I knew it was going to be hard to follow up last weeks dual-winner week, where the entries claimed the top 2 spots, so I decided to visit 2 popular local burger stands which both got some good recommendations from my readers.

I was assured that The Burger Joint (BJ) had a fresh made patty, and most definitely would not suck. After the glut of processed abominations I had to eat earlier in the odyssey, that news was welcome indeed. The other popular recommendation for this week, Rodeo Burger, is a spot I had actually tried just over a month earlier as part of filming for an upcoming episode of Burger Wars on CMT.  The burger I was served on that day was pretty good, but of course they knew we were all coming so you’d expect everything to be perfect. I was interested to see what the burger is like when there’s no t.v. camera documenting every bite, and now you’re all about to find out too.

Rodeo Burger- 8525 112 st

I had been to Rodeo Burger once a few years ago and I wasn’t very impressed. Everything sounded good, but I had so much gristle in my burger I couldn’t even finish it. Fast forward to the March 2014 taping for television, and the burger I had ( a double Western) was pretty decent. This third attempt would serve as the tie-breaker, and help me decide which of the 2 prior experiences was the one-off. I stuck with the Western Burger, but this time a single which comes with bacon, guacamole, mushrooms, rodeo sauce, southwest sauce, and green chilis.

• Meat – The patty here is pretty skimpy. The ratio of meat-to-everything else is really low, so I’d advise no matter what your level of hunger, go with the double. The meat itself tasted mainly of pepper, with not much by way of meatiness going on. That’s something that was better with the double as well. At least on this visit, I made it to the last bite of meat before the gristle monster reared its ugly head again. Don’t you hate when you get gristle in your last bite?

• Bun – We had a couple of friends tagging along on this week’s Odyssey, and all 4 of us found the Rodeo Burger bun to be our least favourite aspect of the burger. It’s got a pale white appearance, as if it’s undercooked. Pulling apart the bun confirmed that it was a bit raw in spots in at least 1 of the 4, and was quite doughy. Robyn and I even thought it had a faint mouldy odour, but none was visible.

• Toppings – The Western has real cheddar, but lost a couple marks at our table for not being melted. Rodeo Burger puts the cheese on the bottom, and places the hot patty on top of it to melt the cheese, which always leaves unmelted corners sticking out from under the patty. Also the thin patty doesn’t always have enough stored heat to melt real cheddar thoroughly, so I’d sooner just put the cheese on top of the meat where it belongs for optimum melting. There was a good bit of guacamole on top, and though I like guac on a burger this tasted a bit off. It was a strong point of the burger we ate for t.v. but this batch was a bit bland and could have been fresher. The added bacon was thin sliced and super crispy, and the saltiness was much needed. I think that crispy bacon may have been the best I’ve had on any of the burgers so far. Sandwiched in all those other toppings were some green chilis, but they were so unpronounced I didn’t even notice they were there until near the end when I pulled the burger apart.

The Western at Rodeo Burger

The Western at Rodeo Burger

As long as Rodeo Burger is using this same bun I think I would take a pass on having another one. To be honest, the whole package was a far cry from what I was served on Burger Wars, and all 4 of us at our table were pretty disappointed with what we got.

Side Note: The fries were nothing to write home about – they were thin-cut and…abundant.  That’s about it.  For the t.v. taping we were provided a honey dill dipping sauce and it was a highlight, so we paid for it on this visit.  Unfortunately, like everything else, it fell flat.  It was thick and goopy like salad dressing, and that texture was so off-putting we barely ate any.

Cost – $6.69 + $0.75 for cheddar

The Burger Joint- 9132 23 ave

I had been to The Burger Joint once before – probably well over a year ago. I don’t remember being blown away by that burger, but I had been looking forward to trying it again and paying more attention this time. Though the build your own burger option is surely popular, I got the BJ burger, which has lettuce, tomato, pickles, mozza, onions, mushrooms, bacon, and southwest chipotle sauce.

• Meat – The BJ (are you all giggling like a child? Because I sure am.) has a pretty juicy patty, and it fills out the bun nicely. I was thinking it was a little on the small side when I noticed the description mentions a 7 oz patty. I’m certainly not suggesting I’m going around weighing burger patties everywhere I go, but it certainly didn’t strike me as an almost 1/2 lb patty. It had some good flavour, and satisfied my affinity for salt while flirting with the line of over-saltiness. The texture wasn’t too loose or too tight, and I got no gristle. Overall a pretty solid patty.
• Bun – The bun earned some kudos from the whole table. More specifically, the treatment of the bun was appreciated. Nicely grilled on both sides, yet the bun remained nice and soft. The added crispness of grilling the top really worked well.
• Toppings – The bacon was slightly overcooked, but not severely. The chipotle sauce was very tasty, and there was plenty of it. All the vegetables were fresh, and there was a bevy of pickles. I did however find the cheese portion to be a bit on the light side for my tastes, though it could be that mozzarella is just too mild a choice for the burger.

The Burger Joint

The Burger Joint BJ Burger

The Burger Joint BJ Burger

What made the BJ work for me wasn’t that there were a lot of standout ingredients or loads of personality, but rather that everything was done well with no major mis-steps. It was a pretty reliable burger that I’d have again when in the neighbourhood.

Our dining companions had a couple other burgers with mixed results. The Spicy Crunch had onion rings, jalapenos, banana peppers, cheddar, onions, bbq dijon, and chipotle sauce. This was the best – and beautifully sloppiest – burger of the bunch in my opinion, though it was really quite salty. If you can take the heat, go for the spicy crunch.

The Lamb Deluxe had a salty lamb patty, topped with salty feta, salty olives, tomatoes, onions, and tartar sauce. I think you’re getting the idea here that this one was like a salt-lick on a bun, even saltier than the other 2. The lamb flavour didn’t get high marks here either, and it was easily the least favourite of the 3 burgers.

Side note: We got curly fries with our burger, which comes with 2 dipping sauces, and was a welcome change of pace from the usual fries. There’s plenty of flavour shakers available to add your own twist to the fries, but we had finished them all before I noticed them.

Cost – The BJ was 7.99- burger alone

Going into this week’s odyssey I expected to prefer Rodeo Burger, but there were just too many things I didn’t like. The BJ  burger is definitely the one I’d be going back for.

**If you’re enjoying the YEG Burger Odyssey, check out my merchandise page and get yourself a commemorative t-shirt!