Las Vegas: Gordon Ramsay BurGR

In a previous blog post I mentioned that I would write about some of my Las Vegas and Southern California food adventures, so here is the first one of many!

During my stay in Las Vegas, I was determined to check out celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay's restaurant called BurGR. This restaurant features a casual burger concept and is located inside Planet Hollywood Las Vegas (specifically in the casino).

Fire display.

The first thing you might notice before stepping inside the restaurant is this 30 foot long fire display. I loved how the flames energized the room, and it really sets the tone for an exciting visit. 

The interior.

I was expecting a long wait knowing the popularity of this restaurant, but surprisingly my mom and I were seated almost immediately. Our table was positioned towards the outside of the restaurant, so we weren't able to take in the entire space or atmosphere. Nevertheless, I was happy being close to some natural light! 

The menu part 1.

The menu part 2.

The menu part 3!!

Gordon Ramsay BurGR obviously focuses on burgers, but they also offer snacks, salads, fries, "Devil Dawgs", and shakes. I thought most of the menu items were decently priced and this restaurant is definitely one of the not-as-expensive options on The Strip.

Shake #4 (left) and Shake #3 (right).

Shortly after ordering, the first thing we received were our shakes. So quick! I chose Shake #4 ($9) which consists of crème brulee pudding, oreo shake, and an oreo cookie on top. I started by eating just the pudding and it was delicious on its own. I thought it was pretty neat how at first I would only be drinking the oreo shake, but over time the pudding began to meld with the rest of the drink. My shake then became quite thick and perhaps a little too sweet for my liking. However, I did enjoy the experience of trying this despite its hefty cost. My mom picked Shake #3 ($9) which comes with butterscotch pudding, banana shake, and a snickerdoodle cookie. She also enjoyed hers overall but did comment on the level of sweetness in the drink. 

Sweet Potato Fries.

To start off our lunch, we ordered Sweet Potato Fries ($9). The fries are topped with vanilla powdered sugar and served with some honey jalapeño mayo. I love sweet potato fries, and these ones at BurGR were great. The fries were hot and crispy and actually went really well with the subtly sweet powdered sugar. The best part was the dip, which was a mix of sweet and spicy. 

Farm Burger.

I was very excited to try one of Gordon Ramsay's burgers! I wasn't sure which burger to get at first, but when I read that the Farm Burger ($15) came with a fried egg I knew it was the one for me. In my opinion, anything with a fried egg tastes amazing. Additionally, the burger comes with duck breast bacon and English sharp cheddar. So how did it taste? Really, really good! I absolutely loved every bite. The burger patty, which is grilled over apple and alder wood, was juicy, tender, and seasoned well with a nice char. I was happy to see that both the patty and the lightly toasted, pillowy bun weren't so overwhelmingly thick. The fried egg added a pleasant richness, while the cheddar cheese was distinct and creamy. With the addition of the bacon, it made for a very delicious meal. The Farm Burger is definitely one of the best burgers I've eaten. 

Chanterelle Burger.

My mom ordered the Chanterelle Burger ($16) for herself. This burger comes with chanterelle mushrooms, arugula, and figgy-onion jam. My mom was also really impressed with her burger and was all smiles as she ate. She even saved half her burger to give to my dad afterwards (hehe). 

iPad showing the menu.

I had a wonderful experience eating at Gordon Ramsay BurGR. The food I tried was excellent and arrived really fast, the atmosphere was very lively, and most notably, the service was amazing despite the number of people dining in. Our server was also friendly and regularly checked in on us. Another cool thing to note is that the menu items are shown on an iPad with pictures which can really help if you're more of a visual person and decide on what to eat based on pictures. I guess the main downside would be the pricing, such as the shakes which had a pretty steep price tag for what it was. Also, the fact that the burgers didn't already come with a side might be a negative point for some. Overall, I would say that I had a great time at BurGR and so did my mom! I highly recommend checking out BurGR if you're ever craving quality burgers while on The Strip. Who wouldn't want to dine in a celebrity chef's restaurant? 

Like BurGR's Facebook page and follow BurGR (and Gordon Ramsay's other Las Vegas restaurants) on Twitter (@GordonRamsayLV). 

The Next Act

Now that it's officially summer, I've been thinking more about places in Edmonton with awesome patios for dining out. Enjoying the warm sunshine with delicious food always leads to a great time in my opinion. With that being said, I thought I'd share my first patio lunch of the season at The Next Act (8224 104 Street NW)! 

Located just north of Whyte Ave on 104 Street, The Next Act is a pub that offers snacks, soups, salads, sandwiches, and burgers. The Next Act is very well known for serving up some of the best burgers in town - in fact, they landed first place in Avenue Edmonton's list of Best Burgers in Edmonton in their Best Restaurants 2015 issue. I knew I needed to try one of their burgers to see if they were really deserving of that title. 

The menu.

June and I arrived around noon on a Wednesday, stepping inside a bustling pub. Luckily, a table out on the patio opened up for us so we decided to take our lunch date outdoors. It wasn't too hot outside and there was a gentle breeze. Shade from a nearby tree and the clouds blocking the sun every now and then allowed for beautiful, soft lighting which is something I seek whenever I'm taking my food photos. 

Spinach Dip.

To start off our lunch, June ordered the Spinach Dip ($12) to share with me. Baked spinach and hearts of palm blended with cream cheese and garlic make up the dip, which I found to be absolutely delicious. The dip was warm, comforting, and full of flavour. It reminded me of the time when my group in Foods class back in junior high made a simple spinach dip, which was my first time trying the snack. Paired with the soft naan bread and crispy tortilla chips, this snack was a hit at our table. 

Our lunch.

Now onto our main courses! Our food was a little slow to arrive but understandable because of the lunch rush. 

MEAT Brisket Donair.

June decided on the MEAT Brisket Donair ($15) for her lunch. The capitalized MEAT in the name refers to The Next Act's sister restaurant MEAT which is just next door. You can read about my adventure at MEAT by clicking here. Wrapped inside the naan bread are smoked brisket, feta cheese, sweet donair sauce, red onion, sliced tomatoes, and lettuce. June offered me a bite which I took (hehe)... I thought the brisket was tasty but the real standout was that donair sauce which was nice and sweet and prominent in my bite. 

The Class Act.

It's finally time to talk about my lunch pick: The Class Act ($16) burger which comes with bacon, cheddar, an over easy egg, and all the groceries. You have to assemble the burger yourself since the buns are separated at first, but that made it easier for me to pick off the pickle and one tomato slice since I don't really like too many vegetables. Just putting the burger together was enough to make the egg yolk softly ooze out on the side of my burger. My first thoughts? This burger is hugeeeee! Cutting the burger into super tiny pieces was a necessity for me. Now how about the taste? The patty was juicy and quite thick, while the bun was soft, pillowy, and lightly toasted. The vegetables tasted fresh, but the best parts of the burger for me were definitely the egg and bacon. I didn't really get a lot of cheddar though. The house cut fries served alongside our food was just okay but nothing really special about them. 

So did I think this was the best burger in Edmonton? No. I personally thought the size of the burger was too big and overwhelming for me. When it arrived at our table I instantly wished CJ was with me to help me finish my food. I would've enjoyed my burger more if both the patty and bun weren't so thick. 

View from the patio.

I think the burger I had was okay overall, but it definitely was not the best burger I've had (or am yet to have) in Edmonton. I tend to like smaller sizes that are more manageable to eat when it comes to burgers. We all have our own preferences. I know many people enjoy The Next Act's burgers, such as the The Critic or their PB&J which are two crowd favourites. 

The next time you're craving a burger, I would still recommend giving The Next Act a shot even though my first experience wasn't as amazing as I'd hoped. After all, they scored first place in the Best Burgers category for a reason! So do give it a try if you're in the neighbourhood. I enjoyed the Spinach Dip a lot more though and would love to come back just for that. Check out The Next Act on Facebook, Twitter (@NextActPub), and Instagram (@nextactpub).

My first patio lunch of the season was great. It was nice to get some food with a friend while enjoying the warm weather. I'm looking forward to more patio adventures this summer! 

My first photo submission to Gastropost!

P.S. Later that evening, I found out the week's Gastropost mission was "Just Dip It" and immediately thought that the Spinach Dip I had earlier would be perfect to submit. I submitted my first photo to Gastropost Edmonton to complete the weekly mission, patiently waiting for the following week to see if my photo would end up in the Edmonton Journal. And it did! Thank you Gastropost for featuring my photo in the paper! Also thanks to June since she's the one who paid for that dip and made it possible for me to complete the mission! 

The Burg

In order to keep mine and CJ's food adventures fun and exciting, I suggested we have a random lottery draw every time after we go out to eat. I choose all the food places that go in the draw, and CJ has the honour of selecting one of the ballots. The very first place for the draw? The Burg (theburg4st.ca), located on 104th Street in Downtown.

104th Street in Downtown, better known as 4th Street Promenade is one of my favourite streets in the city. There are a lot of food places on this street as well as neat shops (such as Workhall Boutique). This is the street where CJ and I had our very first food adventure at Blue Plate Diner back when we were just getting to know each other. Therefore, this street and Blue Plate Diner will always be special to me. 

The Burg is in the Historic Metals Building located on the corner of 104th Street. You have to go up a short flight of stairs before reaching the entrance to this restaurant which opens up to a very large, bright interior. There are tall beams that reach from ceiling to floor, huge windows that overlook the intersecting streets, and brick walls that add to the industrial feel inside. So far, a beautiful, modern setting. I didn't take any pictures of the inside of the restaurant, so be sure to check out the Gallery on The Burg's website (or you know, take a visit there yourself ;)). 

CJ and I weren't immediately greeted by someone when we walked in - we did the usual awkwardly-stand-there-until-someone-helps-us thing. One of the servers then told us that it was actually self seating. A big sign saying "self seating" could've been useful, just saying. 

We chose a table in the corner on the further right hand side of the restaurant. I actually wanted a seat at one of the high tables that overlook 4th Street Promenade near the bar, but all of the tables were occupied. At least the lighting at our table was perfect for taking pictures! 

The menu.

At every table in the restaurant, there are a couple menus as well as a pad of paper where you can create your own burger. While The Burg specializes in burgers, they also offer a variety of unique appetizers, sides, salads, and desserts. Each burger is made of certified Angus beef, and a lot of their food (such as their fries and gravy) are made from scratch and prepared in house. I actually didn't feel like eating a burger, so I opted for one of their appetizers with a side instead. CJ naturally got himself a burger. 

Our drinks.

Of course, orange juice for me and iced tea for CJ. Our usual. We are always happy whenever a restaurant has these drinks. Another thing to point out is while they do self seating, it is definitely not self serving. Each server covers their own section of the restaurant. So once you find a spot to sit, a server will take it from there. 

Our food.

Our food arrived after only a few minutes of waiting. They were served on clean white plates, and considering the awesome lighting I had at our table I just had to take several pictures. I couldn't wait to dig in. 

Mac 'N' Cheese Balls.

To start off my meal, I went for a side of Mac 'N' Cheese Balls ($4). This is considered to be one of The Burg's Regular Sides, but they also offer Premium Sides as well. The Mac 'N' Cheese Balls are Panko crusted balls (but are really more like cubes) of elbow macaroni which is made with sharp cheddar, white cheddar, and cream cheese sauce. It is served with jalapeño queso dip. I really enjoyed the Mac 'N' Cheese Balls - I thought the macaroni and cheese inside was rich and creamy and contrasted well with the crunchiness of the Panko crust. The dip itself was just okay in my opinion... I felt it was a bit too cheesy. I think I would've liked it better if more of the jalapeño heat and spice came through. 

Chicken and Wafflettes.

The appetizer I chose were the Chicken and Wafflettes ($11). This dish consists of Southern fried chicken bites between two house made mini waffles, with a nice helping of green vegetables and Tabasco honey aioli for the sauce. This was definitely my favourite between the two food items I picked. I thought the chicken was moist and had that nice trademark fried chicken flavour to it. The waffles by themselves were just decent, but tasted amazing when paired with the chicken, vegetables and the sauce. I've only ever had Chicken and Waffles at Sugarbowl (a restaurant in the Garneau neighbourhood), but I think this smaller version at The Burg is way better. The miniature size of the waffles and the chicken bites make it more manageable to eat. I also appreciated that they didn't make the chicken bites too sweet, so that its natural savouriness would be the counterpart to the lightness of the waffles. 

"Oh Canada" Bison Burg.

Finally, CJ's pick for lunch: the "Oh Canada" Bison Burg ($15). This burger is made with a sage scented buffalo patty, green leaf lettuce, caramelized onions, melted Oka, maple syrup and Saskatoon berry ketchup on a toasted prairie seed roll. While eating, I noticed that CJ wasn't really making his usual remarks about his food tasting good. I asked him what he thought about his burger, and he said that it was a bit dry and wished for more sauce to be added. Even though he ate the entire burger and some of my food, I knew that he was still hungry afterwards. I guess he didn't find the burger to be filling. CJ and I want to find the best place for burgers in the city, but I don't think he would choose The Burg for that. 

The Burg is a great place to go for lunch if you're ever hanging out on 4th Street Promenade. The interior of this restaurant gives off awesome industrial, modern vibes - the perfect setting for catching up with some friends or family. They have a variety of seating as well, which include the high tables, regular tables, large communal tables in the centre, booths, and the bar seating. Even though The Burg specializes in burgers (hence the name), based on CJ's opinion of his food I don't think I would recommend this place if you're craving a burger. Perhaps more sauce would be the right fix? Definitely try the appetizers and sides though! I would love to come back to get the Chicken and Wafflettes again and maybe a side of Devilled Eggs for next time! 

Rodeo Burgers

After picking up my boyfriend CJ from work yesterday afternoon, we decided to go on a food adventure to a place we've never tried before. I excitedly told him about one of Edmonton's newest restaurants - MEAT - that had their grand opening night the day before. However, after doing my research (that is, checking the restaurant's website, Instagram, and Twitter pages) I found out that they would only be open for dinner for the next couple of weeks! They did tweet that they would eventually open up for lunch, so I'm looking forward to that. 

With option one no longer available to us (since we didn't want to wait around for dinner), we decided to try out Rodeo Burgers (www.rodeoburgers.com). Rodeo Burgers is a fast casual restaurant (in between fast food and fine dining) located at the University of Alberta North Campus. It is just south of the Timms Centre, and is situated between Burrito Libre and Sherlock Holmes Pub. I love that this place is easily accessible. 

CJ and I usually try out new food places during the time of day when people aren't typically out eating. So we weren't surprised that we, along with just a few other people, were the only customers at that time. There was plenty of tables and seats for us to choose from, which I liked. 

We weren't really sure what to order, so we asked one of the staff for their recommendation. She recommended the "Western Burger", so we each got one along with a drink and fries with Rodeo Seasoning. We spent around $25 (including tax) for our meals.

Our Western Burger combo.

I started with the fries first, and they were great. It wasn't greasy at all and the seasoning wasn't overwhelming either. I loved that they weren't cut too large - I prefer my fries to have a thinner cut. 

Afterwards it was time to start on my burger. The Western Burger is one of their Signature Burgers, which contains a single AAA Alberta Angus beef patty. There was also lettuce, guacamole, sautéed mushrooms, green chillies, bacon, caramelized onions, and two sauces: their Rodeo Sauce and Southwest Sauce. I also requested to add a slice of cheddar cheese. 

The Western Burger.

The first bite was a surprise to me. I failed to realize that there were green chillies in the burger! I wasn't a fan of the extra heat the chillies provided, so I just removed them off the burger. I really enjoyed the sautéed mushrooms and caramelized onions which I found made the burger well balanced. The overall taste of the burger was nothing too extraordinary though. I think I would have liked this burger more without the green chillies. Oh well, my mistake for not noticing them on the menu to begin with. 

I asked CJ how he found his burger and he described it as "different". He admitted that the green chillies threw him off as well. But then again, he's not too picky about his food so he ate the entire thing, green chillies and all. 

Overall, this place is a good choice if you're looking for a more casual place to eat. It's also an option if you're craving a burger packed with great quality toppings. I don't tend to pick burgers as my first choice to satisfy my hunger though. However, I know how much CJ loves to eat meat, especially when it's in the form of a good old fashioned burger. We'll probably end up taking another trip here in the future, but we would definitely order something else.