Vera’s Burger Shack: Best Burger in Town?

The sign boast “You Can’t Beat Vera’s Meat!”, the chain was voted best burger in town five years in a row, but does it still live up to it’s reputation? Phil and I felt compelled to investigate.

It’s not cheap. Prepare yourself for an $8-$13 burger, before sides. That being said, it’s not a wimpy beef patty either. You’re biting into a thick, well seasoned burger with a variety of toppings – some at an additional charge. Still, I don’t like the price, I think it’s a little steep for a place where you order at a counter, and seat yourself.

Phil always orders the beef sliders, 4 mini burgers for $10 served with Vera’s sauce, ketchup and cheddar. When I asked Phil what he thought about them he replied: “Ummm…,” and after a longer pause, “they were pretty good. But they lacked something, more toppings.” I agreed. For the price you expect some other ingredients, “such as caramelized onions,” rationalized Phil. “I mean, the amount of toppings on each slider is like what, half a tablespoon? Vera’s can afford to offer their customers a selection of additional toppings at little to preferably no additional charge.”

If I’m gonna eat a burger, I’m gonna do it right, so I ordered the Canuck Burger ($12.00), which is essentially a bacon cheeseburger.  It came with ketchup, mustard, relish, Vera’s sauce, tomato, lettuce. I like my burgers juicy; Vera’s burgers are consistently dry, and I’m not just talking about the sauce to bun ratio. The patty was overcooked and I had to add extra ketchup.

I apologize for the horrible lighting, but really, there’s nothing special to see.

For $6.00 we shared a side of half onion rings half fries. There was nothing special here, just some fries and a few onion rings

6 onion rings

Vera’s Burger Shack is a love-hate kinda joint; I’ve found people either rant or rave about their experiences, but for me it has been less than satisfactory. I have no problem paying $12 – 16 for a gourmet burger – that is, if I’m getting a gourmet burger.  True, the seasoning of the meat was delicious, however there were too many negative factors taking away from this. All in we spent just under $30. At this price point, I’d suggest trying Cactus Club or Earls, but honestly the McDonalds across the street would have been just as satisfying, and half the price.

Lucy’s Eastside Diner

Lucy’s Eastside Diner is a 24 hour restaurant serving up 1950′s inspired diner dishes. The place is cute and definitely a fun experience day or night, however it’s very hit or miss. Some of our meals came out spot on while others were blah to downright bad. I gave Lucy’s 3 generous stars out of 5.

*** Upon revisiting Lucy’s months later, I  beg people not to get their hopes up. It looks like a great dive, but unfortunately the food is  bland, bland, bland and overpriced. I revoke my “generous 3 stars” and demote Lucy’s to a 2 out of 5 ****

First we went for brunch. FYI,  Lucy’s  serves breakfast all day and night.

Pulled Pork Eggs Benny

The Pulled Pork Benny was dense and delicious. I hate to leave food on my plate but this Benny got the best of me. After eating one I was stuffed. What I liked best was the  hollandaise sauce, it was tangy and tasted home-made. After just having tried the Pulled Pork at the Five Point, I had high expectations. The dish as a whole was good but the pulled pork on it’s own was boring, dry and had no sauce! I remedied it by adding ketchup and a bit of hollandaise and egg… still, I want my food perfect when it arrives.

Fried Chicken Sandwich

The Fried Chicken Sandwich was a hit with my comrade: the chicken was moist, the bread fresh and the hash browns were the best we’d had in a while. Perfect golden brown, lightly seasoned, and not dried out inside.

I stopped by at 11pm for a late dinner: the classic Cheeseburger and Fries.

Shoestring french fries were greasy and nothing to brag about. The hamburger however was delicious, it was like a backyard bbq hamburger, nothing fancy just a good burger. Not the best pic but you get the point.

** When I returned to Lucy’s I ordered a Cheeseburger with bacon. The bacon was so overcook it actually cut my mouth – I hate when restaurants cook the S*&# out of bacon, leaving it hard to chew and tasteless. The meat was not seasoned either. The “Fry Sauce” is so bland you need to eat a whole mouth full to get any flavour, very disappointing. Again, Lucy’s is very HIT OR MISS**

We also tried the Pulled Pork Mac’N Cheese sandwich, sounds great on paper but was a real disappointment.

First and foremost, it looks disgusting. I could justify eating all those carbs if the macaroni was cheesy and flavourful however it was beyond bland, the bun was lame-old-white bread ( and very chewy), and the pulled pork was dry and tasteless. I do not recommend this dish, to anyone, ever.

The Winner Winner Chicken Dinner also sounded great on the menu and was visually very appetizing however, its looks were deceiving.

Not so Winner Chicken Dinner

The problem was the veggies tasted frozen, and the mashed potatoes lacked that quintessential thick creamy warm mashed potatoey goodness. I didn’t like the seasoning on the potatoes at all, it tasted watered down. The chicken was moist on the inside however the outside overdone. The gravy was O.K.

Stumble into Lucy’s on your way home from the bar for a late night snack or for a milk shake on a hot afternoon but don’t expect too much.

Lucy’s Eastside Diner
2708 Main Street, East Vancouver B.C.
Phone (604) 568 1550
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