Harvey's Original Double Cheeseburger, Toronto, Canada

As a Canadian living in the US, there are a lot of things I just can't get down here. I miss that ooey-gooey icky mess of beef gravy covered french fries with melted cheese curds- called poutine. I miss the chocolaty covered peanut butter bars called Wunderbar, and for some reason I seem to crave burgers from Canadian burger joint- Harvey's. I don't know what it is about Harvey's, but I just absolutely have to have it when I come back to Canada for a visit.

Harvey's Hamburgers

Harvey's was my last stop on my short, north of the border burger adventure. They're motto is "Harvey's makes your hamburger a beautiful thing" and is largely due to you as the customers being able to build the burger the way you like it choosing from a choice of topics ranging from pickles to mustard to hot pepper rings- but no alfalfa sprouts or surprises on the condiment list, just basic stuff you'd expect to find on a burger.

I went for the double original cheeseburger- with everything- Lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, onions, mustard, ketchup, mayo, and hot pepper rings. One would think that this would create a sloppy mess that would cause the slop to run down your arms, but they've got this down to an art and it's easy to eat, even outside of it's wrapper.

The Double Original Cheeseburger at Harvey's

The beef patties are the key to this burger. They've obviously been mechanically formed and likely have some soy or other binders in them, but these things are perfectly seasoned, juicy, and tasty! Harvey's lightly toasts their buns and assembles the burger based on your choices- and with the right toppings, this burger can be built to please even the pickiest palates. It will certainly have me coming back- time and time again.

Aburgerday rating: 7/10

Homeburger at Licks, Toronto, Canada

Licks is a chain of fast food restaurants north of the border. They've been around since I was in high school and my distant memories include being greeted at the register by the summer placement of a smiley zit faced teen in that awkward 16 year-18 year old range taking your order- and almost always screwing it up. They took your order, your name, and eventually your dignity when they would break out into songs (including your name in the chorus) about dancing burgers, fries and "ringidinigity" onion rings. The restaurants were always crowded- at least in my home town, with friends and groups of other teens out on a Friday or Saturday night. Going to Licks was fun and I have some interesting memories- and stories from those nights out which I'll choose to keep to myself :)...but my...how things have changed...

Lick's Hamburgers

I visited Licks late on a Friday night- probably around 10PM- a full hour before closing, however there seemed to be a late night rush of a post soccer game that ensued which seemed to overwhelm the middle aged Indian man taking orders and the one short order cook. Everything was "different" now at Licks- the menus are on vertically positioned plasma screens, no more singing, no kids taking your orders- at least not tonight- which made the place loose the nostalgic feel that it once had. No taking down of names, no songs, no energy....no nothing. I really wanted my wife, who was there for the first time, to step back in time and transport us to the old Licks- to experience it as I remembered 25 years ago- but it was not to be- Licks has become just another boring, modern day, average fast food joint. We were soon to find out that the burger was to be as underwhelming as the establishment itself.

The Homeburger is the staple burger on the Licks menu. The patties are large, fresh and never frozen Canadian beef cooked over a flame grill. Burgers are made to order with your choice of topping that include everything from puckery kosher full-sour sliced pickles (that I absolutely love), to alfalfa sprouts, to their signature "Guck" sauce which is a mayo/relish mixture that they slather on their burgers. What I don't get is why they add the cheese- a shred of what appears to be a colby/cheddar mix, after cooking when the final burger is built. This technique almost invariably never melts the cheese.

The Homeburger at Lick's Burgers

The sesame seed bun was stale, so lightly toasted that it may as well had not been, the burger was dry and well done even though I asked that they cook it to medium and the un-melted cheese added a grainy consistency to the point that this burger was not only underwhelming, it was almost un-palatable. What a total and utter disappointing. I won't be going back unless it's within a happy dream or memory of the Licks of years gone past.

A Burgeraday rating: 3/10

The Coronary at Woody's Burgers, Toronto, Canada

We are taking a burger a day north of the border this week with a trio of burger reviews starting with Woody's Burgers in Toronto, Canada. Woody's is located at the far west end of the Toronto on the lakeshore and borders the city of Mississauga. If you are coming to Woody's from downtown- it's quite the trip, but one that worthwhile after you try a burger.

Woody's Burgers

Woody's has often been voted as having one of the city's best burgers and their claim to fame are burger's that are hand formed daily using local farm raised beef cooked over a wood burning grill. They offer a variety of burgers- Beef, Turkey, Chicken and Bison with some stuffed with blue cheese or cheddar. Their menu also includes pulled pork sandwiches, sweet potato and regular fries as well as a full bar.

I gave the appropriately named "coronary burger" a try. The coronary is a 7oz patty stuffed with cheddar cheese, topped with more cheddar, an egg, thick bacon, fried onion and mayo on a soft toasted sesame bun. You can always add additional toppings so I also included fried mushrooms. As you can see from the picture, most of the cheese that was stuffed in the burger before cooking, leaked out while cooking,  but there was still plenty of flavor to go around. The beef was truly the highlight of this burger- it was either a different blend of cuts or cows north of the border just taste different- it was juicy, but not crumbly and held together tightly with a slighty "springy" almost elastic consistency. Overall, everything went together extremely well- the over-easy egg spilled it's yolk over the bacon which would yield bites similar to what you'd get with a breakfast sandwich. The onion strings added a nice touch too. This burger is simply fantastic and ranks with some of the better ones that I've had.

The Coronary Burger at Woody's Burgers

Woody's burgers are top notch and any burger aficionado should seek this place out. One note: be prepared to wait. It takes time to make these burgers- it took us 20 minutes and it was not all that busy. The one redeeming fact is that you can sit down and relax on the patio, enjoy some sun and a beer while you wait.

Aburgeraday rating- 8/10