How hard is it to make a great Burger?

One of my food pet peeves is BAD RESTAURANT FOOD.  I really hate it when I spend a lot of money or even not that much money on food and it's so bad that I toss most of it out.  I know "people are starving in Africa".   That's precisely why restaurants should attempt to make better food that people will eat.

The inspiration for this blog post comes from my recent visit to Five Guys Burgers.   I was shopping out in the west end of Toronto and was so hungry that I needed to just get something that would be quick.   Where I was there was a choice of a Pita place and Five Guys Burgers.   I picked the Burgers because this chain seems to be popping up all over so I thought I would try it and see how they were.   Well... I should have gone to the Pita Place instead.

It wasn't exactly cheap fast food.  For a Cheeseburger, Fries and a Pop it cost me $16.  I could have gotten lunch for 2 people at McDonald's for that price and enjoyed the taste a whole lot more.  While I know I shouldn't eat junk food and Burgers aren't the best selection for a good lunch, I just wanted to get something fast that would fill me up so that I could keep going.   I think I only ate about a third of the french fries,  they weren't transported and they were still a little on the soggy side and they didn't have much flavour.  The Hamburger had a couple of slices of cheap processed "American" cheese and it was just a basic Burger, no frills,  on a un toasted squished Bun.  The Burger totally fell apart in my hands while I was eating it and it wasn't even a juicy tasty burger.

Why does this chain exist?  Do we really need more bad Hamburger joints?   I get the good Burger places expanding like the Burger Priest.   They make fresh ground Hamburgers that taste really good and have creative ways of jazzing them up.   I get that.   They deserve to expand to more stores.   But the Five Guys Burgers really aren't worthy of multiple locations and charging the kind of prices they do.   I guess an indication should have been that there were plenty of empty tables in the restaurant.  Whereas if you go to a place like the Burger Priest there is always a line up out the door just for take out.   Too bad there wasn't a Burger Priest where I was, because I probably would have gone there instead.

What really bugs me is that I don't have Culinary Training but I could probably make a whole lot better food than a whole lot of restaurants I have eaten at over the years.

There really is no excuse in making a Bad Burger and Fries... and to make a Chain of stores with these underwhelming Burgers is a Sin.   It's not that hard to make a great burger.   First you get the best quality beef you can get.   Grind it fresh.  You don't even have to do anything to it.   You can just season it with Salt and Pepper and it would be great if you cook it properly.  Add a toasted fresh bun with some substance, one that doesn't fall apart when you add the Burger and condiments.   Have a good selection of FRESH condiments.   Melt your cheese on the Burger.   Serve it Fresh and Hot.   Cook the fries until crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.  Use the double fry method.  Check your temperatures and do it right.   That's all it takes.   You can make gourmet burgers and add things like Blue Cheese or Avocado or whatever but you have to get the basic burger and fries right first.

All of those people who open bad restaurants should go away and make it easier for people that love to cook great food able to provide great food to their customers.   Stop wasting people's time and money on these crappy joints.  

Yes this bugs me.   I probably could have bought a downtown condo if you added up all the money I have spent on bad restaurant food over the years.   This isn't limited to just take out food,   I had years of bad food at a hospital I worked in, and I have had bad restaurant food in places that are supposed to be good.   Everyone has a bad day,  I get that.   But if you consistently just make bad food then you have no business running a restaurant.   Yes I am going all Gordon Ramsey on this point but this is where I agree with him.   Restaurant owners abuse people's money and health when they don't get it right.   It's not like buying a shirt.   You can donate your shirt to charity or give it to a friend.   Your bad food just goes into the garbage and into the landfill.  (assuming most restaurants don't bother composting).   While there are a whole lot of people that can barely scrape together a meal everyday.   It's just criminal to commit this food offence.

I am sure this food looks pretty good but in the big picture of the value and the quality, those 2 things didn't match.

I would much rather promote a restaurant than slag one...but I have seen a bit of a trend to sloppy cooking and service.  With thousands of restaurants in the city most people know who the ones that are doing it right are.

This is the time when I miss having a BBQ and being able to grill up some great burgers at home.
I am not a vegetarian, although I believe in eating healthy food I do crave things like Burgers and Mac and Cheese and stuff I probably shouldn't be eating.   If I cave and eat these things they might as well taste good and be worth it.

This is my opinion and obviously somebody must like this food or they wouldn't be in business.  I just wish there were more choices for better food everywhere.   I would much rather have gotten some great food off of a great food truck.

No, I don't work for Burger Priest or any other Burger chain and I don't even get paid for writing restaurant reviews.  I am not a former employee of Five Guys but I am a good food lover and want to let people know where to spend their money and where to save it.

Spin Dessert Cafe Spun OUT.

Restaurant Review:
Spin Dessert Cafe

It was my friend's Birthday and she decided to do a low key girls night Birthday dinner/dessert close to where she lives to make it easy.  But it didn't end up so easy when SPIN Spun Out.

A couple of us got there at about 7:30 and my friend wasn't there yet and when we asked about reservations the guy told us it was in some other name other than my friends name so we were going to wait and then he said it was for 10-15 people and I guess that was the only reservation for that many so he advised us to sit at a long table.

My friend arrived about 10 minutes later and was confused at the name he had as the name reserved.   That should have been our first clue that it wasn't going to be a great night.

It took another 10 minutes before we got menus and then at least another 15 minutes before I had to ask to get water.   So it must have been at least 25 min from the time we sat down until we got glasses of water.  Then a few minutes later to take our order.   My friend wanted to switch up a sauce on the menu and they did.   We got our dinner about another 10 min later I think.  One of the girls ordered dessert and wanted a certain ice cream and they were out of it.   Then when our orders arrived my friends and my savoury crepe dinner came with ceasar salad and my friend asked for some extra cheese and the waitress looked at her like she was asking for crab legs or something.  Then after a few minutes she said she will see.  I think there was something else my friend asked for but I don't know if she got that.

My friend ordered a chicken pesto crepe and could hardly cut the crepes with the knife that was as sharp as a butter knife.  My order was the chicken fajitas in a crepe with condiments on the side which was fine but the guacamole looked a bit brown like it was sitting around for a while.  The crepes were tough and crispy and it was tough to cut them down.   The chicken though seasoned ok just tasted like it was a cold chicken breast sliced and tossed in.  Very below average.

Then it gets better when my friend tried to order dessert.  After all it was her Birthday and she wanted a piece of cake.  She tried to order the Red Velvet Cake and the guy said he just took it out of the freezer and it was frozen.   Then she asked for something else and they said that was gone.  Some of the friends said to them they should look after her since it was her birthday.  Then she asked for a third thing and she couldn't get that.  All she could get was chocolate cake and cheesecake and she didn't want either.  So she just skipped the dessert and asked for the bill.   I think they gave her some sort of credit but her dinner wasn't comped totally.  We had money and the bill on the table and the waitress still didn't come and clear the plates but instead was kind of hiding out in the back and chatting away.  

We finally left and it was pouring rain but my friend was still hungry and by this time annoyed and really wanted a drink so she wanted to go to either Pickel Barrel or Moxie's.   We ended up going up to Moxie's because they had Bellini specials on Wed. night.  What a difference good service and good food makes.  The Moxie's is in my neighbourhood so by the time we went it was only my friend and I. I felt bad because her Birthday experience was less than Stellar so I hoped that Moxie's would make her night a lot better.  When we walked in we were greeted and seated right away.  We were given menus right away and our drink order was taken.  Her Bellini arrived within 5 min. of walking in the door.  I ordered ice tea and before I even finished the ice tea there was another one on the table.  I didn't ask for another one but I assume they just provide free refills so she wanted to be on top of it when she brought my friend a second Bellini.  My friend was there recently and the people she was with ordered chicken wings and the waitress was very patient trying to figure out which ones they were.  We got honey garlic wings with a little hot sauce and some regular fries.    They both arrived promptly.   The chicken wings were delicious and crispy with a great flavoured sauce.  The waitress was lovely and very efficient and a pleasure to have served us.  It put my friend in a much better mood and she felt satisfied. She never did get her cake but luckily as her gift I tucked in a Sweets from the Earth dessert  so I hope she enjoyed that later.  
We got to the Moxie's through an underground tunnel from the subway station but unfortunately it closed at 10pm so we had to walk back outside in the pouring rain.   My friend hopped on the bus instead of the subway and headed home.   Hopefully a little happier than her planned restaurant girls night.

You know a restaurant is bad when you have to go to another one afterward and order food again.

On their website the place and the menu looked great.   In person the place was a lot smaller looking but ok but not as beautiful as it appeared on the website.  It was quite dissappointing and it's interesting that they have multiple locations.

I am sure that the Spin Dessert Cafe didn't know that there was a food blogger at that table that night.  So my advice is to hire proper staff and treat everyone as though they were a VIP and your business will be around a long time.   My prediction is that Spin Dessert Cafe will be closed within a year.

So skip Spin and go to Moxie's or even the Keg, Pickle Barrel or Milestone's if you want proper food and proper service on a consistent basis.

There are a lot of bad/sad restaurants in the city so skip those and spend your money at the places that want you and your business.