Does anyone remember Mike Myers' Colonel Sanders rant from So I Married and Axe Murderer - "Oh, I hated the Colonel with his wee beady eyes, and that smug look on his face. "Oh, you're gonna buy my chicken! Ohhhhhhh!!!" Anyhow, we got the Hintonburger with fries ($8.75) which is a 6 oz bacon cheeseburger with their "signature BBQ sauce". We asked for garlic sauce as well.
It's a good burger - moist but slightly charred on the outside, your classic barbeque burger. In fact, it tasted just like a burger a friend would grill up for me at a backyard barbeque - a friend who really likes me, granted, but not really superior to that. Jon agreed - good burger, but not great.
Scores:
Jon: 7.5/10
Me: 7.5/10
After sharing the burger we wandered over to the Tacolot, which we've been meaning to try for a while.
Unfortunately, it was after 8 pm and they only had beef tacos left. We got the platter (two tacos, rice, salad and fruit, $10):
There was melted cheddar cheese on the bottom, then pulled beef topped with chopped tomatoes, onions and cilantro. The beef wasn't seasoned whatsoever - not even salt and pepper - and the whole thing was rather bland. Other than the bit of cilantro, the vegetables weren't dressed with anything either. The rice and beans were similarly tasteless. Never having been to Mexico, I don't know if this is what authentic tacos are supposed to taste like; I've tried the tacos at Corazon de Maiz in the Market Mall and it was pretty, blandly similar, though at least there you had five different hot sauces to try. Other than that, my experience with Mexican food is pretty limited. The last time I was at an actual sit-down Mexican restaurant was years ago at Mexicali Rosa's on Clarence St. and it was wretched, as you might expect. We gave our order, the server took away our menus and immediately brought out our (terrible) food, leading me to picture a bunch of dishes lined up in a row, waiting to be microwaved (as an aside, I went to use the washroom and didn't realize that Mexicali's shares their restrooms with Haveli next door, located off a common hallway. I came out and picked the wrong door, and ended up in this Indian restaurant, thinking, What happened???!!! Alas, I had not stumbled into an alternate dimension, my life is not that glamorous).
While we were waiting for the tacos, we went next door to Suzy Q's donuts, located in the Hintonburger's former home. An employee (owner?) walked out holding this beauty:
He told us they had closed at 8, but we were welcome to have this white chocolate raspberry donut. Well, we wanted to be accommodating. I've tried Suzy Q donuts before; I picked up a half dozen over Easter and while I find their flavours creative - I enjoyed the margarita with lime glaze and salt - I thought the toppings were more delicious than the actual base donut (which did not vary between varieties). The texture is airier and spongier than I like, and - dare I say it - a bit bland.
Baja Burger Shack is a concession stand located at Britannia Beach, and you can't really beat the view from the patio:
I guess the grass fringe makes it a tiki bar? More hint o'Tiki. Tiki light? Memories of Tiki. Okay, I'll stop now. We ordered the Baja cheeseburger with fries and a bottle of water ($12.40 with taxes).
The patty was slightly pink, and while it was soft it wasn't mushy like the one at Vera's. It was also moist and juicy and SEASONED and oh so lovely. However...
Me: The bun's really pale.
Jon: It tastes pale. And doughy.
Me: It tastes like everything we've been indoctrinated about white bread in the past ten years rolled into one doughy bun.
Jon: You have the soul of a poet.
Me: You know what doesn't have soul? Or poetry? This bun.
So all that was separating this burger from greatness was a better bun. The fries were okay; I personally prefer my fries a bit crispier, though the portion was pretty generous.
Scores:
Jon: 8/10
Me: 8.5/10
It's a good burger - moist but slightly charred on the outside, your classic barbeque burger. In fact, it tasted just like a burger a friend would grill up for me at a backyard barbeque - a friend who really likes me, granted, but not really superior to that. Jon agreed - good burger, but not great.
Scores:
Jon: 7.5/10
Me: 7.5/10
After sharing the burger we wandered over to the Tacolot, which we've been meaning to try for a while.
Unfortunately, it was after 8 pm and they only had beef tacos left. We got the platter (two tacos, rice, salad and fruit, $10):
There was melted cheddar cheese on the bottom, then pulled beef topped with chopped tomatoes, onions and cilantro. The beef wasn't seasoned whatsoever - not even salt and pepper - and the whole thing was rather bland. Other than the bit of cilantro, the vegetables weren't dressed with anything either. The rice and beans were similarly tasteless. Never having been to Mexico, I don't know if this is what authentic tacos are supposed to taste like; I've tried the tacos at Corazon de Maiz in the Market Mall and it was pretty, blandly similar, though at least there you had five different hot sauces to try. Other than that, my experience with Mexican food is pretty limited. The last time I was at an actual sit-down Mexican restaurant was years ago at Mexicali Rosa's on Clarence St. and it was wretched, as you might expect. We gave our order, the server took away our menus and immediately brought out our (terrible) food, leading me to picture a bunch of dishes lined up in a row, waiting to be microwaved (as an aside, I went to use the washroom and didn't realize that Mexicali's shares their restrooms with Haveli next door, located off a common hallway. I came out and picked the wrong door, and ended up in this Indian restaurant, thinking, What happened???!!! Alas, I had not stumbled into an alternate dimension, my life is not that glamorous).
While we were waiting for the tacos, we went next door to Suzy Q's donuts, located in the Hintonburger's former home. An employee (owner?) walked out holding this beauty:
 |
| Hello, lover |
He told us they had closed at 8, but we were welcome to have this white chocolate raspberry donut. Well, we wanted to be accommodating. I've tried Suzy Q donuts before; I picked up a half dozen over Easter and while I find their flavours creative - I enjoyed the margarita with lime glaze and salt - I thought the toppings were more delicious than the actual base donut (which did not vary between varieties). The texture is airier and spongier than I like, and - dare I say it - a bit bland.
Baja Burger Shack is a concession stand located at Britannia Beach, and you can't really beat the view from the patio:
I guess the grass fringe makes it a tiki bar? More hint o'Tiki. Tiki light? Memories of Tiki. Okay, I'll stop now. We ordered the Baja cheeseburger with fries and a bottle of water ($12.40 with taxes).
The patty was slightly pink, and while it was soft it wasn't mushy like the one at Vera's. It was also moist and juicy and SEASONED and oh so lovely. However...
Me: The bun's really pale.
Jon: It tastes pale. And doughy.
Me: It tastes like everything we've been indoctrinated about white bread in the past ten years rolled into one doughy bun.
Jon: You have the soul of a poet.
Me: You know what doesn't have soul? Or poetry? This bun.
So all that was separating this burger from greatness was a better bun. The fries were okay; I personally prefer my fries a bit crispier, though the portion was pretty generous.
Scores:
Jon: 8/10
Me: 8.5/10
Thanks for this! Funny writing. Happy to follow your foodie adventures!
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