1433B
Bishop St., Downtown
Montréal |
Le
Gourmet Burger
It’s
tough to get a
good hamburger in
Montreal. Usually,
the hamburgers
are tough as well — because
we’re
in Montreal. Good
buns are hard to
get a hold of,
unless you make
them yourself, or
have them made
to your specifications.
Most of the shops
here just opt to
stick with what’s
already available.
Perhaps Costco
rolls; who knows.
But the bun is
half the burger
and can make or
break the whole
thing.
No,
I wouldn’t
want to open
a burger joint
in Montreal unless
I could somehow
set myself apart
from the pack.
Rise above the
Dilallos, the
Anecdotes, the
La Paryses,
the scores of
burger joints
in this city
that never really
seem to score.
Hop
across the border
to New York,
or across the
country to San
Francisco, and
you’re
in burger heaven.
So why not Montreal?
Well, a fellow
named Georges
Najjar took it
upon himself to
set things straight,
to devote himself
to all things
Burger. He flew
around the States
analyzing different
burger places
and what set them
apart from the
pack. Surfed the
Internet. Krazy-glued
his remote control
to the Food Channel.
Bought videos.
In short, did
massive amounts
of research before
he was even about
to try opening
a burger joint.
Musashi-san
at the grill
Thus:
Le Gourmet Burger.
There’s
m:brgr, of course,
but Georges wasn’t
about to start charging
$19.95 for a Kobé burger
with truffle oil.
No, he charges about
$5 for a burger
with truffle oil
(truffle oil three
bucks extra!) And
Georges has his
own dedicated butcher
to whom he specifies
which cuts he wants
and how he wants
them ground. His
rolls are all custom-baked.
Gourmet Burger doesn’t
have those fancy
names for each burger — you
know, “The
Italian” or “The
Singapore Swing” or
some other such
nonsense that so
many burger joints
indulge in. Here,
you start with a
charcoal-grilled
burger, made in
front of you, which
comes automatically
with grilled onions
and tomatoes in
a brioche bun. This
is $5. Extras, such
as cheeses, coleslaw,
hummus, fried eggs,
pesto, beets, hot
peppers, Caramelized
fig walnuts, truffle
oil, foie gras etc.
are all less than
$3 (except for the
foie gras at $5).
There are several
condiments available,
which include wasabi
mayo, Dutch mayo,
garlic mayo and so
on, but also includes
good ol’ French’s
(hello, Dillalo).
Regular
fries
I
opted for the regular
burger with bacon
and Swiss (pictured).
Others at the table
went for the foie
gras, mushrooms
. . . I can’t
recall exactly,
but the grill chef,
with Georges’ help,
whipped them out
in about ten minutes.
Sides were grease-free
fries, either straight,
sweet, or a combination.
My
burger, pre-condiments
Those
among us who
prefer to be able
to specify how
we wanted our
burgers done (I
like mine medium)
were swiftly
admonished, and
rightly so. There
are the handcuffs
on burgers in
this city. They
MUST be cooked
to well done,
by law. “You’d
have to sign a waiver,” said
Georges, “absolving
us in case you got
sick.” Hmm.
I’ll
cogitate on that
one. Got any forms
at the counter,
Georges?
But
the burgers?
Redolent of wood-smoke,
large but manageable,
on a soft, slightly
sweet roll, the
fries a tad more
Montréalais
than I prefer (you
know, thick instead
of matchstick, dark
instead of golden — but
I’m
a Yank so it doesn’t
matter) but still
great with the multiple
sauces — well,
it looks like Georges
seems to be on track
to compete on the
Montreal burger
circuit. And with
a bill for myself
and my wife including
all the extras and
dessert, including
tax and tip hovering
around $20, I’d
say Georges has
a good thing going
here. It’s
all still a bit
young, but beer
and wine are in
the works and when
they arrive I know
where I’ll
be going for my
Montreal burger
fix.
Oh,
christ, almost forgot. Check
out the bathroom!
– Reviewed
by Nicholas Robinson (Oct/09)
