"Let it Ride" - PEI Burger Love - Part 9

* Stop #9 of my Burger Love adventure.

My normal Friday lunch spot, West End Bar and Grill, had an entry this year so it was a given that I would be trying it.

The "Let It Ride" was a 6oz. Island beef patty, bacon & sweet onion jam, 2 year aged cheddar, rustic tomato chutney, green leaf lettuce, spiced parmesan crisp, and black pepper mayo on a warm butter toasted pretzel bun.

I'm a fan of the pretzel bun so this one had an advantage from the get go and this one didn't do anything to change my opinion of them, it was very good. The burger was well cooked and juicy. I liked the parmesan crisp and all of the flavours went well together. With both sweet onion jam and the tomato chutney this one was a little messy to eat but if you were careful you could minimize loosing any out the sides.   

Overall a very tasty burger.

Rating - 8/10

"Let It Ride" - West End Bar & Grill

"B2 Beachcomber" - PEI Burger Love - Part 8

* Stop #8 of my Burger Love adventure.

Next up was a stop at Brother's Two restaurant in Summerside.

The B2 "Beachcomber" consisted of a 6oz. Island Beef patty with B2 Spices, breaded PEI clams dusted with cajun seasoning, homemade tartar sauce, homemade lemon aioli, fried brie cheese, caramelized onions, arugula, and grape tomatoes on a homemade B2 bun with garlic butter & sea salt, topped with fresh lemon.

Although I normally don't eat much seafood I decided to give this one a try since we wanted to have all of the different burgers in Summerside. As I mentioned in my original Burger Love post, I'm a little fussy, tartar sauce isn't something I enjoy so I didn't have great expectations going in.

My favourite part of the burger was surprisingly the clams, I just wish there would have been more than a couple. The breading was light but very tasty. I think I would have really enjoyed having an order of them on their own, which I might have to do next time. Unfortunately, for the rest, I found the tartar sauce a bit overwhelming, likely because I'm not a big fan, and seemed to take away from any flavour the burger might have had.

Rating - 6/10

"Beachcomber" - Brother's Two

 

"The Cabbage Patch" - PEI Burger Love - Part 7

* Stop #7 of my Burger Love adventure.

Our next stop on the Burger Love tour took us to "The Home Place" in Kensington.

The "Cabbage Patch" consisted of 6oz. Island beef charbroiled, homemade barbonaise sauce, romaine lettuce, homemade cream cheese pesto, grilled pear slices, beer braised red cabbage with bacon and red onions, and kettle chips on a grilled onion bun, garnished with dill & cherry tomato.

All kinds of sensations for the taste buds with this one. An assortment of flavours that have you enjoying this burger right to the last bite. The slight tartness of the beer braised cabbage is offset nicely by the sweetness of the grilled pear and barbonaise sauce.

The burger was cooked to perfection and the addition of crisp bacon and kettle chips added a bit of crunch. I suspect the "Cabbage Patch" will be among the contenders for the title at the end of the month.


Rating - 9/10

"The Cabbage Patch" - Home Place

"Localvore" - PEI Burger Love - Part 6

* Stop #6 of my Burger Love adventure.

For this burger we travelled about 20 minutes west of Summerside to "The Landing" in Tyne Valley.

The "Localvore" consisted of 6oz. Island beef, caramelized bacon jam, fresh red onion, potato rapure cake, lightly grilled smoked ham slice, cheddar, and iceberg lettuce on a homemade french biscuit, garnished with a yellow cherry tomato.

The burger was well cooked and the homemade bun was fresh. I also liked the potato cake although it would have been nice if it was a little bigger.

I was disappointed that the cheese used appeared to be a Kraft single and there was very little bacon jam on the burger because no one I know ever said, "That was too much bacon".

Not a bad burger but nothing really jumped out as special.

Rating - 6/10

"Localvore" - The Landing

"Sugar Daddy" - PEI Burger Love - Part 5

* Stop #5 of my Burger Love adventure.

Burger goodness continued with the "Sugar Daddy" from 511 West.

7oz. Island Beef Chuck with peppercorn crust, housemade 1000 Islands dressing, leaf lettuce, jalapeno monterey jack cheese, maple chili candied thick cut bacon, housemade quick dill pickles, grilled red onion dressed with honey & balsamic, and sweet potato fries on a buttered and grilled brioche bun.

Right from the first bite I knew this one would climb to the top of my list. So many great flavours that went together perfectly. The thick juicy burger was cooked to perfection, the jalapeno cheese melted on top added just a little bit of heat but it was offset perfectly by the candied bacon which was delicious. The sweet potato fries were a nice touch and went well with the dressing.

Chef Emily knocked it out of the park with this one. It's worth the drive to Summerside to check this one out, you won't be disappointed.

Rating - 9/10

Sugar Daddy - 511 West

"The Picnic" - PEI Burger Love - Part 4

* Stop #4 of my Burger Love adventure.

The journey continued with "The Picnic" from Pizza Delight in Summerside. Not an overly large burger, just a 6 oz patty, but the flavour combination and variety of ingredients put this one in towards the lead. The burger was topped with shredded chicken breast soaked in BBQ sauce along with bacon, lettuce, tomato, donair sauce on a garlic bun and the only onions on this one were cooked just the way I like them, deep fried.

For me what put this one over the top was the addition of the chicken on the burger, it wasn't a lot but the combination of the burger, bacon and chicken made the burger very tasty. On the negative side the burger itself appeared to be a frozen pre-made patty, had it been "fuller" and made in-house this one could have potentially been in the top spot.

Overall a really good burger and was definitely surprised that a contender on my list came from a pizza joint. 

Rating - 8/10

"Crackerjack" - PEI Burger Love - Part 3

* Stop #3 of my Burger Love adventure.

Number three on the tour was "Crackerjack" at Anson's restaurant in Slemon Park.   

A 6oz. Island Beef patty stuffed with extra aged cheddar & bacon, spring mix greens, deep fried spicy dill pickles, monterey jack cheese, fresh tomato, red onion, and horseradish garlic aioli on a grilled onion bun with garlic butter, garnished with a deep fried mushroom and spicy dill pickle.

Yes you read that right, the burger had bacon and cheese cooked inside. Coming off the Acadiana this one had a lot to live up to and it didn't disappoint.

The burger was cooked perfectly, oh and did I mention it had BACON inside of it! The horseradish garlic aioli wasn't overpowering and just added a little bit of tang to the taste.

Not a fan of pickles so was glad they were deep fried and I could pick them off and there wasn't any "pickle" taste leaked onto the burger.

Overall it was a really good burger and if you're in Summerside looking for a sammich to try check it out.
 
Rating - 7.5/10
 

Crackerjack - Anson's

Bacon & cheese inside the burger

 

"The Acadiana" - PEI Burger Love - Part 2

* Stop #2 of my Burger Love adventure. 

My 2nd burger this month was "The Acadiana" at the Loyalist Inn in Summerside.

A single 6 oz patty seasoned with Southern Louisiana seasoning packed full of flavour, plus it was char broiled which added to the taste. It was topped with cajun remoulade, molasses cured bacon, cheddar cheese, fire roasted red peppers, crisp arugula, and red onion jam on a housemade potato roll with black sesame, toasted with butter.

I was a little leery of this one as I'm not a fan of spicy foods but this one wasn't overpowering. It has a little bit of a kick to it but wasn't "hot" by any means. Great combination of flavours with none of them overpowering. The sweetness of the molasses cured bacon offset any heat from the remoulade and went very well together.

As it was only my 2nd burger I didn't want to go too high with the score but I did enjoy this one over the Bad Boy. For now this one has set the bar at a pretty good level and other burgers will have some work to do to beat this one.

Rating - 8/10

Acadiana - Loyalist Inn

"GJ's Bad Boy" - PEI Burger Love - Part 1

* Stop #1 of my Burger Love adventure.

The first burger I tried this year was the "GJ's Bad Boy" from Gentleman Jim's in Summerside.

The burger consisted of two 5oz. Island Beef patties with Michael's Special Seasoning, Mustard, Fresh Pineapple Ring, Onion Chips, Iceberg Lettuce, Two strips of Bacon, Tomato, Dill Pickle Slices, Jalapeno Cheese Sauce, and Mayo on a Grilled Bun topped with a Jalapeno Popper.

First off it's a big sandwich, the two patties make for a solid meal. As someone who doesn't normally eat spicy food I wasn't sure of this one going in but the jalapeno sauce wasn't very spicy, which was a good thing for me. The burgers were cooked well and the flavour of the burger, bacon, onion chips and cheese sauce went well together. 

As I mentioned in my original Burger Love post I am a little picky so I removed the pineapple, pickles, tomato and the jalapeno popper from this burger.

Overall the burger was good but nothing fancy. There was a bit too much sauce for my liking and quite a few ingredients that I picked off the burger but overall not a bad start to my burger love quest.

Rating - 6/10

GJ's Bad Boy

PEI Burger Love - My 2 cents

Anyone who follows me on Twitter may have seen a few burger pictures over the past couple of weeks.

Long before the Ottawa Senators had the "Hamburglar", PEI had Burger Love. For the past 5 years in an effort to promote PEI beef, chefs across the Island create a unique burger that is only sold during the month of April.

This year there are 60 restaurants participating and I decided to give some of them a try. Lots of friends and co-workers are doing the same and it's fun to hear others thoughts and opinions on each one they try. Burger Love has been great for local restaurants, many (including me) have been going to spots they normally wouldn't just for the burger. 

After trying a few and sharing notes with others who've tried some too I figured why not capture my experience here. I'm by no means a "foodie", I like to eat and can be a little fussy. But hey, everyone has an opinion, plus the pictures are pretty mouth watering.

I'll create a new post for each burger I try. I'd be interested to hear about others experiences.