And the Winner is...

When you look at the pure raw numbers it is clear which Burger place won our taste test.  Stack House Burger Bar came in with a solid 9.75/10.  4 of us were there to judge their burgers officially.  However when we sent some of the other Wolfies there to eat their burgers unofficially, they didn’t come up with quite the same numbers we did officially and when it came down to having our officially official winners meeting one name kept coming up as the place we all wanted to go back to.

Wolfgang is proud to announce the winner of our Burger Fridays: Romer’s Burger Bar!  As Kevin first said in his review “There was much anticipation for Romer's as it was Heinrich's recommendation.” Did they woo us with their delicious, drunken/dunking mini donuts? Well… to be honest… yes… BUT, their burgers also speak for themselves.  Great quality food from bun to bun.  We all decided to not stick to The Standard burger and celebrate Romer’s at it’s finest.  This time around I had their portabella mushroom stack and a watermelon/feta salad and those were fantastic without the meat, so even when they aren’t making meat they’re making it well (see delicious mini droughts).  We have some video that is in the process of being edited and glamorized up from our final trip to Romer’s that we will put up soon but for now all we can do is recommend eating at Romer’s right away as they have, in our opinion, the best burgers in the city.  Well done Romer’s!

Where will our next FridayFoodVenture occur?  There has been some talk around the office including Pizza, Sushi, and Street Vendors (gotta say I think the last one is going to be our next FoodFriday as there are just waaaaaaaaaayyyy too many of the first two, and the last one is just plain in fashion right now).

Other honorable mentions include Splitz Grill for having a beautifully seasoned patty (and for my own personal hometown connection);  Burger Heaven, for the real greasy spoon feel;  Moderne Burger for that delicious diner taste; Burgers Etc for their BBQ sauce and meat (and we all agree that if we went back there it would probably receive a higher score than what we initially gave them); and Stack House Burger Bar, but I already talked about them.  

-Erin - Wolfgang Burger Connoisseur 

Vancouver Classic: Veras

Fat Burgers

Video Catch Up Time!

Reviews have been a bit slow coming out as of late and for that we apologize. Aaaand as a bonus we have 2 video reviews for you this week. Videos from Burger Heaven in New West and from Modern Burger.

Enjoy!

See if you can guess from the title bars who edited these videos.

-Erin - Wolfgang Burger Connoisseur

Heaven is in New West?

Who would have thought that you’d find a great burger in New Westminster. What comes to mind when you think of New West? Nothing…really, but they have a great little burger joint there that goes by the name Burger Heaven. I’m not sure I can go as far as too say that the burger is a little slice of heaven, but it comes pretty close.

As per the official rules and regulations, we had the basic burger with cheese. This was, again, highly touted by Heinrich (who also was a big proponent of Romers) so expectations were high. And, again, he did not disappoint. I can tell you that this is a man of great taste for burgers.

The patty was delicious with a very homemade feel and taste to it. The meat sort of crumbled in your mouth. The bun was slightly toasted; the veggies were good and the sauces all just melded together. A great burger, that got pretty high recommendations from everyone that attended. The only person that had complaints about the burger was Greg, our operations manager. He had some crazy complaint that the burger was packed dense enough.

If you find yourself in New Westminster make sure you search out burger heaven and treat yourself to one of their magnificent creations.

The Craftsman Burger

This Friday’s burger outing was highly touted by Erin. She had great things to say about the Splitz Grill in Whistler and was setting us up for nothing less with the location on Main Street in Vancouver. It was a bit sparse for attendance, with 4 company reps present for the tasting. Those that didn’t attend missed a great experience.

Before even getting the burger we got a taste of how much passion the owners have for burgers. They had heard of our blog (who hasn’t) and were anticipating our arrival (what burger joint doesn’t). These people do their homework. (At Wolfgang Commercial Painters we’d like to believe its also a sign of how influential our tastings have become.J ) The owner's have taken their staff to the eat at the other well-known burger spots to see how they stacks up. I’m happy to say it's up there with the best of them.

We ordered the 1/3-pound Legendary burger with cheese nd it lived up to it's name. The first thing you notice is the bun, perfectly toasted and golden on the outside. Then you bite in to the burger and your taste buds are tantalized with a seasoned beef patty. This is the first burger we’ve had with a seasoned beef patties. One word – fan-freakin-tastic. There was no skimping on this burger either. The patty itself was the same size as the bun, which is important to the everyday burger connoisseur looking to get the most value. There was just as much care put in to making sure the toppings were overshadowed. The cheese was piled high, as was the lettuce and topped off with just the right amount of sauce.

Sometimes after finishing a burger so good you feel that you could have another...and do. Not in this case. After finishing this burger you don’t have room for another, and that is a good thing, a good thing indeed. You walk away with a smile on your face, a full belly and thoughts of your next visit. Now if only I could go drink a nice cold Guinness and a balcony in the sun for the rest of the afternoon instead of going back to work.

Scores:

Dave – 9

Kevin – 7

Erin – 7

Daryl - 8

Video Review Splitz Grill

Romer's by Kevin

There was much anticipation for Romer's as it was Heinrich's recommendation. We had Romer's standard burger with cheese and it didn't disappoint receiving our highest scores. Highlights were a great bun, tasty cheese, perfectly cooked tender patty and good sauce. We also ordered plates of sea salt, garlic and truffle fries. Make sure you order the bacon mayo to dip the fries in.

After last Friday's boredom gas station style burger, I thank Romer's to make me believe that great burger's are out there. The quest continues...

Scores here. Individual Reviews on video post below

Heinrich 9
Daryl 9
Steve 8
Kevin 10
George 9
Erin 8
Greg 9

Romer's Burger Review

Hamburger Mary's

Urban Burger

Flippin' Burgers and Throwin' Tables

We had been looking forward to Friday's outing to The Red Onion for two weeks. George had been talking it up since the inception of Burger Friday. We even had special guests coming out to participate in the tasting with us. Reservations had been made and it seemed everything else during that morning of work was just a distraction from the lunch that was to be. Our hopes were high after last weeks let down. Reviews of The Red Onion had all been stellar. Everyone had skipped breakfast, except Heinrich, knowing that nothing would satisfy the palate until the last bite of a delicious burger had passed the lips.

What a complete and utter disappointment. The only thing good about the burger on this day was the company at the table. What I got was a too-thin burger patty that had been over-done and charred to the point that it overpowered the burger. The bun had been toasted too long and was dry. Even the placement of toppings on the burger were lack lustre. My burger had a large chunk of lettuce right smack dab in the middle of the bun, the onions had been dropped on on side of the lettuce and the tomatoes on the other side of it, not allowing you to get the chorus of toppings in your mouth. It was like going to attending a symphony, but having to run from room to room to hear each separate section. Its essential that they all work together so that you are lost in the burger and the melding of the toppings. But it was not achieved here.

From my observations, the sentiments were the same from around the table. Other testers were smothering their burgers in ketchup to help the cardboard slide down the esophagus, even though it went against official Wolfgang Burger Friday Rules and Regulations.

"I was pretty disappointed." Greg, that's an understatement if you ask me. I almost lost my confidence in you as a burger aficionado until you redeemed yourself near the end of the video.
"I'm ready to throw a table over." Jennifer, I don't blame you.
"The best part...lemon dill mayo." Which is not even on the burger, its the dipping sauce for the fries. But, as always, your right Erin.
"Standard back yard fare, maybe even a little bit below." Sad, but true, Dave. Sad, but true.

Those were just a few of the comments thrown around the table after devouring the burgers. To see more comments check out the video that our amazing Erin worked through the night to put together.

Ratings for the burger were in the 4 range with even a 3 being given out. Half a burger was even left on the table. Now that right there is a statement of how poor a burger this was.

On the bright side we did get to meet George's mom, Nancy, and his sister, Jennifer. We thoroughly enjoyed their company during lunch and their candour in the video review. Hopefully, they will join us again for more Burger Fridays.

Stayed tuned for more as we check out Urban Burger on March 11th.


Daryl - Official Hamburglar

Video Review of Red Onion - stay tuned for Daryl's review

Burgers and Paint: The Relationship

While tirelessly scouring the internet late at night trying to solve the mystery of the relationship between painting and burgers. Wolfgang Burger Researcher - Greg, came upon this eloquent explanation:

"The single biggest mistake any customer can make with a service business is to price shop. This isn't a TV where you can compare exact model numbers, it's a service and comparing paint should be done like hamburgers, not TV's. When you go to a top end restaurant you don't expect $1 burgers do you? Same goes with painters, do you want McDonalds or a nice place that cooks up field graze sirloin, both burgers right? Huge difference though. So, if you were shopping bids and both burgers were $5, one would be a rip off and one a great deal. Same goes for any service. The cheap ones actually might be more overpriced than your mid level guys."

Original Quote thanks to DIY Chatroom member racebum

So, just in case you were wondering what painting and burgers had to do with one another: Now You Know! And Knowing is 1/2 the Battle.

Seven Burgers and Lies

When seven Wolfies (as we’re affectionately known) boldly stepped into Five Guys Burgers and Fries, we did so with high expectations. If word around town was to be believed, we were about to experience one of the best burgers in the lower mainland. We had been giddy with anticipation all morning, punctuated by the occasional bout of euphoric screaming in the office.

The ambiance was certainly promising; the entire restaurant had a charming fifties burger joint feel, with white and red the only colors visible. The burger chefs were similarly adorned, and friendly. Fellow ‘burger researcher’ Greg had called ahead to reserve space for all seven of us, and the chief cook was kind enough to have a table prepared for us. In addition to complimentary beverages, we also sat down to peanuts in the shell as appetizers. Nice.

We ordered the Cheeseburger with ‘the works’, all the standard burger toppings including mushrooms. With the hunger at the table palpable as the freshly made burgers arrived, we collectively tore off our foil wrappers and went to work.

Opinion was mixed on the finished product. We agreed that the size was ideal and the ingredients were very fresh. This contrasted nicely with a burger patty possessing just the right amount of grease to create a satisfying feeling of sloppiness.

Views on the bun were polarized; some felt its soft, squishy feel was ideal in a burger, others used the descriptor ‘soggy’. There was also debate on the onions; some preferred the sliced style presented here, while others yearned for the chopped variety.

An agreed upon weakness was the cheese. So defining to a fantastic cheeseburger, the cheddar cheese had a flat, processed taste that didn’t provide the top note of flavor a few of us were yearning for.

In the end, the burger finished with an average score of 6.85 out of 10. If you’re hunting for a simple, sloppy burger with fresh ingredients presented in a fun setting, Five Guys Burgers and Fries is for you.

Heinrich - Foodie and Burger Specialist

Check out the video of the burger review:

Five Guys Burgers and Fries

Heinrich will have the review of Five Guys Burgers and Fries up on Monday. Heinrich is the true foodie on the panel and I expect the review to be shocking and contentious. Stay tuned.............

Greg - Burger Researcher

The Waiting Game...

So, since this is, without question, pretty serious business, we felt that we needed to make it more official. What better way to make something official than with business cards?! We got a great deal on these ones from VistaPrint so we decided it was well worth the shipping costs to legitimize this outfit.

Now we play the waiting game...

...Awww the waiting game sucks... let's play Hungry Hungry Hippos!

-Erin - Wolfgang Burger Connoisseur

UPDATE: The cards are in as of the 2nd of March! Now it's officially official: We're Official.

Burgers Etc. and Etc.

First up on our burger adventure was Burgers Etc.  A relatively new burger joint on Hastings in Burnaby with a burger voted "Best Burger in the Lower Mainland" by CTV news.

As it was our first place we probably made a few mistakes (no problem with going back to re-assess at a later date), notably showing up at lunch time trying to find seats for 7 people all in one place.  As it was a fairly small place we had to split the group up.  That being said I think we were pretty consistent for being seated at different tables.  No group-think phenomenon (or double group-think...hmm...)

We all ordered the Chargrilled Burger with cheddar cheese.  Overall it was a good burger and everyone agreed on that.  I tend to be a harsh critic so my rankings will consistently be lower than the average - good thing we're not judging figure skating and throwing out the top and bottom marks or mine would probably never count.  If I am asked to rank a burger 10 will have to be the BEST burger I have EVER eaten and a 5 would be an average good burger. (I'll defend my ranking, I think there should be a distinct difference between each number, not all burgers can get 7's!)

Some of the good feedback on the burger:
Good Bun, the proportions were good, size of the meat to bun ratio was good, the vegetables were crisp, and it had a good char on it.

Some of the bad feedback on the burger:
Not a great bun, the onion was overly powerful, needed more grease or a greasy aspect, the burger was too flat and wide (needed to be thicker and smaller), the tomatoes were tasteless and the meat was really nothing more than just meat (ie: not really seasoned in any way, not spicy or spiced)

So some conflicting reviews.  Basically it was a pretty good burger.  Had I been allowed to SMOTHER it with onions and mushrooms and cheese it would probably have received a higher rating from me.

So overall, with all 7 of us there, Burgers Etc. got a 7.14/10 rating from us.  Pretty darn good burger.

And I know were not rating sides here but the Macaroni salad was pretty awesome.

You can check out Burgers Etc here: http://www.burgers-etc.com/

-Erin - Wolfgang Burger Connoisseur

How it Works

Every Friday at 12 noon the office staff at Wolfgang is meeting at a specified burger joint to evaluate a burger with cheese. The evaluation is easy. On a rating of 1 to 10, how would you rate the burger? We will be reporting our findings here. You can checkout the rules on the "Rules Page" of the Blog. You can join us at any Wolfgang Burger Friday and make your opinion count!

Wolfgang Burger Fridays Prelude

We are at an epic moment in Wolfgang's history! Using the brain trust of Wolfgang Commercial Painters, we are embarking on the most aggressive research to-date. If done right, we may influence every man, woman and child in the Lower Mainland. As only the Wolfgang team can, we will resolve beyond a reasonable doubt "who makes the best burger in the Lower Mainland".

Greg

Researcher - Wolfgang Burger Division