I love burgers. And with our dietary changes, we eat lots of them. The best burgers, by far, are the ones I make at home. But we eat lots of burgers in restaurants, too. Here are a few reflections.
I like 5 Boys. The burgers are hand-made (sort of) and they have "free" peanuts. Also, if you order a burger without a bun, it comes wrapped in lettuce. That's a nice touch, but it isn't all that easy to eat.
Union burgers aren't as good. They are machine-pressed. However, they come with a couple of onion rings. AND Union burger is licensed to sell beer.
Both 5 Boys and Union seem experienced with having people on low-carb or no-gluten diets order their burgers without buns. But the way they are presented makes them hard to eat. I haven't tried ordering a double without a bun at Wendy's or McDonalds, and I'm not sure whether the York sociology majors who work there would know what to do if I did. I'll try it soon just to see.
But you know what? I don't know what happened a few years ago when I went off McDonalds because their cheese was horrible and their burgers were too salty. Nowadays, I really like the McDonalds double quarter pounder. It's at least as good as the burgers from 5 Boys or Union. I just throw the bun away to eat the burger (or I cheat and eat the bottom of the bun).
I also like the Wendy's doubles. They're about the same quality as all the others. The square shape has always amused me, since the buns are round, but the freshness and flavour are good.We sometimes buy these and take them home to eat from a plate without the bun.
What prompted me to write this piece? This article about a couple that held their wedding reception at a McDonalds. As I wrote to a friend at the time, more power to 'em, if that's what they want. After all, nearly 30 years ago when I was visiting The University of Guelph, I tried to arrange with a local McDonalds to have them cater a party for my then-colleagues (sadly, the manager had no interest in trying to arrange it -- that wouldn't happen these days, now that the fast-food and burger markets have become even more competitive than they were then).