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.

Brunching it at Caffe Barney

Mm, mm, brunch, my favourite weekend past time.

Last Sunday we decided to try out Caffe Barney, a small South Granville restaurant with a big reputation for their eggs benedict. at 11:45 we didn’t have to wait for a table, however I have seen line-ups outside the restaurant before. The atmosphere was casual; service staff were a bit hard to pick out, as there was no uniforms or name tags. Our server was friendly at first, but I think he got peeved after I changed my order (sorry dude!), and he didn’t return to our table to quality control, only to drop off the bill. Luckily for him, everything was delicious, and the couple sitting beside us shared their hot sauce and ketchup with us.

Obviously I had to see what was what and put in my two-cents so I ordered the chorizo benedict. It  came smothered in a delicious hollandaise over two perfect poached eggs and a fabulous tomato salsa. Oh, and a whole wheat English muffin. My only complaint would be there was not enough salsa or hollandaise! I’m a saucy girl, what can I say.

Phil, the egg-hater, got the cranberry turkey sandwich with a side of fries. They certainly didn’t skimp on the fries, although there wasn’t a lot of potatoes on my benny ( maybe our server was still mad about the switch? Or maybe i’m just a greedy little girl with eyes too big for her own stomach). The fries were light and crispy, although Phil particularly liked the cranberry sauce in his sandwich because it didn’t taste “artificial or canned.” 

We also ordered two glasses of orange juice. Fresh tasting with lots of pulp, these drinks were 4 bucks each. All in, we spent about $35. I would go back because I want to try more bennys!

Church’s Chicken

Okay,  so we all have those cravings… the guilty pleasure ones you have to indulge in every so often… this was one of them. We got 4 pieces of chicken and three large sides for just under $20.00. Other than the heaping box of fries, the sides aren’t big, nor were they anything to boast about, except the French fries got an A+ for being thick, fluffy, and not greasy. The chicken was perfect, crispy and well seasoned on the outside (and not too salty!), juicy and tender underneath. I really liked the crispy skin, it’s my favourite part about fried chicken (shame!) but seriously don’t judge me, I know you love it too.

We ordered two spicy and two regular pieces, however we only got the regular (to Phil’s disappointment. Don’t worry, he smothered them in hot sauce anyways)

We were disappointed with the macaroni because on the menu it was described as macaroni and cheese, you know, warm steamy cheesy goodness. It was a cold mayo/relish macaroni salad. Booo-ring. The coleslaw was okay, I preferred it to the macaroni and I’d probably get it again. The ladies at the counter were both very nice, but they couldn’t coordinate our order and the whole process was far more complicated than it needed to be. Obviously there was a communication issue because we didn’t get exactly what we ordered, but they were patient and answered all our questions. Like, did you know Church’s has a “Wild West Rice”? Whats in that, you ask. Well, it’s sliced up chicken and vegetables, all mixed together with ketchup. Ya, no thanks, but good to know.

 Overall Impression

Go for the fried chicken and french fries, avoid the macaroni salad and wild west rice. The Churches Chicken on Main and 18th is open 24 hr for late night munchies.