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| - Decemburgerendezvous?
A monster group of yelpers turned out for Decemburger's first UYE at Burger Bar in Kensington Market. It's always nice to get together with a large group of contemporaries and see the tremendous disparity of opinions on food, service and value. It goes to show how subjective our reviews really are (not that that's a bad thing).
While I was less-than-thrilled, quite a few co-yelpers thought that this place was the cat's ass and swore they'd be back. I invite you to read their thoughts too, as they're smart people and have great taste. Here's my take:
Service was slow. Admittedly we made a reservation for 15 and brought 22. Still, the one server we had would not have been able to handle 15 of us any better than 22. We spent a lot of time waiting, and I think we were fed about 45-60 minutes after we showed. Better planning for a large group would have gone a long way here.
Service was sloppy / unimpressive. Orders were mixed up, including mine, and we spent some time trying to figure out whose food was whose. Lucky for me, it was Mike "accidentally generous" S.'s onion rings I was giving away, not my own. I had no idea! Our server did not have a good system, probably because there isn't a good system for one person to manage a table of more then ten people.*
Food was inconsistent. When I showed up, I was immediately offered an onion ring by Dennis "guilty by association," and had my mind fully blown away by what I can only describe as "Sweet Onion Calamari." Amazing! Panko breaded (I think) rings of sweet onion that were thick and juicy and delicate. I ordered a set with my burger (Me: "Can I have a large order?" Server: *pause* "Sure!"), and a scant helping of eight or ten arrived. They were so salty I couldn't get through them all, even after sharing.**
Burger was meh. I went for a burger with blue cheese, which added a nice sharp bite (I bit back, don't worry!) When my meal arrived though, I actually laughed out loud. The patty was dwarfed by the normal-sized bun it rested on, a result of overcooking and I suspect excessive fat content to begin with (leading to shrinkage). It was a bit dry, but rather filling.
The Saag Poutine!
This dish deserves its own heading. You'll read in other reviews that this was the highlight of the night - for me it was one of the few bright spots (other than, of course, the company). Paneer cheese simmered in spices, cream and spinach, served over fries. What an awesome idea! Ironic that the highlight of a burger night was the vegetarian dish...
The Paloma!
A heading-worthy cocktail, even! I switched to beer after one (I enjoyed Duggan's #9), but could have drank this all night if I'd felt like hard liquor. Mezcal, grapefruit juice and soda, garnished with a delicious chili-crusted piece of dried pineapple. Careful - the heat hits you slowly! The rest of the cocktail menu also got a lot of oohs and aahs, especially the extensive tequila list.
I'm taking a page from Vivek "Most Consistent Review Format Ever" S. and including notes on menu readability from here on in. Several members of our group, including me, found the lighting too dark and the print too small to read.
* I'm being generous. At Harlem, our table of fourteen was managed beautifully (http://www.yelp.ca/biz/harlem-restaurant-toronto#hrid:DYMtVrlvtX70h8qeuCfEGw) by one lonely server who was expecting only ten of us. Then again, he was a professional.
** Had I sent my onion rings back, I may would have gotten some that were less salty. But I had waited so long for food, and my confidence in our server was so low at this point, that I couldn't be bothered. If I'm in the area again, I'm going in for some. In a "chasing the dragon" sort of way, I need to find that first-time high again.
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