Address: 366 Bloor St. West, Toronto, OnVisited: Saturday September 12, 2009 12:45PM
Ordered: Regular Combo (Regular HomeBurger, Fries, Ginger Ale) with cheese (x1), Regular HomeBurger with cheese, Coke (x1)
Total Cost: about $14 I think — I grabbed somebody else’s receipt by mistake
Dave N.’s Review
The Experience
My friend Chantel told me this place was really good, so I got her to take me. (She may add to this review soon, but for now you just have the Davester.) She told me ahead of time that it was a little divey, which is true, but that’s cool with me.
One thing that’s kind of funny is that his place is called "Wing Shop", but it’s clear that their burgers are the big deal. I mean, I guess I didn’t try the wings so they might be awesome, but the signage and stuff on the inside certainly plays up the burgers more. The inside is a kind of anger-causing-blood-in-your-eyes red, and a little dumpy. There was a random sweet print of a painting of Paris on one wall. I loved it.
Ordering was awesome. I don’t really go for fake pleasantries and a lot of flash when it comes to ordering fast food (see: free smiles at McDonald’s, singing your order at Lick’s, etc.), so I was pleasantly surprised when this deal went down as nothing more than a business transaction. No smiles, as few words as possible, just money being exchanged for food. Nice.
My only complaint about the experience overall was that their selection of cans of pop was pretty slim. But that’s not that big a deal, man.
The Burger
The burgers here come in four sizes: Junior (2 oz == 1/8 lb), Regular (4 oz == 1/4 lb), Hugo (8 oz == 1/2 lb), and Double Hugo (16 oz == 1 lb) (note: you can also get Halal and veggie burgers, both of which had separate grills.) Chantel and I both went for the regular size burger, with processed cheese slices.
The burgers are homemade and cooked right in front of your eyes, so you know there’s no damned funny-business. Once they are ready you get to choose your toppings. At first I thought, “Hey these toppings are nothing special.” Then I thought “Well, the fried onions, honey mustard, and salt & pepper are a little special.” THEN I saw the best surprise ever on the toppings sign. It read:
• any of our 30+ wing flavours!
Holy canoli, that’s what I’m talking about! Now the whole "Wing Shop" thing makes perfect sense! It’s just an excuse to put delicious wing sauces on top of delicious burgers! I topped my regular burger with fried onions, hot peppers, and creamy garlic wing sauce.
Boy howdy, this was a good burger. The patty was thin, but had a super high flavour density. The bun was nice, not overly grilled, and a good size for the smallish burger that I ordered. The fried onions and hot peppers had just the right amount of flavour to not overwhelm the patty. And the creamy garlic sauce? Shit yeah, that was a good choice.
I actually have one major regret about my burger. As it was being cooked, I noticed that the dude ahead of us got a junior burger, which was darned near the cutest little thing I’ve ever seen. And I realized, too late, that I could have got a couple (or a few) of those and tried more than one wing sauce. Next time, I suppose. My only complaint about the burger that I actually ordered was the cheese. Real cheese would have been a nice touch. That’s it, though, other than that this was a damned good burger.
Bottom Line
Average rating:
4.9/5
