Upstairs at Campagnolo

1020 Main St. Vancouver    Twitter: @CampUpstairs

FOOD 
We like this place — a lot. Presentation-wise, the "dirty" burger may not look like much, but believe us, it's dripping with tasty burger goodness. The beef was crumbly and well-seasoned and smothered with melted cheese. The buns are reportedly infused with a butter/lard combo. The special sauce adds a nice punch of flavour. The fries are like eating potato chips, nicely seasoned and no need for ketchup.

AMBIENCE 
We loved the casual, intimate vibe of the place. To be clear, we're not talking Campagnolo (the place that serves rustic Italian dishes) but the overflow bar/snack joint upstairs. (It's the green door to the right of the main entrance). We liked the miniature soldiers lining the wood-beamed ceiling, as well as the retro yellow-dragon neon sign hanging above the stairs.

SERVICE 
This is not a formal full-service restaurant. You walk up to the bar and let them know what you want. The menu items are listed on butcher paper on the wall.

VALUE 
Believe the hype you've seen on other blog sites. Looking forward to checking out their weekend brunch.

Eating at Upstairs @ Campagnolo is like driving a Mini Cooper (John Cooper Works edition) down Thermal Drive in Port Moody with Benedict Cumberbatch in the passenger seat and Ice T's New Jack Hustler playing on the stereo. (Visited on Sept. 22, 2014). 

Displace Hashery

3293 W. 4th Vancouver  www.displacehashery.com

FOOD
Displace Hashery bills itself as one of Kitsilano's "best patios," featuring "beach food and bar." Its website invokes water/surfing imagery, which is odd cuz the place is nowhere near the water. Advertising issues aside, Displace deserves kudos for offering up burgers that are not run-of-the-mill. There's a bayou whiskey burger (with whiskey bbq sauce, onions, smoked cheddar and bacon), an Aussie burger (with pineapple, beetroot, fried egg and bacon), and El Supremo burger (with bacon, onion rings and guacamole). We decided to try them all and the reaction was mixed. There was praise for the flavourful organic beef and complaints that the beef was too dry. The buns registered some sour notes too for being old or for disintegrating. The sea-salted fries were just alright.

AMBIENCE
The plastick-y patio furniture on the sidewalk didn't quite square with the upscale-y feel of the square plates.

SERVICE
We were never asked if we wanted our water re-filled.

VALUE
Not rushing back.

Summing it up, eating at Displace Hashery is like driving a Ford Fiesta ST down Point Grey Road (before the bike lanes), while listening to Katy Perry song is playing on the radio with Liam Neeson in the passenger seat. (Visited on July 16, 2014). 

Deacon's Corner

FOOD

101 Main St. Vancouver                                  deaconscorner.ca

Deacon's Corner bills itself as the "Original Gastown Diner" and the "best place for your hangover cure." It does indeed over up some impressive — and sizable — breakfasts. But how are its burgers? Short answer: stick with the breakfasts. The burger was dry and had that out-of-the-freezer taste. It was also considerably smaller than the bun. To be fair, one member of our group did enjoy his "filthy burger," but that's because it was slathered with pulled pork, cheese and bacon. Oddly, some fries seemed over cooked, while others were cooked just right. The mixed-berry pie for dessert was probably the highlight.

AMBIENCE
We like the spacious booths and old-school decor with framed black-and white photos from the surrounding area. (Side note: as one of us locked up his bike outside the restaurant, he came under unprovoked verbal assault from an unsavoury neighbourhood character, prompting more than a few checks out the window to make sure said bike was OK).

SERVICE
Great! Cheerful and humorous — still managed to make us laugh when she informed us that they had run out of beers.

VALUE
Kinda disappointing.

Summing it up, eating at Deacon's Corner is like driving an early 90's Camry with a body kit around Saltspring Island with Kim Kardashian in the passenger seat and listening to Daft Punk's Get Lucky (visited on May 27, 2014).

Moderne Burger

FOOD

2507 W. Broadway, Vancouver                          moderneburger.com

Moderne Burger consistently ranks high on various blog sites, but reaction in the group was decidedly mixed. Votes ranged from 6/10 to 8/10. They definitely don't skimp on the patties — they're fresh, with good thickness. The problem is they lacked flavour. There was a hint of a sweet sauce but it was slight. "Not sure if it's something about my taste buds," one member of the group said, but the burger had a "watered down" or "watery" taste to it. The member of the group who praised the burger had extra toppings — fried onions and mushrooms — so that may have helped. There was a complaint about "bun integrity" and another complaint about the bun being "chewy."

AMBIENCE
We like the retro vibe, checkered floors. But why are the booths so small?

SERVICE
Staff are very friendly and chatty — almost to the point of being exceedingly so.

VALUE
At $10.95 for a basic platter, Moderne offers decent value.

Summing it up, eating at Moderne Burger is like driving a Chevy Corvair down Iona Road in Richmond with Arsenio Hall in the passenger seat while listening to Hulk Hogan's theme song "Real American" on the radio. (Visited on April 15, 2014).

White Spot (Kitsilano)

2518 West Broadway, Vancouver                         www.whitespot.ca

FOOD
Well, what can we say? Who doesn't have a soft spot for White Spot and its Triple O Sauce? We had originally intended to go to Moderne Burger but it's closed on Mondays, so we crossed the street to the reliable Spot in Kitsilano. Little has changed with the Spot's signature burgers since our childhood Pirate Pak days — and that's a good thing. It's a reliably tasty burger even if the "Bigger" burger is a tad on the smallish side. There were mixed opinions about the addition of lettuce and tomato but it was minor quibbling. We loved the crisp bacon and the bottomless fries (and gravy!).

AMBIENCE
Cozy and comfortable. Our booth seating was a tad tight.

SERVICE
Very friendly and attentive.

VALUE
At $12-$13, the burger combos — again with endless fries — represent pretty good value, we'd say.

Summing it up, eating at White Spot is like driving a 2014 Toyota Corolla down E. 12th Ave. between Fraser St and Clark Drive with Ryan Seacrest in the passenger seat and Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here playing on the radio. (Visited on March 10, 2014).

The Tomahawk Restaurant

1550 Philip Ave., North Vancouver          www.tomahawkrestaurant.com

FOOD 

Around since 1926, family-run Tomahawk is a North Vancouver institution. It was featured on the TV show Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives where host Guy Fieri gushed over the restaurant's signature roast beef dinner with Yorkshire pudding and beef dip sandwich. But what about its burgers? Tomahawk has a large roster of them — the "Skookum Chief," "Dagwood Super," "Chief Capilano" among them — featuring organic beef patties, eggs, and wieners. Unfortunately, the consensus among the group was that it doesn't matter how many "doodads" you add, you still have to have a good burger at the core — and the core was lacking. Patties were sorta dry, the "Tomahawk sauce" was barely detectable. Shredded lettuce was a nice change up. Fries were cafeteria-like.

AMBIENCE

Comfortable. We like the history of the place and the unique aboriginal art work all over the walls and the throwback ginger ale in a bottle.

SERVICE 

Competent. Nothing stood out.

VALUE

Despite our misgivings, we've actually been here three times now. The value is decent and we like the "comfort food" vibe and dose of nostalgia of the place.


Summing it up, eating at The Tomahawk is like driving an older model Nissan Maxima through Chinatown with Jean-Claude Van Damme in the passenger seat while listening to Cutting Crew's Died in Your Arms (visited on January 22, 2014).

Texx Big Burger

14783 108 Ave., Surrey, B.C.     www.texxbigburger.com

FOOD
We had big expectations going in based on the positive reviews online. The fact that there was a big-bellied fella sitting near the window as we pulled into the parking lot was another good sign. Unfortunately, Texx Big Burger in Surrey was a big disappointment. None of us was prepared to stomach the whopping Super Texx Burger — a monstrous burger with three 10 oz patties for $22.99 — but a few of us did try the Texx Big Burger, which has three 5-ounce patties for $12.99. The consensus seemed to be that the patties were a bit thin and dry and that it had the taste of a glorified McDonald's quarter pounder. The sesame buns were also spongy and we didn't particularly care for the process-y cheese. On the plus side, we all agreed that Texx Burger offers some of the best fries we've ever had and you get a mountain of 'em. 

AMBIENCE 
Basically what you'd expect from a strip-mall burger joint. It's got tables and chairs and, on the night of our visit, a flat-screen TV tuned in to Entertainment Tonight. The bright yellow walls are adorned with photos of smiling customers who conquered the Super Texx Burger.

SERVICE
Guy behind the counter was very friendly and took the time to walk us through the menu. But the fact that he had to explain the differences between burgers was laborious and seemed inefficient. Also, there was something off-putting about seeing employees go to the Greek place next door and bring back some pasta to eat in the main dining area.

VALUE
Yes, the burgers are large and will give your jaws a good workout. Yes, there's a decent selection of free toppings, including lettuce, tomato and mushrooms. But we can't honestly say you're getting a whole lot of bang for your buck from this eat-out-of-the-paper bag joint.

Summing it up, eating at Texx Big Burger is like a daytime drive through Whalley in a Mustang II with Alan Thicke in the passenger seat and the 24/7 celebrity gossip station on the radio.  (Visited on Dec. 18, 2013).

Hamburger Mary's

1202 Davie St., Vancouver

FOOD
Meh. You'd think a place with "Hamburger" in its name would .... well, you know where we're going. The initial bites held promise — the patty seemed to be of decent quality and had good heft to it. But the bbq flavour was there one bite, gone the next. There was also disagreement over the quality of the bun. In the end, there was just nothing that made our burgers stand out. Fries were good though.

AMBIENCE
Classic diner feel with vintage jukebox and nods to Marilyn Munroe and Clint Eastwood.


SERVICE
Bubbly. With personality.

VALUE
Just average. The place is a longtime fixture on Davie Street. We suspect its core clientele are more the all-day-breakfast-going crowd. Oh, don't get us started on the $7 dessert brownie.

Summing it up, eating at Hamburger Mary's is like driving a Volvo XC60 along Beach Avenue, with Jimmy Kimmel in the passenger seat and Madonna's La Isla Bonita playing on the radio (visited on November 13, 2013). 

Hog Shack

3900 Bayview St., Steveston, B.C.                hogshack.ca

FOOD
Its website promises "epic bbq." We had a pretty epic disagreement over the burgers here. One member of our group thought the Flatline Burger (double patty between two grilled cheese sandwiches) lived up to its "to die for" reputation, and even outranked a similar offering at Burger Heaven. He was particularly impressed the mammoth burger stayed intact down to the last bite. But another member complained the burger lacked char and that its flavour was flat and the rustic bun was a bit "chewy." A third member said he quite enjoyed his burger. We enjoyed the fries which reminded us of In-N-Out fries in the States.

AMBIENCE
Nice, airy hangout spot with red-checkered-tablecloth charm, albeit a bit quiet on the weeknight we visited.

SERVICE
Friendly, attentive service, though we were a bit gobsmacked at the lack of response from staff when a small, four-legged rodent was seen scurrying about in the dining area.

VALUE
Classic burger meal is $10. Dressed up burgers range from $13 to $18. If we come back we'll definitely want to give their bbq ribs a try.

Summing it up, eating at the Hog Shack is like driving a Scion XB through Drumheller, Alta., with Jenna Fischer in the passenger seat and Billy Joel's "Piano Man" playing on the radio. (Visited on Sept. 24, 2013)

Sophie's Cosmic Cafe

2095 W. 4th Ave. Vancouver     sophiescosmiccafe.com

Food This Kitsilano landmark is known for its breakfasts/brunches, but how do its burgers fare? Patties were nicely seasoned and healthy-sized, but we can't say we were 'wowed' by them. A couple of us thought our sesame buns were on the stale/dry side. We all thought the fries were top notch, though the in-house ketchup was a bit on the tart side. The offering of beans as a side is rare, and they were good!

Ambience It was a nice night so we opted for outdoor seating, which was very pleasant. First-time 'goers will enjoy the kitschy, colourful interior.

Service Attentive and cheerful.

Value At $12.59 for the "deluxe" burger, you're getting a decent amount of food for your money, though the consensus from the group seemed to be that we're not in any rush to come back (at least for the burger).

Summing it up, eating at Sophie's Cosmic Cafe is like driving a Chrysler 300 down Cornwall Avenue with Jay Leno in the driver's seat, while listening to Foo Fighters 'Best of you.' (visited on August 27, 2013)