgers with our brains, not our mouths.

Our server was friendly and fast, quick to get us seated comfortably in a private room, bringing drinks and taking orders. The room was in the back, dark compared to the sunny tables up front by the windows. Apparently I've also forgotten how to use my official burger camera and the low lighting made for some fuzzy pictures. I try to avoid the flash, because flashed meat looks weird.

The patties were large and probably needed 15-20 minutes on the grill. The grill holds 6 burgers. Do the math and it means a large group waits. Geoff commented “Almost 1 hour after arriving, I am getting hungry-grumpy.” He hid it well. All our meals were served together though, which is nice. April must have had a premonition and texted in her pre-order. She wheeled in shortly before her burger and raced out afterwards being the only one of us to pull off a regulation lunch break. She also raised the question - do pickles equate to relish?

Karen observed that the “Burger was very nicely presented. The bun top was just to the side of the massive burger. Decorated with a couple slices of peaches.” Some burgers were served rare, some were well done. Our server assured us they were cooked to a safe temperature (not under-cooked) and freshly ground in-house. Some people really don't like the look of a rare burger, so if you'd prefer your burger well done at Bistro 7 1/4, tell your server. One person sent theirs back. The ample bacon and real cheddar was quite enjoyable. There were thick pieces of bacon on the BBQ burger which added texture to the bacony goodness. I've come to appreciate the Brioche bun and the sweetness of it worked well with the mildly seasoned bacon-cheeseburger. The bun was well sized – a good bun to burger ratio. However, for some reason the bottom of the bun was a bit soggy and I had to use my fork to carefully peel it off the plate.

The Burger Week entry from September was the “burger with spicy bbq sauce, bacon, smoked cheddar, coleslaw and roast peaches.” It looked and sounded delicious. The BBQ sauce was quite zingy and I enjoyed it, but it overwhelmed any flavour the peaches might have contributed and was a little incompatible with the sweet bun. “Individual flavours did not stand out.” The texture of the crunchy layer of coleslaw was quite enjoyable, and of course, it was a big, filling burger! You may want to bring a friend to help you finish it. Karen “loved the bacon chunks on top” of hers. Those that had the BBQ sauce today said it wasn't spicy – but tasty - so maybe the kitchen adjusted the recipe. The patty was quite consistent - back in September and again today, it was thick and juicy and very mildly seasoned with a little chopped onion. Stan said “Expected a bit more complex flavour. A little disappointed there.” In flavor, I'd compare the patty to one you'd get at the Oakwood or Seine River Cafe. Bistro 7 ¼ has an open kitchen and I’d think there’d be more meaty flavor from a cookery with flames painted on the exhaust hood. This was the prevailing opinion, but not the only one. Russ commented “Flavour was awesome and overall I was happy with my burger.” All the ingredients were fresh and made in-house.

I had the shoestring fries during burger week and really, really enjoyed them. Geoff noted “there was an odd white cream sauce that was a bit bland on its own but went well with the fries.” Esther must have had a hunch about the fries because she stole Les’s burger with white potato fries and really liked them. Les got Esther’s yam fries and said “The fries were too small cut, scraps get cold fast.” This time I tried the soup-du-jour which was a cream of cauliflower. It was a fairly tasteless broth. I was sad. This was the general consensus about the soup. A few people had salad and weren't excited by the oil dressing although the greens were plentiful and fresh.

There were two versions of the menu handed out, one with the old pricing and one with the new, so a couple of people were wondering why they were charged more than the menu showed. The menu stated our group would be charged an 18% gratuity. This didn't happen, so we were allowed to choose our own tip and that was nice. Russ commented “Menu looks interesting, but the loose-leaf was a bit minimal.” At Burger Club, we review everything – even the menu paper!

Top 5 Burger Club Round-Up

After over a year of evaluating burgers we began to ask ourselves, if we went back, would the top 5 burgers still be as good? Cooks change, owners change, or maybe we just got lucky on the day we went. Well, I’m happy to report that the Top 5 burgers were still great and their ranking did not change!

Without any further ado, here are Burger Club Winnipeg’s top burger picks:

#1 Sonya’s (full review)

“Sonya's did it again! Just the right size, well presented, held together until the last bite. Good beefy flavour, none overwhelming others. Finally a guy who knows his buns! Too bad this place closes at 2:00 pm because it would be my place of choice for evening burgers too!”

“The price can't be beat, the service was friendly, the ingredients fresh and home-made. I made it extra spicy with jalapenos and the homemade mustard. Burger was very juicy, but stayed intact thanks to a quality bun.”

“Crunchy meat crust, soft inside. Flavourful and old school. Clean, comfy place but 70's décor, which works for a burger. Yummy handmade spicy sauce :)”

#2 Charlee’s (full review)

We rated “consistency” for the return visit and the Charlee’s Peppercorn Bacon burger had changed a little. It no longer had the bacon pressed and cooked into the surface of the patty; instead there was now a generous layer of bite sized bacon.

 “This was an excellent burger. I especially liked how the bacon had been cut into small pieces. That made them nice and crisp and easy to eat. The only think that would improve the burger for me would be to lightly toast the bun.”

“Crispy burger and bacon - you can taste the peppercorns. Tasty bun that holds up until the end.”

“I had to buck the trend and get the mushroom Swiss burger instead of bacon. I didn't regret my choice. The cheese wasn't infused with the burger like expected but slathering the mushrooms on top. The burger got pretty messy by the final third and pieces starting to fall out.”

#3 Ellice Café - now closed (full review)

Eighteen of us revisited the Ellice Café the week it was closing. The service and food were as great as ever. I’m sad that I can’t have a Bravo Burger any more.

“This is the 3rd time I've had the Rancher and I reiterate my previous comments about onion rings & bacon plus burger = A-okay in my books. This is probably my top choice amongst burgers I've had in the "Club". The bun has maintained the integrity much better than the first iteration, but the flavour is retained.”

 “It was a huge burger perfectly cooked and nicely seasoned. Great balance between bun & fillings. All around I would say a very good quality burger!”

“Patty was well seasoned, the burger was very well constructed & flavourful. Bacon was delicious. I only have one regret … not ordering the Bravo Burger!”

#4 Original Joe’s (full review)

The consistency at Original Joe’s slipped a little only because the shiny buns that we enjoyed so much on the first visit were over baked for the return trip and were a little dry.

“Burger was very fine! The pickle was a quarter slice, how the heck are you supposed to eat that on your burger? I ate it separately, the burger did not miss it.  Nice patty, firm and tasty, very well & good with a reddish colour to it. The portion also was very fine.”

“This burger was good, but not as good as I remember it from my last 3 visits. It could be that I am now a burger snob or that, as Esther says, "I am not eating with the mouthpart of my head".”

“Expensive burger but you get a choice of two tasty sides. Fried onions is an option. Yippee! Very flavourful. Nicely glistening bun. Great quality burger. Consistently excellent.”

#5 Kings Head (full review)

 “Excellent burger, great service even thought there was 11 of us! The beef in the patty was nice, dense and tasty a very thick burger seasoned with salt maybe a bit of pepper.”

 “One of my Top 3. Third time I had this burger and it has yet to disappoint. This time had the Cajun sauce to dip the fries and it was splendid. Wash it all down with a Strongbow cider and life is grand!”

“Large burger patty; very dense and shaped like an oblong ball in the centre of a tasty Kaiser bun. That made it a little  unwieldy. It wasn't juicy, but wasn't dry either. The patty was nicely seasoned. Very filling. Bacon was soft but an easy bite. There was more bacon, better cooked on our first visit. The jalapenos ended up in a ball so I got them all in one bite. Sautéed fresh mushrooms and onions were great. Real cheddar cheese you could taste and fresh ripe red tomato and green romaine. A nice amount of mayonnaise. Service can't be beat.”

Winnipeg Free Press Article

One thing I learned from the Winnipeg Free Press article by David Sanderson is that Winnipeggers are passionate about their burgers! The piece on Burger Club – Winnipeg received 200 comments and was trending as the most viewed article on the WFP for several days. It didn't hurt that the mugshot of Scott and me was on the WFP’s landing page for over a week, and our picture took up half of page one in the printed Detour section.  Apparently writing about burgers is an industry in Winnipeg and there have already been a couple of spin-off articles in the Sou’Wester and RestaurantCentral.ca about the article about the blog.

Burger bliss, burger blahs: finding Winnipeg's holy, beefy grail

The blog received over 26,000 hits as a result - 13,000 in the first 24 hours of the article coming out. I can now say I've had my 15 minutes of fame. People I don't know pointed at me and shouted “Burger guy!” My real moment came at the Kings Head though. I arrived to a packed lunch hour crowd and there wasn't a seat to be had except … for the reservation I’d apparently made and forgotten about. The always entertaining wait staff were serving a lot of burgers and Jay Khanuja was at the bar chatting to some people that had come because of the article. Jay tells me he plans on adding more stuffed burgers to the summer menu so I’m looking forward to that!

David and I exchanged information via e-mail and I knew right away we shared a love for burgers and I quite enjoyed his wit and wordsmithing. We needed to get together for the official picture by the Free Press photographer and that’s when the comedy really started. We met at Original Georges, and when I arrived David and photographer-Joe were already waiting in a booth in an empty section in the back of the restaurant. There were two Fat Boy platters on the table but I wasn't allowed to devour mine until Joe took his picture. Apparently Joe had some sort of a vision that involved Scott and I linking arms and feeding each other our burgers. Neither one of us are gymnasts and while we were busy trying to get entangled for the shot the waitress came around the corner and barely raised an eyebrow before saying “Excuse me for interrupting, but …” We were laughing, and Scott’s burger was dripping on my arm and running onto my knee where a large puddle of chili sauce and grease was forming while Joe took about a hundred pictures.

Anyone who reads online news media articles knows about all the wacky comments anonymous readers leave. I've never been called an idiot by so many people. “How could you possibly say Sonya’s is #1? Everyone knows Super Boy's makes the best burger!” repeated about a 100 times with it being obvious to anyone but a moron that burger-X is Winnipeg’s best burger. Of course they're all right – the only person who can tell you what your favourite burger is, is you! The article singled me out as the author of the blog, but I'm just one of about sixty different voices in Burger Club. Everyone who comes contributes to Burger Club by rating the burger and providing comments that I try and use in the blog. I had my own ideas about who made a good burger and received plenty of recommendations from other burger clubbers and blog readers. We didn't visit every burger joint in Winnipeg and I'm sure there are still a few award winning burgers out there we haven't tried yet.  Any of the 4 and 5 star burgers are someone's favourite and Winnipeg is a great place to live if you love burgers!

Nobody paid any of us to review burgers, and we've certainly never received a free burger from a restaurant (although Dennis Schwartz from Burgerbend bought us all an ice-cream, but I think that’s just because he's a stand-up guy). The blog is free from sponsorship and I have not (nor will I) monetize it.  So many burger reviews are sponsored by a BIZ, tourism agency or with some sort of agenda – I really hoped to provide as unbiased a rating as possible when it comes to something as subjective as opinions about food. Really, we're just a bunch of friends getting together once a week to enjoy each other's company and a burger. None of us have any "credentials" to review a restaurant (although a couple of burger clubbers are quite good cooks in their own right and know their ingredients). Like any other diner, we just know what we like and what we don't. I try and remove some of the subjectively by averaging the reviews over a number of diners. Also by rating individual burger attributes (like flavour, presentation and quality of ingredients) which tends to make the reviewer more analytical. I was trying to compare burgers, not restaurants and prices.

We don’t tell restaurants we're reviewing them (they figure it out when we get there) but I do usually give smaller establishments a heads up that there's a large group of us coming so they can be prepared. I didn't at Sandi’s and there was a moment’s panic until they cleared out some space (and patrons) from the VLT lounge so we could all sit together. Sometimes our burger experience might have been better because we were a group, but there were definitely times when it went the other way. Restaurant owners and cooks change too, and as our quest has been going on for over 18 months, we decided to revisit the Top 5 to see if they still were as good as we remembered – but that’s the subject of another blog!

Rudy's: 3.9/5

Bacon Burger (Max Cheese)
Platter: $13.95
Score: 4.0

Mushroom Burger
Platter: $11.90
Score: 4.6

Cheese Burger
Platter: $11.90
Score: 2.8

The service was great. We were greeted and seated comfortably. Our orders taken quickly and the drinks - including water which came without having to be asked - were brought out fast. It didn't feel too long to me before our burgers started coming out, but others pointed out it was about 45 minutes. Multiple wait staff came by several times during our meal, topping up waters, taking away dishes and making sure everyone was happy.

The very pleasant patio at Rudy's has a small park between it and the street so you're not overwhelmed with noise and smells, and at a distance from some of the characters walking by. It's overshadowed by a 40' high canopy that kept us out of the direct sun, but was still open and breezy. The patio furniture is new and quite comfortable. I should mention I’m a little tardy on posting this blog - we visited Rudy’s on a hot, sunny day in August.

Rudy's told us that all the ingredients they can make fresh, are made fresh, including smoking their own bacon and curing their own beef. Rudy's even prepares their own beverages - including the water that they're so proud of and - soda! I had a cherry soda which was the perfect accompaniment to my burger on the patio while listening to beach tunes over the speakers. The soda's were served over ice in tall glasses and made colourful displays on our two tables.

I went for the "Max Cheese" burger - how could I not? The patty was a ball of beef in between two regulation sized grilled cheeses. It came nowhere near to the edges - which in some ways was good because it was easy to leave half the bread on the plate. There was a beautiful bone handled knife stuck through the burger - the effect being a top heavy grilled cheese platform balanced on top of a round ball of beef. I had a bobble burger! The top of my burger actually bobbled lazily back and forth just like the Ozzie Osborne action figure I have at home. There was a long cocktail stick - with a little Rudy's flag - keeping the tall assembly in check. I opted to use the knife to cut my burger in half and that made handling it a lot easier. As I looked around at the rest of the burger crew during lunch there was a lot of serviette action going on.

April lamented “It was tasty for a heart attack on a plate. I could not eat the whole thing.” Sandy also had the Max Cheese and said “Wow. I didn't know what to expect … this was, well, oddly delicious. The patty was juicy and well flavoured. The egg bursting when I cut the sandwich was the perfect binding agent. The bacon was crisp and the grilled cheese was not over grilled.” Tazz mused “The sandwich I had was obviously created by a death row inmate asked what he wanted for his last meal.”I want a hamburger, some grilled cheese sandwiches and, oh yeah, an egg & bacon."”

The grilled cheeses were two full sized sandwiches. Very fun. They were lightly buttered and lightly grilled with a thin slice of very light motza cheese. I thought I might get a very rich, heavy burger with the grilled cheeses, but it wasn't. There was a *lot* of bread - but not a lot of flavour from the grilled cheeses. I modified the design though by asking for the egg to be left off - others said the runny egg worked well with the grilled cheese. Mike wrote “The egg blends well with the crisp of the GCS, the patty & mayo.”

The meat was a nice grind - not too fine and not too coarse. The patty hadn't been overworked and was quite tender (not soft and fall-aparty) and juicy (not fatty). It was very mildly seasoned though. Not much flavour to the patty at all - except authentic beef taste. The flavour in this burger came from the zingy special sauce, the generous coarsely chopped grilled onions and the leathery bacon. There were even fresh refrigerator pickles on the burger.

The "Forest Mushroom Soup" was absolutely delicious. It was dark and full of fresh mushrooms in a rich creamy broth. I loved it.

I tried Stephanie's French fries. They were shoestring dimensions but tasted like little curly fries that had been straightened. There was lots of seasoning and they were a nice accompaniment to the burger.

When I made the reservation I was told they would add the gratuity to our bills. I requested they not do that, and when it came time to pay our bills, we were allowed to decide what tip to give. I never understand the automatic gratuity - but I probably don’t appreciate the restaurant business in Winnipeg. If it's added onto your bill automatically then it's not a tip, it's just a surcharge. The intent of a tip is to reward good service. I would think that servers would come away with a bigger tip if left up to the diners than the automatic 15% added to the bill.

April observed “The bathrooms were very fancy, so fancy in fact that they are hard to find and blend into the wall. State of the art, but I had trouble making things work.” Christie backed her up: “I do admit that the washroom set-up both puzzled and delighted me.”

Burgerbend (Scoops): 3.9/5

Fat Boy
$4.75
Score: 4.0

Bacon Burger
$4.75
Score: 3.8

Cheese Burger
$3.75
Score: 3.5

After retiring, Dennis Schwartz built Scoops for his boys to run, and not too long after that, added on the Burgerbend. They're clearly big sports supporters with Bombers and Jets memorabilia on the walls and both Dennis and his son Matthew were wearing their Blue Bombers t-shirts. Dennis just recently opened a second Scoops-Burger Bar on Main at Jefferson and now each of his sons has a restaurant. Dennis is a great entertainer and had lots of stories for us. April exclaimed “Dennis keeps popping out from behind counters in both the burger and ice cream shop!”

Burgerbend (and Burger Bar) use the "original" Fat Boy secret recipe developed by Dennis's good friend "Jimmy". Jimmy created the Fat Boy 40 years ago, and according to Dennis, Greek restaurants tried to copy it, but now he has the original recipe taught to him and his boys by Jimmy.  Dennis told us how the patties are made from fresh ground and the potatoes cut daily.

The Burgerbend has a little vestibule across the front where you go in one door, order and pay for your burger, then exit out the other end and wait for your number to be called. A couple of other patrons came in while we were there and they were treated like old friends. It was a beautiful day and eleven of us sat comfortably outside at the nice clean picnic tables under than shade of umbrellas.

The burgers came wrapped in checked paper and served on a tray with Ketchup on the side. The burger patty was steaming hot, had a real grill crust, and was cooked thoroughly - quite a firm texture. That may in part have been because we were chatting up Matthew and distracting him from flipping burgers at the grill. Several people said their burgers were moist so there was likely just some variable time on the heat trying to cook a dozen patties at once on an eight patty grill. My bacon-cheeseburger didn't have a lot of juicy toppings on it (it's all about the bacon and beef) but people who had the Fat Boy said it was quite moist. The meat had no filler and was nicely seasoned - I thought a flavourful seasoning salt mixed in with the beef. My double was delicious and quite filling. A single would've probably done.  The bacon was cooked very crispy. I'll definitely take that over soft, soggy bacon any day; it's a real trick to be able to get perfect "leathery" bacon especially when cooking for a crowd at lunch and sharing the hot grill with the burgers. The processed jalapeno cheese is unique – it comes from Mexico - via Dennis's place in Arizona. I enjoyed the taste and there was a good flavour balance with the rest of the ingredients. I asked for my onions fried and they were able to accommodate. Nothing kills a burger for me like a pile of hot, white onion and the fried onions tasted great!

Brett summarized the burger nicely “Great chili. Great crust on the patty, well seasoned burgers + chili, bun stood up.”

Karen commented “The patty was very nicely seasoned. Crispy fried on the outside and still moist on the inside. Toppings complemented the burger - not too many and not sliding apart. The bun was a bit dry but perfect size.” Karen had the Bullseye Bacon Burger and it was all about the BBQ sauce!

The buns are baked especially for Burgerbend by Kub Bakery. They were nice and big - easily encapsulating my double burger. There was a good burger-to-bun ratio but the buns were perhaps a little dry and crumbly. They were warmed on the grill though which is always a good thing. The perfect bun seems to be elusive among Winnipeg burger restaurants, but Burger Club recommends a Kaiser.

I *loved* the fries! The potatoes are freshly cut each day, deep fried soft and brown and seasoned. Cary tried the Taco Fries, and wow, they looked good. He wouldn't share with the rest of us though, so we'll have to take his word for it. Dennis told us the Taco Fries are the big seller. Cary said “The Taco fries are a meal in themselves”.

What's the best way to finish off a burger and fries? With ice-cream of course and Dennis invited us to sample the wares at Scoops next door - his treat! Best ice-cream ever! Thanks Dennis - you're a great host and a stand up guy :) People of Riverbend - you are lucky to have Burgerbend in your neighbourhood!