I haven’t been posting lately as spring has sprung and I’ve been busy planting and weeding the ridiculous number of vegetable beds we built in the fall. Most days when I would normally be cooking I grab a piece of cheese or a piece of bread or both and call it a day. Shortly I’ll post from my garden and will get back to making some good food. In the meantime I give you the best little burger joint this side of the border. As much as I love to cook and am not half bad at it….. I take pride in recreating most things that we find in restaurants…. this burger seems to be just a little beyond my reach. Maybe I haven’t tried hard enough… maybe I don’t care to… it’s just so easy to stop by… and enjoy and support a local Drive In that serves up the best burgers I’ve had the pleasure of eating.
There is something to be said for a great scratch-made burger that has not been frozen but rather made to order for when you make your request. This is how the North Star does it. Their burgers are to die for! A little shack in the rougher end of town with just a couple of picnic tables. If it’s raining, eat in your car…. I have … 🙂 And make sure you go to the bathroom BEFORE you get there…. I’m honestly not sure if they have a public washroom and I honestly don’t care.
I have never been a fan of burgers that are dripping with meat sauce… if I want a sloppy joe then I’ll make one at home and I also absolutely hate when the bun is a whole lot of filler. You know them. The bun is three times the size of the burger and far more than anyone really wants to eat. I don’t go to a burger joint for a bun, if that’s what I want I go to a bakery. I want a burger that has discernible toppings, lettuce that looks like lettuce and a tomato and bacon that isn’t sliced with a Ginsu knife… you know the kind… sliced so thin they don’t want you to come back… like in the old commercials. I know the pics aren’t the greatest… and it may be hard to see the beef but it’s only because I was really hungry and wasn’t interested in posing the meal…. and there are two REAL slices of bacon that do a good job of hiding the meat. Make no mistake though… you taste it ALL in EVERY yummy bite!
When you order a bacon cheeseburger here you get two nice obvious slices of bacon, cheese and all the rest that add so much to the burger dare I say it is heavenly. Some have said that since the new ownership a little while ago the burgers have gotten smaller and the prices have gone up…. I don’t care…. If I can get a fresh bacon cheeseburger and homemake – YUP homemade sliced and fried chips (not loaded with an obscene amount of salt cause they let you salt your own) for under 15 bucks I’m thrilled. And really… I don’t need a burger the size of a monster whopper at Burger King…. if I do I can go there…. that’s just not my cup of tea.
The proportion of burger to bun to toppings is perfect. The burger is juicy and the chips (if they haven’t run out for the day because everyone loves them) are crispy and perfect every single time I’ve had them. (Maybe just don’t let them sit in the bag for a while… anything crispy will get soggy after steaming in a bag for a while). And I’ve had them a few times since they’ve opened this summer. That’s the hitch folks. This little shack is closed during our Winnipeg winters and who can blame them… it’s just way to cold out there. I must admit that I crave these burgers in the wintertime and if it was snowing outside right now and they were closed I may not be so forgiving… but for now they are open and I’m a huge fan!
They also have another couple of interesting burgers… PB and J and a Blue Cheeseburger… I haven’t gotten there… waiting to get tired of this one… though that may take a while so I’ll make this commitment here and now…. I vow to try their other burgers this summer and report back…. stay tuned!
For now if you live in Winnipeg you must MUST try these if you haven’t already… and if you don’t live here…. come on down and give them a shot… just make sure it’s summertime… because that’s the only time they are open and it’s beautiful here this time of year!
531 McGregor Street in Winnipeg…. Google it! 🙂
