Until a few weeks ago, I didn’t think this was an unreasonably high standard, but the recent results have proven otherwise.

I’ve had quite a few high recommendations for The Glass Monkey, so I figured it was a good bet. I decided to pair them up with Original Joe’s, as I’ve had some decent pub food there years ago, though I hadn’t tried the burger.

The Glass Monkey is a place I’ve been anxious to try, given some solid reviews and personal feedback I’ve received. The restaurant was fairly busy for a weeknight, which was a good sign in my books, but once we sat down I couldn’t help but observe that of the 23 diners in the restaurant, 21 of them were women. This was going to make dinner very uncomfortable for me, what with having to suck in my gut for a solid hour.

The burger at the Glass Monkey is a sirloin burger, topped with Sylvan Star Gouda, lettuce, tomato and pickle.

• Meat- Biting into the patty, the rough grind on the sirloin was noticeable for sure. It had ground meat mixed with some slightly bigger chunks, and that texture caught me a bit off guard on my first bite. I usually like a nice uniform texture in a burger, but this was good in it’s own right. The flavour was nice, and there was plenty of moisture for a well-done patty. It had a definite steak flavour, and allowed you to taste the beef for what it is. I liked it.

• Bun- This bun garnered a fair bit of discussion at our table, as it was easily the softest bun in the Odyssey so far. Robyn really liked the softness, and I prefer a soft bun too, but I actually think this might be the first time I thought a bun was too soft. I fully admit I’m splitting hairs here, but had the bun been a touch more toothsome it would have been near perfect. It was toasted, but not quite enough to get a nice crispy texture – maybe another 20 seconds on the flat-top would have added the texture I was missing. Being toasted a bit more would have also helped keep the juices from soaking through the bottom bun but, having said all that, it was surely one of the best buns to date.

• Toppings- Cheese! Glorious, delicious cheese! Hallelujah! I mean just look at the picture… there is cheese covering every visible inch of this patty. Hell yeah! Oh, and tomato, lettuce, pickles, blah blah blah…. did you see that cheese? Nice! There was an orange spot of some condiment on the bun too, but not really enough to identify. It’s not mentioned on the menu either, so I’m not sure what it was.  It wasn’t very flashy, but there was more than enough substance to make this burger-lover happy.

 

 

 

 

As a whole package, this was a pretty decent burger. It really didn’t have any major flaws, and Glass Monkey is doing a lot of things right including grinding their own beef, and using a good quality cheese. After the medley of shameful frozen patties I’ve had lately, this was a welcome reprieve.

Side notes- We got the burger with fries and a side of aioli. The fries were pretty standard, but the aioli was creamy and garlicy. I finished all of it, and even put some on the last couple bites of the burger. Definitely get a side of that if you’re a garlic fan.

Cost: $16.00 with fries. (The online menu says $15, so it looks like there’s already been a price increase.)

 

 

Original Joe’s- 12520- 102 ave

I’d probably only been to Original Joe’s once in the last few years, but I recall the pulled pork sandwich, along with the fries + dill dip being pretty good. I also remember seeing the burgers go by to other tables and thinking they looked good, so I figured I’d give them a shot in the Yeg burger Odyssey.

I decided on The Grilled Cheese Burger, which is topped with peppered bacon, melted provolone, lettuce, tomato and crisp fried onions, sandwiched between french bread with cheddar and swiss cheese grilled onto it.

• Meat- the patties are hand formed in-house, but I found the spongey texture and bland flavour a bit too close to the frozen ones for my liking. It was borderline with regards to moisture, but I didn’t get any gristle, so that’s good.

• Bun- I enjoyed the french bread with cheese “grilled” onto it, and found it to be my favourite part of the whole burger. I use toasted french bread or texas toast for hot sandwiches all the time, and I really like the texture. Being all buttery and golden brown doesn’t hurt either. Robyn and I both liked the bread more than most of the buns we’ve had so far.

• Toppings- I already discussed the cheese with the bread, but I should mention the obvious- there was plenty of cheese. In addition to the cheddar and mozza on the bread, there’s provolone topping the patty. There’s some peppery bacon on top, and tasty crispy fried onions too. The standard lettuce and tomato complete the package and were nice and fresh.

 

 

This burger had some good things going on, but when the actual meat is the worst part of the burger you’ve got a problem. I found that when you get a bite with less meat and more accessories, you could convince yourself that this was an ok burger. The more of the patty in the bite, the less I liked it.

Side notes- The nice thing about OJ’s is you get to choose 2 sides from a bunch of options. We settled on fries with dill dip, and some honey slaw. The dill dip is the star here, and probably the tastiest thing on the plate. The fries were nothing to write home about, but did the trick when dipped. The honey slaw was totally bland and had very little dressing – that went pretty much uneaten. Kind of embarrassing really, considering how easy coleslaw is to make.

Cost- $16.50 with choice of 2 sides.

*** Apologies for the awful iPhone pictures from OJ’s, it was a spur of the moment visit that night.

 

 

While the burger at Original Joe’s is fine in a pinch, I would rather swing by the Glass Monkey for their sirloin burger any day of the week.