Grindhouse Burger Bar

This visit to Grindhouse Burger Bar was in the midst of my detox diet.  So I had very limited options as to what I could and could not eat.  However, thank goodness that we had just started the second week in our detox which allows for 1 serving of gluten free grain or potato each day.  So as long as I made some wise choices, I was able to convince myself that this meal was a treat, but also allowed.  The reason also for going to a burger place for dinner downtown was because we had signed up for a Partner Yoga Class and Grindhouse Burger Bar was within walking distance from the yoga studio.

Walking into this burger place, I was a little skeptical as it was pretty quiet.  There was only 1 couple seated in there eating when we walked in.  So I was a little worried that we walked into a crappy fast food burger type place. I have to admit though, it was a little early for dinner, it was around 5:30pm.  But even as we left after, there were only 2 other tables being occupied.  We were starving and ready to order.  Me of course, was ready to order before we even walked into the restaurant.  I have a really bad habit of studying the menu at home if it's online on the restaurants website and chosing what I want ahead of time.  The menu seems pretty ecclectic.  There's burger patty options that you won't see at just any burger joint.  The best part of the menu, all the meats are naturally raised, grass fed, antibiotic and hormone free, sourced from local ontario farms.  Well to me, it's not a HUGE deal since I don't only eat organic foods, but for one of my friends it's a big deal.  She trys to eat oganic foods if possible and she ONLY eats beef if it's organic.  So she was SUPER happy to be able to eat a beef burger!  This is the only time i've ever seen her eat a beef burger ever!

The orders were put in:

Turkey Burger

Turkey Burger minus cranberry on a gluten free bun.  My turkey burger I thought was delicious.  Very juicy.  I've actually never had a turkey burger before, closest would be a chicken burger.  But usually the chicken burger is a whole grilled chicken breast or processed deep fried ones from fast food chains.  This turkey burger was made like a beef burger would be.  Ground up turkey.  Somehow they managed to cook it all the way through and maintain all the juices! The bun I thought was dry, maybe it's a gluten free thing?  One other thing to note is that their burger buns are are beer infused buns.  The whole wheat is infused with Steamwhistle and the white is infused with MillStreet.  Any noticable difference in taste?  I don't think it was noticed at all.

Kangaroo Burger + Sweet Potato Fries

The Aussie on whole wheat bun: The ultimate free range burger, kangaroo, pickled beets, fried egg and house aioli.  The hubby wanted a beef burger so badly, but since beef is offlimits for the duration of the detox, he decided that he would follow what was allowed.  Although I would personally consider kangaroo red meat, the hubby claimed that the book did not say specifically that kanagroo was offlimits, only beef and pork were.  So based on technicality, he won and was able to order kanagroo.  When he saw his burger he was super happy.  It came as a open faced burger.  The lettuce, kangaroo, egg on one half. Tomato and beets on the other half.  This made for great presentation.  And for some reason, nothing makes me happier to see a beautifully cooked sunny side up egg.  The hubby enjoyed this kangaroo burger, he said that it tastes like beef but firmer. I vaguely remember thinking that as well when I tried kangaroo in Australia several years back.  I guess that's because of the lower fat content of a kangroo versus a cow.  The hubby greatly enjoyed his burger and said he would order it again.  The only downside is that he found it really messy to eat because of the runny yolk.

Signature Beef Burger (6oz) on white bun.  Because the patties are made in house, both the beef burgers were ordered medium rare.  And they came this way!  So yummy, delcious, and juicy!  My friend also made a comment that it's better than most other burger places out there! And then she was silent the rest of the meal as my friend was too busy enjoying her beef burger.  So tempting to give it a try......but good thing I have good willpower!

The Big Grind + Extra Patty + Poutine

The Big Grind (8oz) + additional patty (8oz)  on white bun: Our own all beef patty, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, onion and pickle.  This was a big one, reminded me of a higher quality version of the Big Mac minus the middle bun layer.  Cooked to a perfect medium rare, and super juicy.  The only complaint was that it was too salty.  I guess the chef over seasoned the patties on that one.

Side of sweet potato fries with black truffle aioli and side of poutine was added to the Kangaroo Burger and Big Grind.  Both the sweet potato and the regular potato fries looked overcooked to me.  They were pretty dark.  But the hubby claims that he likes well done fries so he had no complaints.  My friend that ordered the poutine agreed with me that the fries were overdone, but he said that the poutine is promising, but still doesn't compare to the Blue Chip Truck.

Overall a good burger place.  And will definitely make a trip down to Grindhouse if i'm in the area.

Grindhouse Burger Bar
365 King St. W, Toronto, ON
416-977-3010