SubscribeUPDATED April 20, 2010
There is something irresistible about a burger that even the most devout proponent of haute cuisine should not sniff at. I am not one for the fancy burger. Your foie gras, imported cheeses, and other upscale ingredients do not a good burger make. In fact, when I’m trying to measure the worth of a burger, I usually order a regular cheeseburger with whatever toppings come standard. The bun should be fresh, not too chewy or big and ideally something that you would eat even if it wasn’t stuffed with meat. The patty should be beefy–I know it sounds weird but a lot of burgers don’t really taste like beef or much of anything at all. It should be well seasoned, which in my mind doesn’t involve much more than just salt. As for the cooking, I don’t understand afficionados of the rare burger. Steaks should be cooked rare, burgers, at the very least, to medium well ( although an overcooked patty is even more disappointing as an undercooked one). The condiments in the ideal burger provide a bit of sweetness and a bit of acidity but I’m not picky about what you use to get there.
While some people will tell you that there is no great burger to be had in Montreal (and in this they may be right, especially if you consider that the hamburger is a much more serious affair south of the 49th parallel), there are still a few places that shine a little brighter than the rest. Here are a few of my favourites and my take on some of the other big names that get bandied about.
The Sparrow
5322 St-Laurent
514.690.3964
The Sparrow is not a burger joint by any means, but their hamburger is good enough to put them at the top of this list. Hamburgers are generally tasty even when they’re not so good–that’s why they’re popular. Even a bad burger is usually not that bad. But if you want to know the difference between a good burger and a great burger, head to the Sparrow. Everything here is generally top notch but the burger deserves a special nod, if only because it’s possibly the best specimen I’ve been served in Montreal. The bun is a rich brioche, toasted just so. The patty is thick, fatty and so beautifully seasoned and well cooked that I would gladly eat this burger without any condiments. It comes with a little lettuce, tomato and mayo. My only complaint is that it needs an acidic pop–mayo on this fatty patty is just layering fat on fat. Thankfully, they bring ketchup for the thick cut fries, so you can improvise. The only real drawback is that you can only get this baby for a weekday lunch and you’ll need to wait in line for it and you may need to eat it sitting next to a middle-aged hipster.
Picks
1407 St-Marc
514.937.1937
http://www.picksfood.com/
Picks is a bit of a weird place. It’s a little run down, it’s a little dirty (and not in that good old school way–in that I just don’t give a fuck way), ordering is odd and the service is a oftentimes spastic. Still, Picks served me one of the better burgers I have had in the past few years. The patty is packed too hard and is a little overseasoned for my tastes but the bun is a pillowy soft, flour dusted job. Put the two together with and you get a little compact burger that makes you want to eat another little compact burger. Picks offers a few more adventurous toppings, including fried egg, bulgogi and grilled red peppers , and they also offer a full suite of flavored mayos and other sauces. Their biggest claim to fame may be the kogo, a variation on the corn dog, but with a four based batter and studded with bits of french fries. The kogo is worth trying as a novelty item but the doughy sheath that holds all those fries in place, just doesn’t work for me. Give me a corn-batter pogo any day. When Picks is good, it’s really good, but it isn’t always really good. If it weren’t for consistency issues, Picks would rank pretty high on my list.
Le Gourmet Burger
1433 B Bishop
514.435.3535
http://www.legourmetburger.com
Not the most original name, but I think Le Gourmet Burger is a decent option nonetheless. I really like the brioche buns here, even if they tend to be a little too big for the patty, as they have a beautiful color and crumb with a hint of sweetness. The patty is charcoal grilled but tends, in my experience, to be too lean and underseasoned. The burgers also only come dressed with lettuce, tomato and ‘”caramelized” onions, which in my experience are just sauteed onions. If you want sauce you have to fiddle around with the half-empty condiments at the counter and you’re going to want some mayo on these burgers or they’ll be on the dry side. Le Gourmet Burger is also big on the exotic toppings, offering caramelized figs and walnuts, foie gras, a full complement of pestos and eggplant tahini amongst others. When it all comes together it makes for a pretty good, if not necesarilly a great, burger. A regular hamburger sets you back $5 at Le Gourmet Burger and the product is better than at M:brgr. That choice is a no-brainer for me.
L’Anecdote
801 Rachel E.
514.526.7967
L’Anecdote with its cozy banquettes, jukebox and well worn decor is turning into a Montreal institution with its time tested menu of fast food favourites. They make burgers with any number of God’s creatures here, but for my tastes their cheeseburger is more than sufficient. The smallish patty is generally cooked spot on and served on a classic sesame studded bun of the store bought variety . You can get it dressed with your choice of traditional toppings (no truffles here) and served with a workmanlike if not spectacular poutine or fries. This isn’t rocket science. Although I doubt anybody would call it the best burger in the city, there is something very satisfying about grabbing a burger at L’Anecdote.
Buns
1855 Ste-Catherine W.
514.303.8889
(other locations)
A lot of people like Buns. I’ve only been once and it reminded me of Beavis & Butthead at BurgerWorld. The staff looked stoned, the wait was eternal and the food ranged from okay to terrible. The burger itself was actually not bad. The patty was large and beefy, though a little overcooked. The buns were not only ordinary but also stale, which is a bit ironic in a joint named “Buns” . I would charitabl describe the burger as average. A special mention for ineptitude for the grilled potatoes: a mix of oddly cut lumps of raw and calcinated potatoes seasoned with a poor man’s version of Montreal steak spice. One of the worst things I have ever paid money to eat. And I used to live in Asia. A lot of people seem to like Buns and I have been meaning to visit again (maybe at the St-Laurent location) but my heart just isn’t in it.
Mr. Steer
1198 St. Catherine W.
514.866.3233
Famous for having won the Montreal Gazette’s “best burger in Montreal” contest what is now an eternity ago, Mr. Steer serves little meatball-like hamburgers with their signature (and very ordinary) curly fries. Ask for the burgers no more than medium-rare or you may be eating something the consistency of a pool ball. Although the little ‘fists of meat’ patties do not cook up the way I like them and the buns are forgettable, I still find myself coming back here at least once a year. Not really a contender for best burger but another place that makes a burger that is a little different. Bonus points for being the only restaurant I frequent to serve that nasty orange ’French’ salad dressing.
Dic Ann’s
10910 Boulevard Pie-IX
www.dicanns.com
(other locations)
Dic Ann’s is a small Montreal-based chain that has been making burgers since 1954. The burger here is unlike most burgers: picture a little McDonald’s hamburger that has been run over by a steamroller and slathered in Dic Ann’s signature spicy sauce, a thin ground beef and hot pepper concoction. They serve them with little popsicle sticks so you can scrape the burger off the plate and you need to order them at least two at a time. Perhaps unsurprisingly a lot of people are not fans of this not-quite-hamburger, but it has a certain appeal to me. It’s almost not even a burger, but I think it’s one of the more interesting offerings in Montreal and definitely recommend it.
La Paryse
302 Ontario E.
514.842.2040
La Paryse used to be considered the top hamburger joint in the city back when people said you couldn’t get a great burger in Montreal. It is bright and cozy little restaurant that doesn’t really seem to fit in a grotty little location just off St-Denis on Ontario Street. The burger at La Paryse really feels homemade, hence its charm. The patty misshapen, thick and beefy, is generally well cooked. The bun, a kaiser roll often with poppy seed, looks like Mom might have picked it up at the grocery store. The toppings are abundant, , sometimes oozing out of the bun before a single bite has been taken, which makes eating it a real challenge. It ain’t pretty, but it tastes pretty good.
M:brgr
2025 Drummond
514.906.2747
http://www.mbrgr.com/
M:brgr is the upscale (read: expensive) burger joint on Drummond in downtown Montreal that kicked off the gourmet burger trend in Montreal . In addition to the regular burger, which I think is the best bet here, they also serve burgers made with organic beef and Kobe beef as well as other high-end takes on fast food. The accent here is on the toppings, the more exotic the better, from grilled asparagus or salami, to white truffle shavings to smoked pulled chicken and a few toppings at M:brger can easily lead to a $20 burger. Proving perhaps that less is often more, M:brgr disappoints more often than it pleases. The “mostly chuck” patty is often overcooked or hasn’t rested and the bun is very ordinary. It makes for a burger that isn’t bad, but isn’t good enough for what it costs.
For the record, my favorite hamburger of all time came from Taylor’s Automatic Refresher in St. Helena, California.
