retired folks eat lunch out

Now that Phil is retired he can go out for lunch- LOL- well he could always do that but usually chose not to... so today we went out to a burger place we have been meaning to try for a while (and we really wanted to do this after so many days of seafood and fish in the Maritime provinces...)

We also were supposed go by Neil's place to pick up wine for the final retirement dinner on Monday. so off we went for the first retirement lunch out LOL...

I really liked this place - for many reasons - some of which I will enumerate... first when I was coming in the restaurant a guy held the door for me and asked why I was taking photos of the sign- I told him I had a blog and that I did it for that -he said he hoped I liked the place.  Later the same guy (who wasn't behind the counter or in uniform) asked me if I wanted a glass of ice for my soda and went and got it for me- which was seriously nice since the soda was refrigerated but I like my soda ice cold so he was obviously psychic - LOL ....only kidding....

so here is the deal- you pick your meat and spicing and then all the toppings and sides so the menu actually has pretty much 1. unlimited choices and 2. anything you might want.... all good!

then you can get your burger (of whatever meat/poultry/veg) cooked exactly how you want it - FIVE choices (take that in the burger throw-down Canada!- more on the burger debacle in Nova Scotia later) so far we were happy campers and we hadn't had a bite to eat... I ordered a burger with steakhouse seasoning and blue cheese (wanted to taste the burger itself rather than a ton of topping) Phil ordered the burger with steakhouse seasoning and mushrooms and well I actually don't know what else...LOL  and we had a fries order to split (large enough for two easily) and cole slaw (very nice finely shredded cabbage and celery seed for a hint of zest) - Phil said his iced tea was really good (unfortunately this is a rarity these days when so many places have crappy iced tea)

now here is the thing- we were both really hungry because it was after 2PM so when the burgers came I didn't even take a photo - just tucked right in... luckily there were photos on the internet I can use to pretend these were our burgers and fries- all the rest are mine except the one of the guy who was so nice to me - and you will find out why he was so nice when you see the photo-

LOL- here is the guy- and obviously he is wearing his "uniform" in this photo- LOL so the funny thing is I didn't recognize him after about 15 years or so (nor he me- LOL) we used to go to his old place Harvest/Chef Allen's in River North fairly regularly because it was the one place I knew where you could get a wonderful rabbit dish....  I know this was more than 11 years ago because it was when Laura was pregnant with Liv who just turned 11 in June... time flies-

so the place is really welcoming inside - with completely casual decor and fun decorative touches- below is a "side board" from the large overhead menu-

the menu is a bit easier to read on this scan I made from the take out one- so you can see how the choices sort of become infinite- the guy in front of us ordered a lentil burger (what's this world coming to? I know I am old; but seriously - this is a burger place...)

thank god they had napkins on the table - the burgers are wonderful and juicy and depending upon your toppings and finesse in eating - potentially messy....

so here are burger examples from three other people who must not have been as hungry as I was- LOL the fries came piping hot and crispy- some of the best I have had in town- (I am a fan of the Wiener's Circle fries but these were better)

we were sated enough that when our frozen vanilla custard arrived I didn't devour it before a photo- LOL  It was dense and full of vanilla flavor- very satisfying - I was happy we decided to share one because it was too much for me to eat by myself....

unfortunately they have a scale by the bathrooms (and it SAYS it's accurate! aaaaacccckkkk!- run away!!!) luckily I didn't have a dime so I was able to pass it up - guilt free.....

one last shot of the front door - worth remembering and going back to!

their card-

so a big shout out to Chef Allen - hmmmm, maybe he will decide to come up with a rabbit burger as a substitute for the "lentil burger" LOL... people there's a reason we are at the top of the food chain (survival of the species was in the balance and could be again if lentil lunacy takes over!)

PS I love lentils - in soup, side dishes, dal, salads etc... etc... etc... but a burger is MEAT to me....