Decemburger Bonus Round!
Highway 61 offers Southern comfort cookin', with all the finesse and none of the frills. They do it roadhouse style, and they do it well. Tonight for New Year's Eve, six of us dined on down south favourites like fall-off-the-bone ribs, pulled pork, macaroni and cheese, coleslaw and the grand finale to my Decemburger, the Smoked Burger.
The Smoked Burger is a different approach to the all-beef patty. Chopped beef is smoked till it's cooked through and then coated with house-made barbeque sauce before ending up (1) on a caramelized bun,* (2) on a plate, and (3) in my belly. I had mine topped with aged cheddar, which was a good choice (being smoked, the patty is naturally a bit dry). This is a burger everybody should try at least once.
As an added bonus, I may also have discovered Toronto's finest onion rings. Highly recommended by Sonya "I need to start yelping" F., they were well worth the risk of betting on a non-yelper's advice. The rings came out a bit thicker than I'd have expected, but they were cooked perfectly and breaded in a delightfully crispy batter. The middle of the onions retained a bit of crunch, but without any raw flavour; the onions were sweated perfectly and not at all slimy. I think they use sweet onions here (vidalias, e.g.), which makes all the difference.
On tap, Highway 61 serves only Ontario craft brews (bonus star rightfully awarded), including the Hockley Valley Stout that I tried - a touch on the thin side, but nice and chocolatey, as promised by our more-than-competent server. Don't expect a Guinness-style creamy head on this one (it's not nitrogen-driven), but expect the same sort of flavour plus the chocolate.
I also ordered the Mac n Cheese, and announced before trying it that "it's difficult to make a good Mac n Cheese in a restaurant," and I stand by that position after the face. This one wasn't that great, but it wasn't far off of what I had at Harlem for twice the price.
Our entire group left stuffed and thoroughly satisfied, and the price was noticeably less than what one might pay for a similar experience elsewhere. Most important today, though: the burger was bang-on.
* The bun appears to have been toasted on a flat grill with a bit of weight on top, leading to a consistently browned underbelly. Love.