Burger Heaven
It’s been waaay too long…well over ten years now since I’ve paid a visit to Burger Heaven. Strange, really, considering that they’re just down the hill. Maybe I’ve developed some sort of food-phobia of New Westminster. Whenever I think of some place to eat it’s usually west of here. There are, actually, a few really good restaurants around town. It’s just that a lot of them are hit or miss. If memory serves, Burger Heaven was always a hit.
Whenever I’m flipping through the Royal City Record, our local rag, I notice Burger Heaven has a 2 for 1 coupon. As there wasn’t a copy handy at the office, I downloaded the page from their PDF version and clipped out the coupon. You’d figure that’d be as good as the newspaper coupon, no? Apparently not. I was asked if I made a photo copy of the coupon. When I said, “No”, the server checked with her manager, came back and told us they’d accept it only this time. Isn’t the idea of offering a deal at your restaurant to drum up business? Oh, well. All that doesn’t matter one whit. What matters is the food!
Aside from the “regular” burgers, Burger Heaven offers up three ginormous varieties. The Ernie’s Mile High, if you can’t make out the description above, is two and a half pounds (eight patties) loaded with cheddar, mozza, bacon and shrooms. Not sure how one would tackle such a thing but I’d love to see someone try!
The one person I thought would give it a go, chickened out and went with the Hulk Burger.
The Gut likes his burgers and he likes ’em large. The Hulk Burger consists of two six-ounce patties, cheddar, mozza, bacon, mushrooms, onions, tomato and lettuce. He polished this off without so much as a grunt. Kudos, my friend.
Burgers Etc. BBQ House
For quite a while I’ve been trying to drag the gang out to Burgers Etc. BBQ House. Usually we opt for some sort of Asian fare a little closer to the office. This Friday we finally made the trek up to Hastings and Gilmore for a BBQ feast!
Burgers Etc. is a bit of an eclectic joint…the walls festooned with Americana, license plates and various instruments. Gives it a nice, warm, den-like atmosphere. The BBQ-smoke-infused air does nothing but help the appetite along…
Along with pretty decent BBQ, they offer up a variety of solid beers (and Budweiser), sodas as well as their own BBQ sauce.
This was, I think, my third trip to Burgers Etc. BBQ House. The first time, I had their “award-winning” burger. Although I can find no mention of this contest on the web, they claim to be the winner of CTV’s Best Burger in Vancouver. On my second trip I went with the BBQ Ribs and Beef Brisket Combo. The ribs weren’t all that special but the brisket oh, that brisket!
This time round, I’m here for the full meal deal…The Menu Sampler.
Lost in the 50’s Drive-in
Unfortunately, the days of the good old-fashioned drive-ins & diners are long gone in these parts. Well, maybe they’re not all gone, but they are definitely few and far between. Lost In The 50’s Drive-In is an old-school spot that has recently been given a facelift.
Located in Burnaby, just east of the Canada Way/Edmonds intersection, this little burger joint has literally been “Lost in the 50’s” for quite a while now. As it’s en route to my office, I have passed it by thousands of times over the years. For the longest time a double-decker bus was parked alongside only to fall victim to years of neglect and vandalism. As it appeared, so did the diner. Probably a big reason for it’s lack of success. Recently a young Korean fellow took over the reins from his parents and gave the place a whole new feel.
This intrepid restaurateur has taken the old-school diner, saved the basics, and given it a modern twist. Alongside the milkshakes and onion rings are organic burgers and mini bottles of Mexican sugar-cane Coke. There’s even a selection of hand-crafted root beers, to boot.
Triple O’s (Kingsway)
For most, the mere mention of White Spot invokes memories of going out for a family dinner. As a kid in the 70’s, going to White Spot meant “Pirate Pack”! You got a huge cardboard ship loaded with a burger, fries, a drink, ice cream…even a gold-wrapped chocolate dubloon! How could you not love it?
Since those days, White Spot has spawned Triple O’s, it’s fast-food spin-off. Along with nineteen locations in the GVRD, there are six in Hong Kong and one each in Bangkok and Seoul. From all accounts, it’s a thriving business.
After reading of Triple O’s expansion and being made aware of “Triple “O” Tuesday”, I thought it would be worth checking out.
Triple “O” Tuesday is the day when the Triple “O” burger is reduced in price from $4.69 to $3.33. For an additional $2 you can get the combo. That’s quite a deal, you might think. I placed my order, was handed a cup and, as I was filling it, was handed my burger and fries.
Fatburger
As with most dining experiences, price is usually an important factor. Oftentimes, when going out for a nice meal in an upper-end restaurant, one doesn’t always quibble if the main is around the twenty-five dollar mark. You know that ambiance, service and quality ingredients are factored into the price. When going out for a burger, however, you may consider the actual value of the product when choosing your meal. That being said, I’ll leave it up to you to decide whether thirteen bucks is a fair price for a burger combo.
Fatburger opened its first restaurant in Los Angeles in 1952 by African-Americans Lovey Yancey and Charles Simpson. Since those days many notable African-Americans have bought franchises. Magic Johnson, Kanye West and Queen Latifah to name but three. An interesting page on Fatburger Corporation can be found here.
One thing that separates Fatburger from fast-food restaurants is, after placing your order, it’s delivered to your table. That’s because of the other thing that separates Fatburger…your meal is made to order. It takes about ten minutes to arrive…hot and still juicy from the grill.
Burger Burger
Ah, the burger. Some would say it’s the perfect meal. When done right, it can come darn close. One of my favorite burger experiences was at a stand in Mexico City (Hamburguesas a la Parilla Roma) this past summer. For about $2 you got a freshly-grilled, loaded cheeseburger with options like chiles and grilled pineapple. The burger I had, with everything, was quite messy but oh-so-damn-good! Hot chiles, sweet pineapple and dripping beef fat…whatta combo.
Luckily for me, I discovered this video by Don Cuevas of My Mexican Kitchen. Love finding those food-blogging nuggets!
A Hamburger Stand in Colonia Roma Norte, Mexico City
Around these parts, aside from chain burger joints, it’s hard to find the burger-fries-Coke meal for under $10. At Burger Burger, the lunch special is either the Mushroom Cheeseburger or Bacon Cheeseburger, fries and a canned pop for $5.69.
The Friday Lunch 
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