The Best Burgers in the GTA
BY MARIELLE MANGANAAN
Burger joints have opened their doors for business all around the GTA within the last few years and have become the go-tos for satisfying the taste palette and filling you up. The Sheridan Sun made the trip to five burger spots, apart from chain restaurants, raved by critics and in social media serving these sandwiched meats to folks with careful preparation, locally grown sources, and savoury house-made ingredients.
At the edge of Lake Shore Blvd. W. and 40th St. is this burger-making gem where customers line up through the door to get their fix of delicious wood-grilled burgers. With each item on their menu made fresh, in-house and round the clock every day, it’s no wonder folks have to find their seats on the patio outside of the cozy little joint. Woody’s boasts in not using processed ingredients, as all 17 of their burgers to choose from (not counting the pulled pork sandwiches) are local and farm-raised, each 7 oz. patty hand-pressed daily. Their list of classics includes Canadian cheddar-stuffed beef, turkey, bison, and veggie. Specialty burgers are named so for the colourful array of flavours in toppings, cheese, mayo, and sauces for you to choose from; the Greek with feta cheese, fresh cucumber, and tzatziki, Tokyo with pickled ginger and wasabi mayo, or the Boom which includes their house-made pulled pork, grilled jalapeños, gouda, dressed with chipotle mayo and smoked ketchup. Each of the aforementioned will cost you $10 after tax—talk about getting most for your dollar.
Famed chef Matty Matheson, the head honcho of Toronto hotspot Parts & Labour, brought his team from Parkdale to a narrow space tucked along the strip of Queen St. W. to flourish one of his many raved pieces of work: the P&L Burger. What used to be a singular item on his restaurant’s menu composed of their thick house-ground chuck patty with dill mayo, bacon onion jam, Monterey Jack cheese, and iceberg lettuce in between egg buns, the P&L Burger has since been turned over six different ways in this new menu. A couple of them are translated through The Castor, slightly pink on the inside, joined with peameal bacon, cheddar, crispy fried onions, lettuce, and BBQ sauce, then there’s The Italian, served beneath hot and sweet peppers, marinara sauce, and mozzarella cheese, naturally. Both sandwiches you would be paying $9 for. With only 20 seats available for dining in, customers are urged to take their burgers to go since the space inside is intended solely for service on a fast-food basis. Whether it’s locals or fans of Matty Matheson and his craft, the P&L Burger has found its home for customers to swing by for a wholesome burger to fill them up. They’ve also recently and conveniently added services for delivery. THINGLINK:
At the corner of Yonge St. and St. Clair Ave. W. is the Holy Chuck, where their business is burgers, as seen in lights above their front door. The restaurant looks like your average burger joint; checkered plate sheets and countertops where you’re called up to get your order, but it’s their billboard-sized menu loaded with 30 (yes, you read that right—30) choices of classic and specialty burgers, 8 ways to have your poutine, and 20 peculiar (but delicious) mixes of six-dollar milkshakes that keep customers unapologetically coming back. The key behind their burgers’ rich, juicy flavour is the hand rolled patties made of aged high quality steak, put through the grinder right before you behind the front counter. Their signature burger, The Holy Chuck, is a double cheeseburger with bacon and caramelized onions. This composition is a stretch from their notorious Go Chuck Yourself, which is built with six patties, six slices of cheese in between, triple bacon, caramelized onions stacked high with three grilled sandwiches in between. The colossal burger was even turned into a challenge for customers to take part in, where terms are if you can finish it in less than six minutes, a victory picture of you will be taken and plastered on the store’s front most wall. If you lose, your picture goes on the wall opposite of it. As crazy as some of their ideas of a burger sounds, it’s more about the quality than the size. If anything less than a double cheeseburger with bacon doesn’t stuff you, pairing it with their Nutella and Salted Caramel milkshake (three portions ice cream, one portion whole milk) will finish the job, or perhaps the Bacon, Fudge, and Sea Salt? Better yet, stick with the Fresh Lemon or Strawberry Cheesecake shake. THINGLINK:
The Burger’s Priest has sprung up ten locations within the GTA with another opening by the end of the year. There is no question as to why business is booming for the little burger joint, constantly ranking high in every list there is that exists about the best burgers in Toronto. They call themselves a classic cheeseburger joint, where they grind a blend of ultra premium beef in-house throughout the day to later go on a flat top griddle. Their formula isn’t on the gourmet side of the craft that is burger making, rather, sticking to what’s simple and tasty: fresh ground beef and soft buns griddles to perfection with your choice of regular toppings. Customers can dine in, but they’ve recently opened services to deliver. Popular specialty burgers here include The High Priest which is made up of two beef patties, secret sauce, cheese, pickles, lettuce, and diced onion between toasted soft buns, or the Vatican City, a double cheeseburger “sangwiched” between two grilled cheese buns. The number one order and top of the menu is the Bacon Double Cheeseburger, $9.78, with your choice of toppings, simple and served hot. It isn’t overwhelming in size, but peaking with flavour and tender textures. For customers who stop by looking to feast beyond the simple side, however, The Burger’s Priest offers choices from their Secret Menu that can be found on their website. The combinations on this menu include the Blue Steel, a thick patty that comes with blue cheese sitting beneath a leaf of lettuce, tomatoes, and caramelized onions, the Jarge-Style, made up of mustard-grilled patties with fried onions, or the Religious Hypocrite, which is their version of their veggie burger, Option, but with bacon. The motto and mission of The Burger’s Priest is to ‘redeem the burger, one at a time’, which they seem to be succeeding in by the buzz it’s created on social media and with the critics. THINGLINK:
Roncesvalles Avenue runs in between Bloor St. W. and Queen St. W., where The Rude Boy has its small flag sticking out above the store for people to see. This burger joint serves a small menu of seven burgers served on soft buns, three salads, four sandwiches, and three sides; fries, onion rings, and kimchi fries. A favourite among the locals is the signature Rude Boy, put together with house-cured peameal bacon, double-smoked bacon, house-smoked cheddar, fried egg, pickled red onion, garlic aioli, and their mix of mustard, for $12. The hot item on busy days also includes The Rude BBQ ($10), which is a thick patty placed with a slice of American cheddar, coleslaw, and mustard barbeque sauce. Flavours are carefully chosen to go with their fresh, locally grown patties, juicy coming off their flat top griddle. For the rather tranquil area, The Rude Boy is the solution to satisfying folks’ late-night cravings, keeping their doors open until 1 a.m. every day except Sunday, where they close up shop by 11 p.m. THINGLINK:
