Fat Friday - BQM

Yes, we're back to burgers... for this week's Fat Friday we expanded our list of burger joints and tried out the new BQM (Burger Shoppe Quality Meats) on Queen St. We had to compare it to our running favourite, Craft Burger, after all. And with only a small breakfast that morning (a croissant and coffee), plus a beer at the Jay's game (they lost... boo!), we were starving for some good food by about 4 that afternoon.

The BQM did not disappoint, especially with their speciality burgers. Matt's burger came equipped with a an onion ring  and bacon on top, plus the regular fixings of tomatoes and lettuce. The burger was done to perfection - medium rare, just the way we like it. I think in his opinion, it was comparable with Craft Burger...it is a neck and neck race. Maybe one thing that put them closer to the top was the available seating, but frankly, a burger to go is just as good.

For me, I ordered the burger with brie (of course), that ooey gooey goodness (doesn't it just look so yum?!).  But if I'm being honest, I might have to say that the brie didn't work terribly well on the burger. I think it added a bit of bitterness to the burger. But overall, it was a pretty darn good tasting burger. I often laugh that Matt and I will typically order the same thing when we go out, which of course makes it easy for the waitress. But for burgers, I like mine with pickles, Matt not so much, but the sweetheart he is, he usually donates his to my plate...

As usual, we had to order a side of both fries and onion rings (that's a true test for determining the goodness of a burger joint, in my opinion. The fries, well, they are hard to screw up, but the onion rings, that's the real test!). The waitress warned us that one order of either would be enough to share for the two of us, but we were stubborn and wanted to try both. Of course, she was right, and we couldn't finish them. And yes, the fries were just normal, but the onion rings were great! I think they used panko bread crumbs, which really made a big difference!

So, our verdict? Well, for starters, I think I've had enough of burgers for a while, but they have moved up our list. Plus, I think BQM has a lot of really great other menu items (the mac and cheese caught my eye, for one...I've been meaning to actually eat that at a restaurant to see how it compares to my gourmet Kraft Dinner...). This week we're switching to wings... a Matt favourite. Maybe the theme for the next little while will be on a search for the best wings in the neighbourhood...