The Burger Shoppe on Ossington

I never knew this great little stretch of funky shops and cafes existed down Ossington Avenue. Just south of Dundas is one of several Burger Shoppe locations in Toronto. This location features a great patio, high ceilings inside, and natural wood finishes. Some of my fellow meat-eaters had tried the location at Queen and Broadview, to rave reviews. It was a beautiful day when we went to the Ossington location, so we sat on the patio. One bonus was the selection of micro brewery beers with great names like Big Wheel.

We were able to choose our style of beef from chuck, angus or sirloin, apparently ground on the premises and priced accordingly. This differentiation may or may not have come into play later.

Hamburglar went for the Banquet burger, a classic cheddar and bacon, with chuck. He gave it an 8 out of 10 but still prefers Craft Burger. Small Fry also went for the Banquet, but said his was cold in the middle. Although he said the taste was good, he prefers South Street's burger, giving this a 7.5.
Pickles here went for the Shoppe, ground chuck. It was awesome, done medium, with carmelized onion and horse radish. Why in heaven's name I never thought of putting horseradish on a burger before, I'll never understand! The garlic aioli was deliciously drippy. I'd give it a 9/10.

Burgermeister went for the Sirloin B&B (blue cheese, bacon, red onion & dijon). He gave this a 9.5 due to it's steak-like flavour. Words like "outstanding" and "sirloin-y" dripped from his mouth when he wasn't stuffing it with more beef. The whole grain bun was a 10 on its own.

Other adjectives bandied about during our meal were delectable, stuffed-inducing, classy and like a 3D movie experience. We all agreed the ingredients were clearly of high quality and worth the slightly higher price.

On to the sides. We ordered fries, onion rings and poutine. The fries were great, and we all scored them at 9. The onion rings were just ok. Although they were big and clearly hand-made, they lacked flavour. The poutine was gloriously lumpy and full of delicious globs.

We had an amazing dessert of creme brulee, that tasted like it had little caramels on top. Even the usual grumpy Small Fry gave it a perfect "10" saying he'd return just for this!

The service was friendly and casual. Our server was great at making recommendations and describing the food and beer. We had a tippy table, which was annoying, but our server tried hard to even it out for us. Ultimately it was a great evening on the patio and I would've been happy eating my way through the menu if I hadn't been so sated. Also, they were dog-friendly and had no issue with our little furry friend leashed just on the other side of us on the patio.

Unfortunately I do have to mention one disparaging side effect that struck all but one. The three of us who ordered 'chuck' for our burgers suffered 'the trots' shortly thereafter. It was swift and thorough. I would have chocked (or chucked) it up to something else, but since three quarters of us suffered the same thing, Small Fry felt it would be misleading not to mention it. However, Burgermeister had no ill effects from his sirloin. This wouldn't stop me from going again, but I think I would upgrade to either Angus or Sirloin next time.

I should also mention that the menu varies slightly from each location, so check it out first. I'm sure the experience will be memorable no matter which one you choose.

http://www.theburgershoppe.com/