I'll start off by saying that I'm actually not a "huge" burger person. Now and then I crave one like nobody's business, but in general I'm not too big on the concept. The portions are often too big for me and the bun tends to large and overpowering (I live a gluten-reduced lifestyle, so this can actually feel like a big knot in my stomach after eating). Nevertheless, I am pleased to give you my take on Unburger!
Unburger
"Welcome to Unburger, home of the Unburger, can I take your order [please]?" (I am Canadian after all)
I don't know why it reminded me of Good Burger; maybe because I'm slowly but surely going insane. I'll go with that.
ANYWHO...
My first experience with Unburger came as a necessity rather than a spot I went out of my way to try. When I first moved to Winnipeg, I had no food in the house and did not concern myself at all with cooking given the amount of unpacking I had to do. So when I got hungry, I found my way into the village for some eats. That's when I stumbled on Unburger.
In a lot of ways the premise reminded me of Gorgeous George's in Kelowna. One summer long ago, I worked at the ice cream store next door, Moolix. At the time at least, the owner was the same and Gorgeous George's had just opened so I often worked a shift or two over there for some extra cash. The staff was fun, young and hip and the product was absolutely phenomenal. Very high quality stuff. Now this was circa 2008, so I can't tell you whether or not it's still that great. But, back to my Unburger review - the atmosphere reminded me a lot of this. Fun, hip, great product but unpretentious. Accessible to all; those just strolling down the street or those who are in the mood for something a little more "high-brow". On a more personal level, I love that Unburger sources their ingredients locally, particularly their meats. This does good by Manitoba farmers, and I find that the quality of product is almost always better when it's sourced locally. It's a resto win-win.
I ordered a Tropic Thunder chicken burger with a side of fries and a Honey Dill dip. The entire meal was around the $15 mark, but like I've mentioned in other posts, I don't mind paying for a quality product. I got my chicken burger on a multigrain bun. As I waited for my order, I saw some of the burgers going out to patrons eating in; they were monstrous! I was hoping that I could smush mine down and make it a wee bit less intimidating. I didn't wait long - perhaps 10 minutes or so and my food was up. In those 10 minutes, I was chatted up by one of the guys in the kitchen; very friendly staff. I also went between lunch and dinner, which is most resto's "down" time.
I got the burger home and was excited to dig in (I should mention that spicy + pineapple is the ultimate love combination for me). The burger did not disappoint. The chicken was moist and juicy (usually a combination of being cooked for just the right amount of time and brining - which I have found a lot of restos don't do and they should). The portion was very large (for me at least - I'm little!), but I still managed to eat the entire thing; it was that good. I think it was a combination of the ingredients that made it sing - smoky bacon, sharp cheddar, sweet pineapple and spicy chipotle. It's my new fave.
The fries were pretty good as well. Larger cut, crispy and really soft in the middle. With the sweet honey dill dip, they were a fantastic side in their own right. Oh, if you're a dill lover like me, you have to try the dip. It's delicious (and reminds me of a dill dip I used to get at Frites Alors! in Montreal).
I wanted to review it right then and there, but I decided to hold off until I tried a beef burger. After all, it's difficult, if not crazy, to review a burger joint on a chicken burger. I decided to wait a few days and then go back for a Blueberry Yum Yum. This is clearly a popular burger as I saw a few coming through the window waiting for customers. I got my burger on a traditional bun and requested no tomato (which there ended up being - luckily I'm not allergic, so it's not a big deal for me to take them off). It was busy, so the error did not offend me. I also got an order of fries and a dip which came to around $12.
Once I got a look at it, I was so excited. The Blueberry BBQ sauce, the goat cheese. AHHHH! It was delicious and I *almost* finished it all (I left a bit of the bun). The balsamic onions really balanced out the sweetness from the blueberry sauce and goat cheese. To me, the burger felt extremely decadent and since I was having a bad day, it was just what the doctor ordered.
If you eat in, Unburger offers a variety of coca-cola products in glass bottles (a really nice feature if you ask me) as well as local beers, such as Farmery. If you haven't had a chance to try Unburger, I highly recommend that you do.
9/10
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