This weeks YEG Burger Odyssey takes me to a couple small, independent restaurants doing burgers without using terms like “gourmet”, or “artisan”. That’s right, folks, we’re talking about good, old-fashioned, diner-type burgers this week! Un-fancy, un-pretentious, and hopefully un-crappy. After last week’s debacle, some simple and homemade burgers was just what the Doctor ordered.

Hathaways Diner- 13225 132 st. Edmonton 

The first stop is Hathaways Diner, a place Robyn and I have been going to for about 8 years now, though most often for breakfast. They do things simply at Hathaways, and have a real focus on genuine service. The very-friendly Pam runs the front of house, and her husband Lyle is king of the kitchen. If you’re a fan of quality mom and pop diners, this is your best bet in Edmonton. Beware though, Hathaways closes for Sundays and Mondays and at 4pm the rest of the days, so you better make your visit for breakfast or lunch. You’re going to find all your typical diner fare here but, on this visit, I was here for just one thing – the burger.

Here’s the highlights:

• Meat- You have a choice of 4 oz for the ladies, or a hefty 8 oz for rugged lumberjacks like me. The texture was nice, with a loosely formed patty and no gristle. It was seasoned well, and had a nice char on the outside. A pretty good patty overall, and it had the rare distinction of the patty actually being bigger than the bun!
• Bun- Nothing fancy here, so that’s a good start. It’s a pretty typical sesame seed white bun that doesn’t take away from the burger and was fairly soft. There’s better buns out there, but there’s also much, much worse.
• Toppings- I got mine topped with cheese and bacon, of course. 2 full strips of bacon, well cooked, and a nice thick slice of real cheddar. Finally, real cheese! As you all know by now, I’ve yet to meet a burger that had too much cheese, but this had a decent amount that would keep most people happy. And the whole thing gets topped with the usual lettuce, tomato, pickle, and onion. There is a “special sauce” on the burger, but not much of it. I asked for a side of mayo and used the ketchup bottle to bump up the saucy factor.

Hathaways Diner Burger

I couldn’t resist pinching a bit of beef off the side

This burger had a real homemade “backyard bbq burger” flavour. It was moist enough, but not exactly dripping with juices or condiments. The ketchup is on the table for adding yourself, and they had no problem bringing me a sizeable portion of mayo on request. Folks who prefer the simplicity of less condiments will probably appreciate the ability to control what and how much.

The choice of patty size makes it nice for those not so hungry, though I’d always go for the 8 ounce. Though this burger is not particularly creative, and doesn’t have any standout ingredients or toppings, it similarly doesn’t screw up the basics. I found it a pretty solid, homestyle burger.

Side Note:  Always get the gravy for your fries here. It’s homemade, and easily one of the tastiest ones I’ve had in an Edmonton restaurant.

Cost: $10.99 for the 8 oz and comes with fries. Add on $3.25 for cheese and bacon. You can drop a couple bucks by going with the sissy patty.

Jack’s Burger Shack- #130- 15 Perron St., St. Albert

O.k., so Jack’s isn’t technically in Edmonton, but who among us wouldn’t drive a few extra minutes for a good burger?

Hidden on the side of a little strip mall in St. Albert’s downtown, Jacks is like a blast from the past – a real old fashioned burger joint, right down to the milkshakes and bar seats. Like Hathaways, Jack’s is pleasantly unpretentious with prices to match. Heck, we had 2 burgers, shared an order of fries, and a shake for $24. Not too shabby.

Oh, and the shakes come in some interesting flavours like Cap’n Crunch, Creamsicle, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Darth Vader (I’ve got no idea, but I hope it doesn’t taste like James Earl Jones), Nutella, and Malteaser. We had the Malteaser and loved it.

On to the burgers…. I got the BBQ Crunch Burger, with cheese, bacon, potato chips, and orange soda bbq sauce:

• Meat- Thin patties seared on the flat-top. Texture was good, and I got no gristle. Mine was a little dry, but not critically. Though thin, the patty was wider than the bun. I wish more places did this.
• Bun- Probably a bit better bun than Hathaways. Again, nothing fancy, but does the trick. Strangely, neither place toasted their buns which I always consider that to be kind of standard to avoid condiment soakage.
• Toppings- Ok, this is going to sound a bit funny, so hear me out. The orange bbq sauce sounded interesting to me , but I couldn’t pick up the flavour on the burger. The crunch of the potato chips should have added a nice crunchy textural element, but got a bit soft under the sauce. There was only a couple chips, and I definitely could have used more. The 2 small slices of bacon were paper thin and very crispy and the cheese was processed American variety. To hear all that you’d think it wasn’t great, right? But, quite the contrary – it all worked together strangely well, and I really enjoyed the burger.

Jacks Burger Shack BBQ Crunch Burger

This burger is unquestionably smaller than the one at Hathaways, but has a lot of things going for it if you’re a fan of diner-style burgers, and frankly I’ve got a bit of a soft spot for this kind of burger. It’s very much a small-town, main-street kind of place, and that atmosphere adds to the tasty burgers.

Side Note: The fries at Jack’s are served with malt vinegar aioli which was a tangy and tasty surprise.

Incidentally, here’s a look at the Mushroom burger Robyn had. Saucy and tasty!

Jack’s ‘Shroom Burger

Cost: Burger $8. Fries $3.

So how do these burgers stack up in the hierarchy of YEG burgers, and which is the one I’d go back for?

I’d say these 2 contenders make a pretty good version of the humble hamburger and if you go with that expectation in mind you’ll be satisfied. If you go expecting a big, thick, gourmet burger, oozing with fancy toppings, you’ll be disappointed. I can’t say that either were particularly remarkable in any specific way, but I’d be happy to pound either one back when a craving hits.