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[added_time]

Quest for the better burger continues...

My favourite burger I've had is the lamb burger at Burger Bar in Kensington. It's a lamb patty with blue cheese, kimchi and dijon mustard on it. So it's not a "normal" burger by any stretch of the imagination but oh man.... it's sooooo good.
Their regular beef burgers are nothing special though.

 

[EvilMario]

Our building is trying to get people to shell out $200 to have an AC in for the season. Good thing our lease is ancient and has no clause about being able to charge a fee for the AC. Ah yeah, feel that breeze.

I always found it terrible that Toronto has laws about minimum temperature from September to June, but nothing about the right to be able to keep your sweltering apartment under 40c in the summer.

 

[Kuro Madoushi]

My favourite burger I've had is the lamb burger at Burger Bar in Kensington. It's a lamb patty with blue cheese, kimchi and dijon mustard on it. So it's not a "normal" burger by any stretch of the imagination but oh man.... it's sooooo good.
Their regular beef burgers are nothing special though.

Been there. My wife had that lamb patty. I laughed cause there's kimchi on it and she's Korean...

I'll keep looking around. I know there's a Five Guys around.

 

[Divvy]

Been there. My wife had that lamb patty. I laughed cause there's kimchi on it and she's Korean...

I'll keep looking around. I know there's a Five Guys around.

Five guys is pretty overrated for their burgers. I've had the one in Mississauga, and the burgers were nothing special. Fries were really good and they give you a shitton.

 

[Quick]

Five guys is pretty overrated for their burgers. I've had the one in Mississauga, and the burgers were nothing special. Fries were really good and they give you a shitton.

Exactly my opinion of Five Guys. Pretty overpriced, and if anything, you're paying all that money for them to stuff the bag full of fries.

 

[Kuro Madoushi]

Five guys is pretty overrated for their burgers. I've had the one in Mississauga, and the burgers were nothing special. Fries were really good and they give you a shitton.

Exactly my opinion of Five Guys. Pretty overpriced, and if anything, you're paying all that money for them to stuff the bag full of fries.

Sonofa....

 

[crimzonflame]

Anyone here been to the grilled cheese place in Kensington Market?

 

[Kuro Madoushi]

Anyone here been to the grilled cheese place in Kensington Market?

Which one is this?

 

[BladeWorker]

Anyone here been to the grilled cheese place in Kensington Market?

Yes. It's reasonably priced and tasty. Also, they used to have a can crushing machine for your recyclables. I know that's not exactly a major selling point, but it's cool nonetheless.

 

[BladeWorker]

Quest for the better burger continues...

Went to W Burger Bar near Yonge and College the other day

Meat to bun ratio was off
Burger itself was dry (a LOT of places can't make em juicy for whatever reason)
Poutine was...junk. Cheese curds lacked flavour and the fries were a soggy mess,

On the plus side, the service was decent and I had a lot of refills without asking.
Was tempted to try the Kobe beef burger...not sure it would've been worth 20 dollars though.

It's been forever since I went to Johnny Burger, but I remember it being fantastic. The (now probably elderly) owner punching in the orders made me smile.

Hamburg, hamburg, hamburg, cheeseburg, fry fry fry...

 

[Magnus]

Quest for the better burger continues...

Went to W Burger Bar near Yonge and College the other day

Meat to bun ratio was off
Burger itself was dry (a LOT of places can't make em juicy for whatever reason)
Poutine was...junk. Cheese curds lacked flavour and the fries were a soggy mess,

On the plus side, the service was decent and I had a lot of refills without asking.
Was tempted to try the Kobe beef burger...not sure it would've been worth 20 dollars though.

Craft Burger/Big Smoke Burger is so painfully average and blah. I have no idea why everyone fucking raves about that place. I've gotta try it again because it feels like I have this huge disconnect from practically everyone else when it comes to that place.

I liked W Burger Bar once, but a second visit yielded a massively underdone/gross burger. Got the same thing once (plus some really bad service) from Big Smoke at Eaton Centre.

Most satisfying burger for me has been the Bull Burger (bacon/cheese) at the Black Bull on Queen West. So fucking good, fairly priced, and delicious, with no heaviness/aftertaste like so many other burgers in the city.

 

[EvilMario]

Craft Burger/Big Smoke Burger is so painfully average and blah. I have no idea why everyone fucking raves about that place. I've gotta try it again because it feels like I have this huge disconnect from practically everyone else when it comes to that place.

I liked W Burger Bar once, but a second visit yielded a massively underdone/gross burger. Got the same thing once (plus some really bad service) from Big Smoke at Eaton Centre.

Most satisfying burger for me has been the Bull Burger (bacon/cheese) at the Black Bull on Queen West. So fucking good, fairly priced, and delicious, with no heaviness/aftertaste like so many other burgers in the city.

I don't really have any complaints about any of the dishes I've had from the Black Bull, but really, I just consider it average pub food that everyone convinces themselves to call amazing because they have a great patio.

 

[BigJonsson]

Gold(en?) Star in Thornhill has the best burgers

 

[Divvy]

Gold(en?) Star in Thornhill has the best burgers

They are indeed good burgers.

 

[Quick]

This burger talk is making me hungry.

I remember going to Johnny's Hamburgers once, and it was probably one of the best burgers I've had. I used to live near it, but I've only been there once. I might have to stop by sometime soon, since Five Guys proved to be average to underwhelming.

 

[Kuro Madoushi]

This burger talk is making me hungry.

I remember going to Johnny's Hamburgers once, and it was probably one of the best burgers I've had. I used to live near it, but I've only been there once. I might have to stop by sometime soon, since Five Guys proved to be average to underwhelming.

Sheppard and Vic park? Think I've passed by that place a few times.

I'll maybe give it a try. Hyperbolic review on Google 'literally' gave the person an orgasm...OK there...

 

[Kave_Man]

Gold(en?) Star in Thornhill has the best burgers

I had it for the first time while not drunk a month or so ago...they're aite.

 

[ElNino]

Craft Burger/Big Smoke Burger is so painfully average and blah. I have no idea why everyone fucking raves about that place. I've gotta try it again because it feels like I have this huge disconnect from practically everyone else when it comes to that place.

I eat at Big Smoke regularly, since I work very close to Eaton Centre. I like it, but I wouldn't go out of my way to eat there.

Generally speaking, I don't eat burgers much at a restaurant since I've yet to find a place that will make them better than me BBQing at home. My wife has a great recipe for burger patties (diced onions, onions soup mix, worcestershire), and uses a simple burger press which we got from Ikea to make perfect (and large) burgers. I BBQ them (with a nice beer obviously) and they are terrific. Way cheaper, and generally way better than what I get at a restaurant.

 

[added_time]

I remember going to Johnny's Hamburgers once, and it was probably one of the best burgers I've had.

I've been to Johnny's a couple times. It reminds me of Harvey's... that kind of junk food style burger. It's the same with that Apache place.. I don't understand how people would call that style of burger the best but everyone is different I guess.


Toronto photo of the day:

This panorama picture has the brand new Shangri-La Hotel and Residence in the middle of the shot.
If anyone likes this picture then you can download a much larger version of it here.

 

[zorbsie]

I've sworn off craft/big smoke burger. I ordered a cheese burger and when I bit into it red fluid poured out of it. Meat wasn't pink it was red. I spit out what was in my mouth and brought the burger back to the counter. They asked me what kind of burger I had and then proceeded to put the bitten patty back on the grill. I just found that to be too gross, I just walked away.

 

[EvilMario]

I do enjoy The Yellow Griffin at Bloor and Runnymede, but it is very hit and miss. Sometimes their burgers are loaded with toppings, fresh and the fries are hot and crispy. Other times it comes out as just very poor pub food. Service is the same way. I wouldn't go out of your way to check them out, but if you're in the neighborhood, they're better burgers than anything else near by (Swan & Firkin is terrible when it comes to burgers).

 

[Divvy]

I've always viewed Big Smoke as a franchise operation, sort of like Lick's or whatever. Sure it doesn't compare to the best of the best, but I still quite enjoy it for what it is.

 

[Kave_Man]

So seriously I can't be the only Toronto-Gaffer who is going to Beerfest this weekend?

I'm going on Friday, hence why I plan to be ripped outta my mind and then try to meet up with the rest of you wherever you may be. Kraftwerks this is your one shot to destroy me.

 

[Kraftwerk]

So seriously I can't be the only Toronto-Gaffer who is going to Beerfest this weekend?

I'm going on Friday, hence why I plan to be ripped outta my mind and then try to meet up with the rest of you wherever you may be. Kraftwerks this is your one shot to destroy me.

It's on son...*cracks knuckles*

 

[EvilMario]

Only one more week until Caribana. God help me. Our street becomes a parking lot with non-stop crowds and garbage everywhere. ;_;

 

[zorbsie]

So seriously I can't be the only Toronto-Gaffer who is going to Beerfest this weekend?

I'm going on Friday, hence why I plan to be ripped outta my mind and then try to meet up with the rest of you wherever you may be. Kraftwerks this is your one shot to destroy me.

I've got extra tokens from last year. They have been using the same ones for years now. I should probably make it down on the weekend if I don't go with friends from work on Thursday.

 

[Quick]

Sheppard and Vic park? Think I've passed by that place a few times.

I'll maybe give it a try. Hyperbolic review on Google 'literally' gave the person an orgasm...OK there...

Yep, that place.

I don't remember jizzing my pants at every bite, but it was good from what I remember.

I've been to Johnny's a couple times. It reminds me of Harvey's... that kind of junk food style burger. It's the same with that Apache place.. I don't understand how people would call that style of burger the best but everyone is different I guess.

I haven't been there in 5 years or so, so my memory could be misleading.

 

[TimeEffect]

You know who I hate? Psychic Nikki.

 

[added_time]

To be clear, I like that junk food style burger. It tastes good. I just wouldn't put that type of burger as my top choice when singling something out as the very best.
It's the same way I wouldn't say a comic book movie is the best movie of all time for example.

 

[Fuzzy]

You know who I hate? Psychic Nikki.

Dear god so do I. I always change the station when she's on the Dean Blundell Show. The Caramilk commercial has made me hate her even more.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bt_0ZH26O_A

 

[Divvy]

Did the AMC at yonge dundas just turn into a Cineplex?

 

[EvilMario]

Mean while on those ultra comfortable new subway trains.

Did the AMC at yonge dundas just turn into a Cineplex?

Yep, Cineplex bought four more AMC theatres.

We've basically stopped going to any of the major theatres anyway, so it's not a big deal for us. It's pretty amazing the money they must have put into that place though, only to sell it off.

 

[Spl1nter]

Mean while on those ultra comfortable new subway trains.

Yep, Cineplex bought four more AMC theatres.

We've basically stopped going to any of the major theatres anyway, so it's not a big deal for us. It's pretty amazing the money they must have put into that place though, only to sell it off.

I like cineplex better, plus they are a Canadian company.

 

[Divvy]

Yep, Cineplex bought four more AMC theatres.

We've basically stopped going to any of the major theatres anyway, so it's not a big deal for us. It's pretty amazing the money they must have put into that place though, only to sell it off.

Cineplex Odeon Courtney Park Cinemas
(formerly AMC Courtney Park - 16 screens)
(Hwy 10 and Hwy 401)
101 Courtney Park Drive
Mississauga, ON

Cineplex Odeon Yonge & Dundas Cinemas
(formerly AMC Yonge & Dundas - 24 screens)
10 Dundas Street East
Toronto, ON

Cineplex Odeon Winston Churchill Cinemas
(formerly AMC Winston Churchill - 24 screens)
(Winston Park Drive and the QEW)
2081 Winston Park Drive
Oakville, ON

Cineplex Odeon Forum Montreal Cinemas
(formerly AMC Forum - 22 screens)
2313 St. Catherine Street West
Montreal, QC

Wow. I'm really surprised. That Yonge & Dundas one has some of the best screens in the entire country. It seems like it would be pretty profitable.

The Oakville one I can believe. The entire complex is a ghost town nowadays.

 

[BigJonsson]

I wonder what they will do with the AMC Interchange in Vaughan since there is a giant Cineplex theatre a few minutes away which was built at about the same time......someone goofed big time

 

[Kave_Man]

I wonder what they will do with the AMC Interchange in Vaughan since there is a giant Cineplex theatre a few minutes away which was built at about the same time......someone goofed big time

Tear it down put up something better.

 

[Zombie James]

There's a new one of these floating around:

 

[EvilMario]

There's a new one of these floating around:

Bringing over my responses from the Transit-Age thread.

I saw this on a few of my Facebook feeds, so I've been responding to numerous post about it for a couple of hours.

Comparing Toronto to terrible American transit systems is just as terrible as comparing it to cities with four times the population. The public has no idea about transit and comparing kilometers of tracks is an easy out. And the TTC's priority issues should go well beyond trying to expand the subway lines now, but there are numerous reasons (impossible union, no funding from Prov, screwing up every construction contract they sign) why they'll continue to drag their feet. Automation, PRESTO card, accessibility of stations, expansion of LRTs into growing / population neighborhoods should take priority.

My feed is filled with people (in Toronto) who's point is that since we're a younger city, we should compare to cities who's been around to build up the network at the same point.

But yes, the Hong Kong model would destroy that point now that I think about it, the bulk of the underground subway system only developed after 1960.

Hong Kong, Taipei, Singapore, San Francisco, Boston, Hamburg are all good comparisons for size of the city / metro and some have comparable time frames.

But Toronto is sort of a unique study. It's a younger subway system that missed its chance to build. It didn't start in the 1910s/20s, and it didn't build when it was affordable in the 70s. And then comparing us to younger transit systems in Asia is depressing, but the cost of building in the region makes it easy to see why they've exploded transit wise while we're stuck two decades in the past.

What the city needs to do is look at what's possible instead of obsessing over expansion of only subway lines. Transit City was destroyed, rebuilt (sort of) and hopefully it gets underway. Transit plans really have to stop getting delayed in the city so a new regime can have their own transit legacy. I can't believe how many holes have been filled in in our 'short history' of subway transit.

 

[zroid]

wot, I got my Zelda Symphony tickets in the mail yesterday!

Also, I checked the seating chart this morning, and-- wow. There are maybe 15 seats left, and most of them are scattered singles. This thing will be sold out any day now.

 

[added_time]

Atlanta and Houston are way smaller than Toronto no matter what the "metro population" count is. Those cities are way less dense and sprawl out forever. I've been to both of them and they are no where close to the size of Toronto in any way.

It's because what counts as the Metro area in a US city is always much larger than what we call the Metro area in Canada.
Greater Houston is an area 26,000km large! Greater Toronto is only 7,000km so to do an accurate comparison for city size, you would have to include Hamilton, Niagara Falls, Ancaster, Kitchener etc into the GTA.
If you did that, then Toronto would be much more populated (because it is)

It's a pet peeve of mine when people compare Toronto to much smaller US cities because they don't realize they count an enormous area as the Metro Area.

The best comparison to Toronto in the US for size and population is Chicago, without a doubt. Sadly though, they have a better subway system than us too.

 

[EvilMario]

Atlanta and Houston are way smaller than Toronto no matter what the "metro population" count is. Those cities are way less dense and sprawl out forever. I've been to both of them and they are no where close to the size of Toronto in any way.

It's because what counts as the Metro area in a US city is always much larger than what we call the Metro area in Canada.
Greater Houston is an area 26,000km large! Greater Toronto is only 7,000km so to do an accurate comparison for city size, you would have to include Hamilton, Niagara Falls, Burlington, Kitchener etc into the GTA.
If you did that, then Toronto would be much more populated (because it is)

It's a pet peeve of mine when people compare Toronto to much smaller US cities because they don't realize they count an enormous area as the Metro Area.

The best comparison to Toronto in the US for size and population is Chicago, without a doubt. Sadly though, they have a better subway system than us too.

Metro areas in the US are really messed up for the most part (lol Chicagoland is basically half the midwest at this point), if you're just looking at numbers. Like not including San Jose in the Bay Area's metro area. You might look at a map and think 'nope, not part of the Bay Area!', but living there, it so clearly is one of the major hubs.

Toronto has a ton of sprawl too that accounts for a lot of our population, but we also have a much better city built for density than the disgusting sprawls of Houston and Atlanta. It's difficult to gauge any city and metro area on numbers alone, but people always try.

 

[added_time]

Toronto has a ton of sprawl too that accounts for a lot of our population, but we also have a much better city built for density than the disgusting sprawls of Houston and Atlanta.

There is definitely sprawl in Toronto. I would never claim otherwise but I just mean there are way more people in Toronto than there are in Boston or Atlanta because of the stupid way they count the metro area for a lot of US cities. Anyone that has been to those cities can tell how much smaller they are but people that haven't been get fooled by those wikipedia metro area numbers.

It's especially important to make this distinction when trying to find transit solutions.

 

[EvilMario]

There is definitely sprawl in Toronto. I would never claim otherwise but I just mean there are way more people in Toronto than there are in Boston or Atlanta because of the stupid way they count the metro area for a lot of US cities. Anyone that has been to those cities can tell how much smaller they are but people that haven't been get fooled by those wikipedia metro area numbers.

It's especially important to make this distinction when trying to find transit solutions.

Agreeing with you; Just wanted to expand on those thoughts.

 

[Kuro Madoushi]

Wife just got back from Korea and told me about a new subway line they had...I've only been away from the city for about 4-5 years...THEY HAVE A NEW FUCKING LINE!

Toronto?

mother. of. GOD.

 

[EvilMario]

Wife just got back from Korea and told me about a new subway line they had...I've only been away from the city for about 4-5 years...THEY HAVE A NEW FUCKING LINE!

Toronto?

mother. of. GOD.

Those Orientals, they work like dogs. ~ Toronto Mayor, Rob Ford.

Is it weird that the reason I want to visit Seoul the most is to see the transit?

 

[added_time]

Agreeing with you; Just wanted to expand on those thoughts.

About the sprawl and density that you mentioned.. an interesting thing Toronto does with sprawl is put up dense residential skyscraper clusters all over the place that are nowhere near the downtown core.. Mississauga, Markham, Scarborough, North York and they keep doing more. That is very unusual for the sprawled areas to become dense and I can't think of any US cities that do it. It lays a good foundation for building a good transit system.. if we ever get some leaders with guts at all three levels of government.

 

[BladeWorker]

Atlanta and Houston are way smaller than Toronto no matter what the "metro population" count is. Those cities are way less dense and sprawl out forever. I've been to both of them and they are no where close to the size of Toronto in any way.

It's because what counts as the Metro area in a US city is always much larger than what we call the Metro area in Canada.
Greater Houston is an area 26,000km large! Greater Toronto is only 7,000km so to do an accurate comparison for city size, you would have to include Hamilton, Niagara Falls, Ancaster, Kitchener etc into the GTA.
If you did that, then Toronto would be much more populated (because it is)

It's a pet peeve of mine when people compare Toronto to much smaller US cities because they don't realize they count an enormous area as the Metro Area.

The best comparison to Toronto in the US for size and population is Chicago, without a doubt. Sadly though, they have a better subway system than us too.

As I recall cities in the US generally experienced an exodus in the late 90s that hasn't yet happened - or at least, not nearly to the same extent - in Ontario. In order to maintain service levels (and a tax base) cities had to redefine where their geographic boundaries were.

Here, when people move about, we just create a new city. And a new area code. And a new bureaucracy.

Infrastructure (including transitways, roads, schools, and hospitals) always seems to come last. We all want infrastructure but think it comes out of thin air. Witness, nobody in this province seems to think that a quarry should be dug up north of Shelburne. Meanwhile, we're bitching and moaning that we don't have enough transit, that road conditions suck, we're short on healthcare services and long on wait times...and what we are getting in aggregates is coming from the Niagara Escarpment (among other places).

 

[ZZMitch]

Anyone else going to the Zelda orchestra on Sept. 15th? I wasn't planning on going but my friend who goes to school in Rochester really wants to go so he is coming up for the weekend.

 

[Roto13]

Ooooh, lightning and shiz. Fun fun fun.

 

[EvilMario]

Anyone else going to the Zelda orchestra on Sept. 15th? I wasn't planning on going but my friend who goes to school in Rochester really wants to go so he is coming up for the weekend.

A few of us are going. I asked a few pages back; Just search for Zelda.