"2011-08-01T00:00:00"^^ . . "0"^^ . . "1"^^ . . "One Friday after work, my boyfriend and I were trying to figure out where to go for dinner/drinks and decided to give Marben a try. We sat on their nice patio in front of the restaurant, which most people seemed to be doing.\n\nAfter ordering we were served some bread, which is house-made daily. It was delicious and was a great way to start off the evening (as was my white wine sparkler cocktail - super refreshing!).\n\nWe started off with Ryan's Charcuterie (all their menu items start with a person's name) for $30. I'm always a sucker for house-made cured meats. The charcuterie consisted of venison and heart pepperoni, a pork terrine, Moscow sausage, capicolla and bresaola. It was served with mustard, crostini, pickled vegetables and a delicious caramelized onion chutney. All the meats were fantastic! My favourite of all the items was probably the pork terrine and the venison/heart pepperoni. The two of us were getting pretty full after this... it was a lot of meat!\n\nNext came Alex's Pork Rib Fritters ($14). There were five bite-sized fritters which was served with a chipotle aioli and topped with cilantro and arugula. When I first stuck my fork into one of the fritters I was surprised by how soft they were. Turns out they were mostly potato filled with bits of pork. Nevertheless, they were pretty darn tasty. Similar to the charcuterie, this makes for a great sharing dish.\n\nLastly, we shared John's Burger - braised ribs, aged cheddar, coleslaw and fries ($17). The server came by and told us that they take their braised ribs, ground them up and build a burger around it. The burger also had the tasty caramelized onion chutney on it.. and oh my god, what an AMAZING burger. Definitely one of the best burgers I've ever had. It was so juicy and flavourful... my goodness! Looking around at the other tables, almost everyone else had ordered this burger. Definitely says something if you ask me.\n\nOverall, Marben far exceeded my expectations! For some reason I always thought it was a lounge and the food was second fiddle. Boy was I wrong. Not only was the food delicious, but the service and atmosphere were excellent. Highly recommended! Just remember... the burger is a must-order!\n\nNext time I'll be back for the pig roast - held the last Sunday of each month!"^^ . "5"^^ . "2"^^ .