For those of you with short attention spans, I can sum up the burgers in Episode #2 of the YEG Burger Odyssey in 2 words.
Total Disappointment.
I had high hopes for both places, but even the most generous reviewer would have trouble finding a nice thing to say about either of these burgers. So let’s just get this over with, shall we?
Bannock Burger
More than any other place on my list of burger shops to try, I really wanted Bannock Burger to be good. It’s close enough to home for me to walk to (assuming the weather hasn’t gone all Edmonton on us again), and would be a great spot to pick up a quick dinner on the run. The website talks about things like wanting “to be a leading vehicle for changing perceptions so that Aboriginal values and culture, both past and present, are understood, shared, and celebrated by all.”. Reading about a restaurant wanting to be a positive leader of their community while promoting their cuisine and heritage just made me want to like it even more!
Unfortunately, great intentions don’t always equate to great execution.
- Meat- The patty was thin, and had that “been sittin’ around too long” texture. I watched as they pulled the patty from the warming tray and onto the flat-top for a quick warm-up. Everything about this patty screams frozen grocery store patty. It wasn’t at all busy when I went in, and yet they didn’t bother to cook a patty to order. Lord knows how long the patty had been sitting in the warmer getting old and dry, but it was way more than a couple minutes. If you’ve ever shown up 3 hours late to a company bbq, then you know exactly how this thing tasted.
- Bun- This is where I completely expected Bannock Burger to shine; but instead of shining, the bannock bun was another supreme let-down. Cold, dry, and completely dominating the burger, the bun may actually have been my least favourite part of the whole meal. It was very dense, heavy, and unappealingly frigid… as if pulled straight from the cooler. Even a quick toasting on the flat-top, or steaming on top of the burger would have helped a bit.
- Toppings- Well, there is good and bad news here folks. Unlike most burgers i’ve tried so far, Bannock Burger actually gives you enough cheese. I had 2 slices on my single burger, which was the good news. On the flip side, that cheese is processed cheese slices. While I don’t despise processed cheese on a burger, I would always choose real cheddar if given a choice. The burger also had bacon, lettuce, tomato, and onion. These toppings were fine, but had no chance of overcoming the poor meat and bread parts of the burger.
The Bannock Burger with cheese and bacon
I tried Bannock Burger twice with the exact same result both times, so safe to say my experience wasn’t likely a fluke.
Cost- $5.95 for the regular Bannock Burger. Add a couple bucks for cheese and bacon if memory serves.
Chic-hog-o
I had stopped in at Chic-hog-o one night when they first opened and had a decent, albeit a bit dry, roast beef and blue cheese sauce sandwich, so the next night we went to check out more with a couple of friends.
I should have quit while I was ahead.
I’d like to stick to the burger review, so I’ll avoid talking too much about the rest of what we ordered, except to say it was a very poor experience all around.
Chic-hog-o’s uses mainly Chicken (chic) and pork (hog), and left me with a couple O’s when it came to the quality of the burger. O’s as in “OMG, this burger is so dry”, and “Oh man, I can’t eat more of this”.
Not exactly the kind of O’s you’re going for when you run a restaurant.
- Meat- The burger patty is a mixture of chicken and pork. To me, that’s already reason to cock a brow, as I’m picturing an overly dry, flavourless patty. I like to give the benefit of the doubt to the restauranteur, as I always assume that they’ve actually tasted what they plan to sell before they sell it, but I can’t see how that could be the case here. The patty was more dry than I would have even imagined, and the flavour was non-existent. I’m not sure I’ve had a more arid burger patty than this.
- Bun- Just when you thought nothing could be drier than a pork/chicken patty, along comes a crumble-in-your-hands kind of bun that makes you wonder how it could even be held together in bun shape still. The bun was absolutely desiccated, and would fall on the moisture scale somewhere between stale bread and croutons. Awful.
- Toppings- Things get a bit better here. Topped with lettuce, tomato, bacon, and a whiskey sauce, there is at least some flavour there. The bacon was pretty sparse, and I recall all 4 of us struggling to find some in there somewhere. Looking through the pictures, I can’t identify any there either. Still, the toppings were easily the best part of the burger. Real cheddar FTW!
Chic-hog-o burger- looks better than it was
Dry on Dry
I usually make an effort to try a place twice before writing a poor review, but frankly I can’t get past the fact that someone could touch that bun and decide it’s ok to send out. Being their first week open, I’d like to cut them some slack, but I think I’d need some positive reviews from trusted sources before I’d drop more cash there.
Cost: $11.00. Burger only.
So in a burger battle, Chic-hog-o’s vs Bannock Burger, who comes out on top?
Nobody. There is no winner here, only losers. Especially me, since I blew $ on both.
next up – the cheese sauce burger at culina? https://twitter.com/Tina_Faiz/status/424274503309332480/photo/1
I saw Tina post that, and it immediately went on the list. Lol. So many burgers to try…..
The bannock burger was one of the worst burgers I’ve ever had.
I’d have to agree on that. Actually both of these would be in the conversation for me. Thanks for the comment, Mandi.
Phil
Like you, I was excited to give Bannock Burger a try – until a few days before they opened, when I was standing at the bus stop on 107 Street steps from their back door, and saw two gentlemen carrying in boxes of frozen President’s Choice burger patties. Yuck. 🙁
It’s funny, because that was exactly what we were saying it tasted like. I guess that explains why they taste so awful.
Phil
Before I even read this post today I wasn’t expecting much from this joint. Even when they were pedaling their fried bread burgers out of a little street cart they seemed ill prepared to serve their customers. My expectations were set to “meh” and I went in with my eyes wide open. We were appropriately underwhelmed. Almost nothing irks me more than when I see a concept or a space with buckets of potential being squandered. I mean come on. Its a burger. In a great location. It’s so simple…… Apparently not.
I agree that there is a lot of spoiled potential here with the space and concept. Although after sampling the bannock as a bun, I’m less enthusiastic about the concept.
Phil
I had tried a Bannock burger once during a summer festival. I labelled it “Shamburger”. There was nothing authentic about this burger at all. The patty looked like a frozen grocery store patty and had the texture and taste to go with it. The “bannock” which I had thought would be baked or at least grilled was a dried out deep fried piece of dough. Nothing like traditional bannock I’ve ever eaten in the past – granted, I’m no bannock connoisseur. I can’t believe they were successful and popular enough to open an actual restaurant.
Harsh, but totally fair. I’m also not close to a bannock connoisseur, but I sure as hell know that as it was served to me it doesn’t work as a burger bun. Not even a little bit.
Phil
That Chic-Hog-O patty looks awful… hopefully you have some better success soon!
I sure hope so, Robyn. Things couldn’t get much worse then these 2, could they?
Phil
That Chic-Hog-whatever burger looks super dry!! Blech… I’m surprised actually, when you mentioned chicken and pork, I thought perhaps they were adding in fatty pork belly to balance out the dry chicken. Guess not.
Yeah, I was thinking they would have added some fat, but no such luck. It was dying for some moisture!
Phil
In this day and age, I don’t understand why burger joints don’t make their own hamburger patties. I am Native and would love to support Bannock Burger but I just can’t stomach pre-made patties. You have now saved me and my family from a horrible meal. Thank you baconhound for your reviews!
Thanks for the comments, aredgem. I agree completely. A burger joint that doesn’t make their own patties is totally mystifying to me. I’m hoping that the Edmonton food scene has grown enough that this kind of thing is no longer acceptable. I guess time will tell.
Phil
Best burger in the city was mosh burger but those days are gone? I think you should just stick to the next act.
Both Mosh Burger pop-ups were on nights I was working, so sadly I never got to try them. Have they left town permanently?
Phil
Well Phil moved to NYC, I don’t know if mike will continue it by himself or do something else.
I ate at Bannock burger twice. Wanted to really support this guy…what an amazing opportunity to showcase Aboriginal foods (bannock being the obvious one) like bison, juniper berries, saskatoons, elk… they could’ve been THE burger destination like M:brgr in Montreal, or Unburger in Winnipeg or Ace Burgers at Gus’s pub in Halifax. Man, how Edmonton NEEDS a legit burger place. Using pre-made, frozen burgers is the sin of all sins. My experience at BB was so poor that I didn’t have the heart to go on-air about them.
And what on earth: Chic-hog-o? Restaurants shouldn’t do this with their names. It took me 5 years to understand the Chick-fil-A thing.
Bison and/or elk burgers on bannock would be soooooo good! Hopefully they will realize what huge potential they are missing and fix it! Maybe you could go on the air and talk about that?
Hello baconhound!
I follow your recommendations often.
I want to start off by saying I have not been to Bannock burger,but I have been to CHIC-HOG-O’S twice. Once with co-workers & the other a date, on both occasions it was fantastic that’s why I’m going back again.
I noticed you were there the second night they opened,and not been back.
Just a heads up to your review of almost two months later…… First of all there not a “burger joint”. They are a “roast house”, specializing in slow roasted meats,and other great menu items.
Having said that,I saw your pictures of there burger and it looks “nothing” like that.
I tried the CHIC-HOG-O burger the first time I was there,it was a huge house made burger that over hangs there bun. Juicy not dry at all and no lack of thick cut bacon or real cheddar.
Baconhound, the bun is different as well , no sesame as your pictures show,the burger is also not $8.00 .
I went back a second time because of my burger experience. Bannock burger has a 47% on urbanspoon with bad reviews. CHIC-HOG-O’S over 80% with good reviews. You said you try everyone twice but you have not given this little spot a fair chance.It would be a shame for you to miss lead others on this great gem.
P.S. – I tried there porchetta sandwich the second time and it ,as well a winner.
Thanks for bringing the error on the price to my attention. I’ve corrected that. I always appreciate the feedback if I make a mistake.
You’re correct that I was there on the second night. It’s good to hear that the burger has changed completely since I had it, and in a perfect world the review would have been up sooner. Another picture on Urbanspoon of the burger looks the same as the one I had, so it must have changed after that. I’m glad you mentioned the changes however, so people can read your comment and make up their own minds.
As mentioned in the post, I do usually prefer to try a place twice, but in this case I tried a total of 7 dishes and there just wasn’t enough positives to make me want to return anytime soon.
Thanks for the comments and feedback!
Phil
Bannock Burger reminded me of the type of stuff you’d get at one of those shoddy old fryer vans. The kind that are parked at some motorway service stop in Britain. Yeah, the fries were fine, but everything else sucked so bad, they were inconsequential.
The bannock itself was pointless. If it’s not better than a regular bun, why bother. And when that’s your whole premise….. There’s not much point in mentioning any of the other parts that made up the package, because it didn’t get any better. I’m still astounded how so many of the new wave of burger places can miss the mark so completely with something that seems so straightforward to get right.
I’m excited to see your take on Next Act’s burger. I’ve never had a better one in Yeg, to be honest!!
Going into this, The Act was my favourite too. I probably won’t get to them for a while though….. trying new ones first. Thanks for the comments!
Phil