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| - I'm taking Decemburger into the backwoods, reviewing restaurants not found on the sanctioned list. Think of me as a liburgeral, trying to promote equality of opportunity in the overheated Toronto market.
Given my mission this month, it was serendipitous when my faithful brunch companion Emily "Could I have some cheese with my cheese please?" H. suggested a burger instead of the usual weekend jumpstart. Since reading the Rosedale Diner's claim that they made Toronto's Best Burger, I had been dying for an excuse to check the place out.
Sitting just outside Summerhill subway station, it's not surprising that this place is a little on the posh side. My locally-raised, grass-fed, shiatsu-massaged* ground chuck burger was cooked to order, topped with Brie and avocado and came tucked into a pita instead of the usual bun. On the side were shoestring fries with a little bit of toasted onion mixed in. It cost me $19.
When you're paying this kind of money for a burger, it had better be done right and done well. It had also better not be well-done. While my meal was delicious, it wasn't exactly "just right." I had held high hopes for the Rosedale Diner, so this was a bit of a disappointment.
I'll start with the good news. The patty was remarkably thick and incredibly juicy. It had a tang of Worcestershire sauce (love!). In short: delicious. The pita pocket it came in kept the bun from crowding out this hunk of meat - it got centre stage. The fries were delicious; that bit of toasty onion in there was a nice touch.
Now for the bad news. As noted, burgers here are cooked to order. I asked for medium, and got medium-well (no pink, from what I could see). Having paid $2.50 each for Brie cheese and sliced avocado on my $14 burger, I was disappointed to see a thin layer of Brie melted onto my beefy behemoth (Emily, too, was shorted on Swiss**). While the pita pocket was a nice approach to understating the bun, it left little room for toppings and I found myself jamming avocado between pita and patty to the point where I could only use half of it. Great idea, but needs improvement.
* Just kidding.
** I'm not just talking about the holes.
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