El Trompo

El Trompo
277 Augusta Avenue
Toronto, Ontario

416-260-0097

El Trompo

XX and guacamole and chips.

Mango margarita.

Spicy Tinga Chicken.

Al Pastor tacos.

In her opinion:
Today is Cinco de Mayo and as a tribute to Mexican independence from the French occupation which took place after the American Spanish War of 1846-48, we decided to go for Mexican. Not that I need a reason to go for Mexican!

Although, we have a couple of good Mexican places in our hometown, we decided to head to Toronto and to Kensington Market with its Latin flavours and delicious churros (you bet we visited our favourite churro place - Pancho's Bakery during this outing).

El Trompo was our choice for Mexican cuisine and it was also a lot of other people's pick since there was a line-up out the door and around the sidewalk.  We only waited about 15 minutes to be seated on their patio.  This place was packed. And now I know why.

We started by ordering  an order of guacamole and a XX for Edgar and a mango margarita for me. Our waitress delivered our guacamole and drinks within a couple of minutes of ordering.  

The mango margarita was very nice.  Not too overpowering but nicely flavoured and perfect for the patio.  The guacamole was perfection. Some of the best guacamole I have eaten outside of Mexico. It was perfectly balanced and flavoured.

For our main course we decided to share two orders of tacos.  We got the "Al Pastor" and the "Spicy Tinga Chicken" tacos.  The Al Pastor tacos are described on their menu as a Mexican City style taco. It consists of marinated pork with pineapple, coriander and onion. It is served with lime.  The Tinga tacos are corn flour tortillas filled with chicken cooked in a tomato/smoke chipotle pepper sauce with coriander and onion. It is also served with lime.

Both of these tacos were absolutely delicious.  I especially enjoyed the Al Pastor.  The combination of flavours is outstanding. The sweetness of the pineapple adds an expected punch of flavour. Just excellent. I also enjoyed the flavours of the Tinga. The spiciness was just right. Very good.

I will definitely return to El Trompo. Very reasonably priced and the quality and freshness is outstanding.

In his opinion:
Awww Kensigton Market! Can't think of a better place to spend a spring day in Toronto, especially when we had nothing planned. It was Cinco de Mayo and we were looking for a Mexican place to eat. Since we were in Toronto, Julie thought of trying  El Trompo on Augusta Street. 

This place screams authentic Mexican, from the small tables outside with Mayan drawings on them to the Spanish speaking waitresses. I always like to speak to them in their native tongue. They are usually very happy to respond to me in Spanish, and direct it to my wife that unfortunately doesn't speak it well. Still funny to witness nevertheless.

We ordered a mango margarita and Dos Equis XX beer. Dos Equis is the beer that Mexicans really drink, unlike the famous Corona that most of them despise.

We ordered the guacamole and chips to start and it was amazing. The guacamole was creamy with  tomato, onion and cilantro in it for consistency. It was just out of this world.

The menu is quite extensive and took me a while to decide what to have. "Spicy Tinga" was my choice and I'm so glad I ordered it. Tinga is chicken tacos served in corn tortilla filled with chicken cooked in a tomato/smoked chipotle pepper sauce. The menu says four but it is served with five tacos and they tasted amazing.

We also ordered the famous tacos "Al Pastor" and let me tell you that they are worth the hype. They call these "their speciality", a Mexican City special taco and if that's the case I'm skipping the Mayan Riviera on my next vacation in favour of la Ciudad de Mexico. It's corn tortillas filled with pork meat marinated in traditional sauce but.....here is the kicker...it had pineapple, coriander and onion and trust me when I say that the pineapple ties this taco together as few things can.

The Good: Authentic Mexican in a great neighbourhood, filled with the usual crowd that can recite the menu backwards.
The Bad: Lineups...although they work hard in minimizing them, they are big due to popular demand and limited seating.
The Verdict: A great place to kill your Mexican cravings and just people watch from the tiny patio. Location being in the heart of Kensington Market makes it that more attractive. Great menu with Mexican staples and good selection of tacos.

I give it a 3 olives out of 5 as rating

Moderno

Moderno
383 Elgin Street North
Cambridge, ON

519-624-2351

In her opinion:
Going to dinner at Moderno feels to me just like going home.  We have been going to this restaurant since it was first opened and use to be called Cafe Moderno. Before it had the sleek polished look that it has today.  One thing that has remained consistent is the food. And this is good food. Portuguese food at it's finest.  This is not Chiado's type of Portuguese food but rather homey, delicious food just like your mom makes if she's an exceptional cook! Which mine is!

We were suppose to meet a couple of friends for dinner but somehow our wires must have crossed and they didn't show up! But that was okay because we still managed to have an awesome dinner. I started by ordering my favourite Portuguese drink, a Castello. Castello is merely sparkling water much like Perrier or San Pellagrino but I like it more then the French or Italian version. Our very efficient waitress also brought over delicious Portuguese "Papo Secos" with butter or olive oil and balsamic vinegar for dipping.

For my appetizer, I ordered one of my favourite soups in any type of cuisine - Caldo Verde.  Caldo Verde literally translates to green broth.  It is a potato based soup with Portuguese chourico sausage, onion, garlic, olive oil and finely chopped kale or collard greens.  I've had many versions of this soup both in Canada, the USA and Portugal and Moderno's take on this Portuguese classic is done to perfection.  I would say that Moderno's Caldo Verde is superb.  It is my favourite Caldo Verde from all the Caldo Verdes I a have ever eaten!

The Moderno Caldo Verde is creamy. I think that's why I like their version of Caldo Verde so much.  The collards are nice and thin chopped and the chourico adds the right amount of smokey flavour.  This soup is excellent.  It is simply perfection.

The dinner menu at Moderno has a lot to pick from but my usual picks are either the "Bife a Casa" or the "Fillet of Fish". Tonight I picked the Fillet of Fish or what I like to call Portuguese wedding fish!

Moderno's version of Portuguese wedding fish is a lightly battered fish fillet served with a yellow rice and house salad (again similar to the salad served at Portuguese weddings with the oil and vinegar dressing). My fish was light and airy. It was perfectly seasoned. The rice was nicely done...not mushy and nicely flavoured. The salad was very refreshing and delicious.  A perfect main course.

I love that we have one excellent Portuguese restaurant in Cambridge.  There have been many attempts at Portuguese restaurants in this city but unfortunately they were not up to par with what Portuguese cuisine should be and were eventually taken out of their misery. Moderno is a very good example of what homey, modern and delicious Portuguese food should be.  I like this place! I like it a lot.

In his opinion:
Moderno is a refreshing sight in a very dull and disappearing Portuguese cuisine scene in the Waterloo Region. In a city where Portuguese and their descendants constitute a big part of the population, it is appalling to find out of the scarceness of good Portuguese restaurants in Cambridge. 

Moderno (Portuguese for modern) is exactly that. Moderno's style is a modern take on traditional Portuguese cuisine.  Its décor tries as hard as it can to dissociate itself from a "traditional" Portuguese ambience. In the many incarnations that this restaurant has had, the consistency of good food and a welcoming environment are the standard throughout.

After we ordered our drinks, papo secos, the Portuguese bread rolls were brought to the table along with butter and olive oil and balsamic to serve as dips for the bread. This practice is believed to have started in countries like Spain, Italy and Portugal but throughout my travels to all these countries, I found no evidence that this is common practice in any of them, although seen sporadically in some restaurants. Some research on-line also backs this theory. It is actually more prominent in North American restaurants that serve those cuisines but nevertheless, is it an excellent idea and I personally love it.

After a brief explanation about the daily specials from the well informed waitress, we went on to browse the dinner menu. It is a well balanced menu with selections of beef, chicken, pork and heavy on  seafood choices, carrying most of the "staple" dishes expected from Portuguese cuisine. I somewhat expectantly ordered the "Bife a Casa", a well loved dish throughout Portugal and that has many interpretations depending on the region of the country you order it in. The one consistency found in this dish is that it is usually served in a clay pot.

At Moderno, it is a tender strip loin steak, roughly 8 to 10 oz, pan seared and served in a creamy garlic sauce. The steak also comes topped with a sunny side up fried egg (ovo a cavalo), and freshly sliced, somewhat crispy potatoes, piled up around the clay pot. 

The king jewel of this dish is surely the creamy garlic sauce that manages to not overpower the steak, compliments the potatoes greatly and serves as an excellent dipping sauce for the Portuguese bread (papo secos). Some hot peppers and black olives are also thrown in to the mix, completing the combination of flavours that complement the dish.

I have tried many dishes in my many visits to this restaurant throughout the years but it is the "Bife a casa" that I crave time and time again. 
I failed to have in this occasion the appetizer "Flaming Chourico", which I usually have and highly recommend. It is a modern take on the "Chourico a Bombeiro" dish, which consists of sliced or partially slit Portuguese Chourico, drowsed in Brandy and served still in flames, for an amazing effect.

The Good: Flavourful food, inviting ambience and a great touch to have the owner often on premises  to greet and engage the customers.
The Bad: Sometimes private parties take over the restaurant and makes it impossible for regular dining.
The Verdict: The food here is consistently good, service is very attentive and the latest revamp of this restaurant has improved on something that was already good. They also do catering and hold private small functions on premises, and I have experienced first hand the great level of service and food they cater.

I give it 3 1/2 olives out of 5 as rating

Symposium Cafe - Cambridge

Symposium Cafe
500 Can-Amera Parkway
Cambridge, Ontario


519-621-8878


In her opinion:


Well, we've found another place for breakfast in our hometown. Our friends picked it as a breakfast spot for today and I'm glad they did! Symposium Cafe is part of a chain with locations in Kitchener, London, Guelph, Brantford, Hamilton and Cambridge. Symposium Cafe on Can-Amera Parkway has a very decent breakfast menu to pick from.


The restaurant's decor has a bit of an identity crisis going on...is it a Roman eatery? or is it sports bar? or Aunt Sophie's parlor? But whatever it chooses to be one thing is for sure the menu is good old fashioned Canadian/American cuisine with some European influences.  Their breakfast menu has the classics we all love in a three egg format.  The omelettes are three egg, the regular breakfast dishes such as eggs and bacon consists of three eggs and bacon and their benedicts also consist of three poached eggs.

Is it a Roman eatery?

Is it a sports bar?

Or is it Aunt Sophie's parlor?

I ordered the "Eggs Benjamin".  This was described on the menu as a toasted English muffin topped with smoked salmon, three poached eggs, red onion and crowned with Hollandaise sauce.  It was served with breakfast potatoes.

I really enjoyed my breakfast.  The eggs were a little harder then I normally like but everything else was just perfect.  The Hollandaise sauce was very good.


I will definitely return to Symposium Cafe for breakfast.  I would also like to try other menu items served at lunch or dinner. Well, I did actually get to try their dessert menu today.  Having heard how excellent their chocolate cake was and since my son was taking his time with  eating his breakfast, we ordered a slice of cake to share among the seven of us.  After much deliberation we decided on the Sky High - a brownie, cheesecake creation with chocolate mousse on top.  Actually only five of us tried it (due to non-interest and nut allergies), but we all liked it very much.  We also discovered that on Sundays it's 2 for 1 cake slices...so we got a slice of Carrot Cake to take home for free.  I will say that it is so good!

Give Symposium Cafe a try...I think you'll like it.

In his opinion:
Symposium-(definition) "A convivial meeting for music, meeting and intellectual discussion among the ancient Greeks". Well that explains a bit but actually confuses things even more. Well..let me start from the beginning!


This popular restaurant chain is quickly popping up everywhere like teenage boys with Bieber hair. Okay maybe not quite that many...but I'm actually glad one popped up in my home town so I could try it without much of a drive. The décor...what can I say about it? It's actually nice but extremely confusing. There is massive sized art by Italian painters, wine plaques from France's wine country and an actual "Sports Bar"! Anyway, I'm a food blogger and not an interior decorator, so I will leave the remarks about the décor to... nice but confusing, giving you the option of casual or more formal setting depending where you sit. Inviting nevertheless.


Having my eyes wonder back to the menu, I noticed how extensive it actually is. This day, I was there for breakfast and didn't let myself stray too far from the back cover of the menu (the breakfast page)


I finally opted for the "Eggs Benedict" as my meal. The coffee was flowing, (actually not bad coffee by the way) and the oversized chairs make for a comfortable stay and was conducive to our chatting. The service was good and  our waitress Ashley was very attentive and engaging, making the whole experience even better.

The "Eggs Benedict" were very good. The Hollandaise sauce was just right and I particularly liked the type of Peameal Bacon used, it felt just perfect and somewhat crunchy, a great contrast to the softness of  the poached eggs and the freshness of the toasted English muffins. This is a great choice for Benedict lovers.


Having heard so much about Symposium's desserts and in particular, their cakes, we ordered the "Carrot Cake" and the "Sky High" (a hybrid of chocolate cheesecake and a brownie). Both cake slices were huge and could probably feed an entire family in Africa. The carrot cake was soft, moist and extremely fresh. The addition of fruit in the mix added to the texture and taste. The "Sky High" is part cheesecake and part brownie but all good. It is decadent in chocolate and well worth the calories that may or nor be attached to this hunk of chocolate goodness. It is worthy to point out that Sunday is 2 for 1 cake slices, well worth the wait even if the cravings appear mid-week. There are specials everyday and they are very well displayed on their site.

The Good: Good food, good prices and good service (kudos to Ashley).
The Bad: Decorations do throw you off a bit but maybe just at first glance.
The Verdict: A good alternative for breakfast but surely we will try lunch and dinner soon. Unpretentious food in a casual atmosphere, and an inviting welcome to our somewhat dull breakfast choices in town.


I give it a 3 Olives our of 5 as a rating

Fuel House

The Fuel House
53 Clinton Street
Toronto, ON


416-846-4217

In her opinion:
The first time I walked by the Fuel House restaurant on our way to dinner at Acadia, I knew I wanted to eat there. It didn't look fancy, it didn't look super upscale, what it did look was welcoming.  It looked like the type of casual neighbourhood spot that is cozy and fun with that promise of good food.


Having spent a foodie day in Toronto, we wanted to finish our day with lighter fare and Fuel House's sandwich heavy menu was perfect. Owner Mackenzie sat us and took care of our orders. What a super nice guy. He complements this casual and cozy place perfectly by making you feel right at home in his house.

I ordered a pint of Beau's to start.  This beer is excellent.  It was the first time I had it and I really enjoyed it.  We ordered a couple of appetizers/snacks to begin.  The "Pork Belly Confit Cubes" and "Fried Calamari" were our picks. The pork belly was served with a hoisin sesame sauce.  The calamari was served with a remoulade sauce.  The pork belly was delicious and the addition of the sauce added the right amount of sweetness.  The calamari was ethereal. Not the least bit greasy. Light and delicious.

As my main, I ordered the "Calamari Po'Boy" - fried calamari, pickled onions and remoulade. It is served with a side of coleslaw.

I thought this sandwich was outstanding.  The bun was perfect. The calamari is the same ethereal perfection as the appetizer. The sauce is an excellent balance of flavours.  Finally, the pickled onions add the right amount of crunch and sourness.  I haven't had such a good sandwich in a long while. Even the coleslaw was good.


My only regret about the experience was the fact that we had no room for dessert. But, I hope to be back to this awesome place and enjoy more of their menu including their dessert menu.


In his opinion:
Fuel House is the type of place I wish I had near my house so I could kill my cravings of good drinks and great food in one place. It's where inviting meets Irish Pub and good bistro food, all in a casual setting. It's almost like going to a friend's house for amazing food and drinks. 


From the outside it looks like any other converted Victorian home but the owners have meticulously maintained that "at home feel" throughout the place. The owner Mackenzie is very helpful, engaging and quickly made us feel at home by taking immediate care of our drink and food needs.

I started off with a Stella Artois beer while I perused the small but very inviting menu. It is heavy on the sandwiches but every item looked great, so decision time got harder as I read on. 


Finally, because we were still full from lunch and the Pie Shack mid-afternoon snack, we could not try as much of the menu as I originally anticipated. I saw it as a way to come back  to Fuel House again soon (always glass full here).


I began with the Pork Belly Confit Cubes, served with  sesame hoisin sauce. I personally love pork belly anyway I can get it but this one was extremely good. The Chinese sauce Hoisin (Haixin) that oddly enough translates to "seafood" but contains no fish, is a great pairing to the confit. Not traditionally used in pork, hoisin works very well with this dish and kudos to the chef for trying it. 

Along with that we ordered the "Fried Calamari". Golden, not overly crispy and softly battered (just how I like it), it was complimented well by a pinkish Remoulade sauce. Remoulade is a common theme throughout quite a few dishes on the menu. The calamari was soft and very tasty on it's on as well.

We followed up with the "Fish Tacos 2 ways". These are served on a soft but crispy tortilla and with remoulade, pickled onions, lettuce and cilantro on one and the other with pea sprouts, pickled ginger and wasabi mayo. I prefered the first myself but would be happy eating either, any time of the day.

The "Calimari Po'Boy" sandwich was the last choice for the evening and it  was very good. The type that sometimes you can't even describe and one needs to experience for themselves. The coleslaw gets a special mention due to its subtle flavour and lightness of the vinegar.


This place has a lot of charm and is very cosy and inviting. During the warmer months, the backyard patio surely must take centre stage, adding to the seating capacity and providing a great backdrop to an afternoon/evening of drinks and good food. 

Let us not forget that Fuel House has a lot of competition for good food in this street and neighbourhood but stands very well on its own, as a definite must try.

Special mention to the pig roasts starting in May. Mackenzie showed us the pictures from last year's pig roasts held in the outside patio and I wanted to make my reservation right there and then. It requires a minimum reservation for 8 people and a whole suckling pig is roasted and served to your open air table. Whereelse can you get this type of experience in TO's down town core? So, go make your reservations now, while you still can. 

The Good: Unpretentious good food in a home setting with a pub feel. Simple but genial combination.
The Bad: Why isn't it across the street form my house. Limited seating inside.
The Verdict: Definitely above the usual pub food grub and a great place for drinks. The service enhances the great atmosphere and there is a patio both in the front and the back for the great Summer days and nights


I give it a 3 1/2 Olives out of 5 as rating

The Pie Shack

The Pie Shack
2305 Queen Street East
Toronto, Ontario


647-351-1411

In her opinion:
It's been a while since I've instantly fallen in love with a place. Well, it happened today (April 21, 2012). As soon as we drove by the Pie Shack, I was instantly intrigued. My brain and stomach instantly reacted. They wanted pie! Actually, they wanted apple pie and a cup of coffee.  


We parked and walked in to pie heaven and were greeted by the owner Tim McConvey.  A very nice gentleman who is both charming and personable all in one. He welcomed us to his very cozy establishment and made us feel right at home.  During our time at the Pie Shack I realized that most of the people in the place were regulars.  Tim knew everyone by their first name.  Places like this are little gems and meant to be treasured.

After examining the selection of pies offered, I decided on what my brain and stomach really wanted...Cinnamon Apple Pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a cup of coffee.

Tim warmed the pie so that it was the perfect temperature. The ice cream was rich and delicious. Not the cheap white stuff often added to pies to make them a la mode. No, this was premium vanilla ice cream. The crust was flaky and light.  Pie crust is something that needs to be mastered and the Pie Shack has mastered their crust. It is pastry perfection.

Cozy window seating area.

As I sat at the Pie Shack in the middle of Saturday afternoon with the sweet scent of pie in the air, I realized that I was perfectly content and happy.  This place and their pie makes a person feel right at home.  It's provides comfort both in their welcoming atmosphere and in their delicious pie!


Love the Pie Shack. Afterall, you should "keep your fork dude, there's pie"! Will definitely return to this slice of heaven!

In his opinion:
The Beaches area of Toronto is one of our favourite places to spend an afternoon in all of Toronto. It's always nicer when the weather is good but still good and charming even when it's a bit colder. As we drove through Queen St East in the Beaches and my wife automatically spotted this place and pie was on her mind from that moment on. When we returned from our little drive down further there was no way we weren't stopping in for some pie.


This place is where rustic meets Provence. Very welcoming and decorated with a mix of rural, bucolic pieces with a French touch including a couple of French chaises. The smell of pie fills the room and enhances the "feel good" atmosphere. It feels like a neighbourhood gem where you would gather with friends and family for some good chat and of course, pie.
Complete with the old style bicycle and doggie "house" for your pets in the front, it's hard to miss it as you walk by or drive by like we did.

The owner Tim makes you feel welcomed as soon as you walk in. His charm and genuine warmth are the perfect match for a place like this, instantly engaging in conversation and caring for all your pie and beverage needs instantly.

After some deliberation in front of "the Pie Heaven" counter, I opted for the Strawberry Cream Pie, with a little help from my wife (the pie queen). The pie slices are 1/4 of the pie and are to put it shortly, deliciously fantastic. I also opted out of the ice cream as all I wanted to taste was the pie itself. Some Chai Tea was the beverage of choice and it is served in a somewhat "High Tea" manner with the owner following up with refills of hot water if needed.

Let me tell you about this pie...the flaky, buttery crust is a pair made in heaven to the creamy, warm fruit-filled filling on these wonderful pies. Every bite brings the fruit flavour out even more and they are heated to the perfect temperature by Tim himself. 1/4 pie slices are $6 and whole pies are $25 and trust me that for this quality of pie, atmosphere and service, it's a bargain. Plus the slices are HUGE!

The place quickly filled with what seemed like locals or usual patrons as the owner knew all of them by name. But it is that kind of place, the kind of place that you make it your "to go" place for dessert after a home meal, an afternoon "snack" for some of us or just the place you go for all your pie cravings at any time of the day. A second location is available in Toronto's West-End on Annette Street and there is talk of a third location to be opened soon by another one of Tim's siblings. 


For your Pie, coffee and tea needs and a wonderful welcoming neighbourly ambiance give the Pie Shack a try, you won't regret it.

Holy Chuck Burger

Holy Chuck
1450 Yonge Street
Toronto, ON

416-962-4825

(Photo courtesy of BlogTO)

In her opinion:
We decided that today (April 21, 2011) would be a foodie day in Toronto! That means packing in a lunch, dinner and possibly a snack or dessert in between. That's a lot you're thinking...and yes, it can be; but, we don't overdo it at any meal and we manage to survive unscathed!  Today we hit Holy Chuck, the Pie Shack and finally the Fuel House for a smaller dinner.  All three choices were excellent.

Holy Chuck is part of the burger phenomenon of late. The Burger's Priest, Big Smoke Burger and Holy Chuck have changed the lowly burger into a gastronomical pleasure. This is not a Harvey's or McDonald patty.  This is absolute heaven.  I've had both the Burger's Priest and Holy Chuck and although I know they are often compared...I choose not to.

Where some other burger places have secret menus, the menu at Holy Chuck is not secretive. It's up on the wall and basically all out there for the customers perusing. Oh and what a menu! So many burgers and so little time (and stomach space)! Having studied the menu online before the drive to Toronto, I knew exactly what I wanted.

I ordered one of their speciality shakes to start.  The bacon, fudge and sea salt shake was my choice. Wow! When I first read about this shake, I was a little hesitant but the more I thought about it the more I wanted it!

It did not disappointed!  Outstanding. The flavour of smoky bacon, chocolate and sea salt work incredibly well together.  So good. Love it...I could have one now if it wasn't an hour and a bit away!

For my burger choice, I ordered the Mad Cow. This is described as the "Animal Feed (panko crusted portobello mushroom stuffed with feta and cream cheese, deep fried and topped with a lemon and herb aioli) + Jr. Cheeseburger".

This burger was huge. It is a deep fried cheese stuffed portobello mushroom with cream cheese and feta. The feta cheese is not too overpowering and the cream cheese gives the mushroom and burger the right amount of creaminess.  The lemon and herb aioli of Holy Chuck's Mad Cow also speaks for itself! It carries the right amount of acidic punch.  I loved this burger...very very good.  A little too big for me to eat all on my own...but then again...I have my husband to finish my meals!

Speaking of husbands, I took a bite of his "Holy Duck" burger (a single beef patty with double smoked bacon, topped with seared Quebec foie gras, truffle oil and pure Canadian maple syrup). I only have one thing to say - OMG!!! Actually, two things...this burger is Martin Picard worthy!!!  That good.

Holy Chuck is awesome. The food is excellent, the service is extremely efficient and the owner who's on hand to make sure the customers are happy make this place a success.

I love the burger revolution that is taking place of late. It has spoiled my taste buds...regular burgers will no longer suffice! Thank goodness for Little Louie's in Cambridge or I would go nuts.

In his opinion:
In the eternal quest for a great burger, Holy Chuck is without a doubt, a must try for the burger aficionados of Toronto. Well, for a burger aficionado from anywhere really! And  maybe a try and try and try again for most! It will take a few visits to be able to sample the delicacies of their menu and to find your own favourite one.

It has the look of an up-scale burger franchise, the ambiance of a diner and the efficiency and service of a neighbourhood favourite. Johnny, the owner is the face of customer service. Attentive, super friendly and cordial, goes around ensuring everyone is enjoying the experience and loving their food. 

For starters, their milkshakes are insane. I mean insane as in the quality of them and the somewhat "odd" flavours available. Some of the shakes available are Nutella and salted caramel, grandmas apple pie and peanut butter and jelly to name a few. I had the "bacon, fudge and sea salt milkshake and it was great. Smooth and creamy with bacon bits in the mix, it had a distinct flavour but tasted great nevertheless.

After browsing through the extensive burger menu I found myself overwhelmed. So many choices and they all sound better than the last. But by the end it was clear to me that the "Holy Duck burger" was to be my pick for the day. Dubbed as "unreal", it is served with a single beef patty, juicy and melt in your mouth good. It also has double smoked bacon, truffle oil and Canadian maple syrup, but the kicker, or topper in this case are the slices of perfectly seared Quebec foie gras. For those of you aware of the concept of a "foodgasm", this is as good as it gets. The burger melts in your mouth and the foie gras adds perfectly to the beef patty for an amazing combination. At $24.99 it is by far the most expensive burger on the menu at Holy Chuck's but well worth the money if you ask me.

Another point worth mentioning are the fries. They are very tasty, crisp and full of flavour because of their seasoning. Note to mention that the fries came complementary from Johnny, that again was going above his owner status and ensuring I had a pairing experience for my foie. Thanks Johnny by the way!
Another great feature is the "Challenge Burger" where they have a challenge for you to finish an insanely portioned meal to get it free, and get your picture on the wall of fame. You also have to finish a shake and the burger in question  is an 8 patty burger, resembling the Tower of Pisa and requiring a dislocating jaw just to attempt a bite. The twist is that if you can't finish it in time, your picture will end up in the "Wall of Shame", so be careful of what you wish! 

Overall, a great burger place with lots of selection, ample seating and friendly staff. Highly recommend it, especially if you are a burger lover and also if you are a food adventurer. Make sure to say hi to Johnny when you are there because undoubtedly he will add to your experience at Holy Chuck.