Hero Burger

Location:

1480 Major Mackenzie Drive East
Richmond Hill, ON

www.heroburgers.com

I like to jokingly think it's me saying "hello" to the burger.  "Herroo Burger!"

Having eaten at Hero Burger once before at the Queen Street location, I wasn't blown out of the water.  It was almost good bye burger. 

But seeing it again in Richmond Hill while quite hungry, all was forgotten and we exchanged pleasantries once more.

I got the beef burger with bacon, hold the cheese, while my husband got the turkey burger with all the fixin's.



Verdict?





While there was nothing bad or wrong with it, it's not the best I've had and failed to impress a second time. 

However, the service was great; friendly and quick, and better than the Queen St. location.

So, it may not my hero, but then, I already have one.

Mill Street Brewery

Location:

55 Mill Street, Toronto

www.millstreetbrewery.com

For beerfests and the like, Mill Street Brewery has the capacity for the people and the beers.

Check out their Ontario's first "Original Organic Lager" for a light and hoppy flavour.

I'm now more interested in their new Lemon Tea Beer and this contest they're having.

TRAVEL: Mr. B’s Bistro, N’awlins

Location:

201 Royal Street, New Orleans, LA

www.mrbsbistro.com

So, this is another one of those overdue/back-burner pieces.
Better late than never, right?

Located in the French Quarter, and coming highly recommended from many a source on the world wide web, my first impression of Mr. B's was that it seemed more suited towards a 40+ suit crowd.

Suits and in our case, bibs.

The bibs for de-shelling the shrimps in Mr. B's signiture BBQ shrimp dish!
(Gulf shrimp barbequed New Orleans style, served in the shells with a peppery butter sauce, and French bread for dipping $18.00)

EEEE!

Apart from the de-shelling, this dish was fantastic! And I love that they share the recipe online!

The other dish was less painful.  Also, a bit bland.  Catfish with beans (Pecan crusted farm raised catfish topped with Creole meuniere sauce $15.00 )



The fried oysters $6.75 were excellent.



Blueberry Cobbler $8, perfectly old fashioned.

Suits or not, bibs or not...Mr. B's Bistro is everything you imagine "N'awlins" to be.

Harbour Sports Grille

Location:

10 Yonge St., Toronto

www.harboursportsgrille.com

Fish n' Chips..............check.

Fish n chips

Beer....................check.

mmmmmmmmm....beer

TVs....................check.

Over 50 TVs and 2 big screens

Random pasta dish.............check.

Pasta

Can't ask for more from Harbour Sports Grille.

TRAVEL: Banff: The Maple Leaf

Location:

137 Banff Avenue
Banff, AB

www.banffmapleleaf.com

After a two hour trek across Lake Louise and back to the Chateau and by the time we reached Banff, we were riddled with cravings for salmon (or really, anything other than sandwiches and soups), so we headed straight to The Maple Leaf, number one on my list of Banff eateries.

Also, after not finding a single fireplace (working) at the Chateau, we were tempted to ask if there was a fireplace at the Maple Leaf, to which we got the response, "one moment please", and then, voila! A table RIGHT beside the fireplace!   Mind you, not only a fireplace, but a giant moose head to go with it, right above us.  

GIANT moose head!

I love Banff. Everything's so rugged, so earthy, so natural. If it isn't wood, it's leather or stone. The Maple Leaf ambiance was beyond cosy.

Such a cosy interior

Oh so comfortable leather chairs

The many celebs who have visited

We'd scoured the outdoor menu to make sure that there was salmon and I knew what I was going to have:

The Atlantic Wasabi Salmon...sesame-scented Asian noodles, nori, pickled ginger.

The other item we ordered was the Mahi Mahi sandwich (I know I said enough with the sandwiches, but it sounded so good!) with potato and leek soup (okay, I take it back).

Yummeh x 2!

Our only - and very slight - qualm was that the "Coke" tasted more like Cola and then we figured out it was DIET Coke. Er, no thanks. Not on vacation (or any other time, for that matter).  Our server was very accomodating and made no fuss.  Our adjoining table of seven or eight however, complained about their regular burgers being too pink and found out that the regular burgers also had a mix of bison in them (the server said something about bison burgers being more on the pink side).  They voiced that the menu made no mention of the bison mix in the regular burg and they'd have loved to have known beforehand...etc.etc.

If I hadn't overdone the whole burger thing having had two in the last four days, I would have ordered the regular burg as well, but the salmon and mahi mahi sandwich was exactly what we needed. 

Wasabi Salmon

The salmon dish was amazingly good.  Surprisingly, the noodles were chilled, but together with the crispy (breadcrumbed and fried) salmon and the fresh ginger slices, the dish was refreshing and satisfying. 

Mahi Mahi Sandwich

The fish sandwich was tasty as well; we tried to pinpoint the "indian" flavour in it.  At first I accredited it to the chilly yogurt mentioned in the menu, but then it dawned on me as being CILANTRO (to the joy of N and to my dismay).  If you know me, you know I am not a fan of the green stuff and its overpoweringly horrid scent.  That said, it was still a good sandwich.  Washed down with a cold glass of real Coke, that is.

Potato and Leek soup

The potato and leek soup was the perfect antidote to an active Winters day, while the Maple Leaf was the perfect end to an active Winters vacation.

Craft Burger

Location:

573 King Street West, Toronto (this review)

Other location:

830 Yonge Street, Toronto

Cost: $10 burger combo (includes can of pop or water & fries or onion rings)

www.craftburger.com

It used to be El Penco. *Sniff sniff* how I loved El Penco...the chimichangas were so cheap and so good. And the sandwiches were always made with love.

Craft Burger's burgers are made with...hands.





As much as I still do miss El Penco, I have to say Craft Burger is sloooowly winning me over. I still dislike the interior cramped-ness; eating in makes me feel claustophobic (somehow it always looked way bigger when it was El Penco..*sigh*).

Oh, I'm also not a fan of the fries; do they have sweet potato fries?



The Classic Burger is $5.65 or you can do the combo for $10 and get a can of pop or water and fries or onion rings. I've yet to try anything BUT the classic burger though...old habits die hard (I've only been to CB twice). I hear the cookies are some of the best in the city?! Is this true? Somebody tell me. I also hear the veg burger is amazing....again, will have to test out this theory...someday only though 'cause lookit how delish this is:





It's a tasty burger. I wouldn't say it's the BEST burger in town 'cause I wouldn't know. You'd have to tell me which is the best. Down the street at Banknote you can get a pretty decent burger combo that's mighty good, too.

But how about the size of the onion rings:



At those sizes, I think there were only a couple of onion rings in the bag.



So is it open late for dinner? (A friend of mine responded with: "Then it should be called Craft Dinner"...haha, she is so witty, that one.) And the answer is yes, they're open till 10pm (Mon-Thurs) 11pm (Fri-Sat) and 9pm (Sun) and it's much tastier than Kraft Dinner (some may disagree).