Mama’s Boys Burgers (Toronto, On)

Mama’s Food is Fresh not Frozen

If you've been following along at home you've certainly figured out I love burgers from a flat top griddle. The heat nicely sears the outside of the beef which then fries in it's own juices. There are people who don't care for this kind of burger. Citing a "Flame Broiled" offering as the best. If you're one of those who can't decide or if  your buddy likes the other, then Mama's Boys Burgers in Toronto's east end is a good choice. Offering both types of sandwich and plenty of other great consumables.

Opened in the spring of 2012, Mama's Boys is a bit of a throwback to the type of place that wasn't hard to find in TO in the 70's and 80's. Greeks doing home made burgers, soulvaki, O-Rings and fresh cut Fries among other things. As the turbulent decade drew to a close these joints had, for the most part, sold out. Once a place to get great fast food they expanded and quality suffered greatly. Others were bought up. In any case, few survived.
Thankfully, this little hidden gem has the kind of goodies that will take you back to those times. Offering fresh everything. Not frozen fries and burger patties. They pride themselves on that fresh quality.

From the outside it's not much more than a corner unit in a strip mall.
Inside is bathed in sunlight and is straight up fast food. An order station where Bessy (Mama) will be waiting for you (usually) and a long counter where the condiment station resides.
There's seating for a couple dozen with tables and a ledge along the windows.

Like with a lot of these places there's an open prep kitchen and a main one in the back. Here's where you'll likely see "Mama's boys."So let's get a look at what the boys are serving up shall we??

Everything, as they tell you, is "Made with love."

They have the usual suspect when it comes to condiments but a signature offering is Spicy Feta. Oh baby this stuff is good. Hot peppers are pureed with olive oil and blended into some crumbled feta. The richness of the feta is nicely cut by the acidity of the peppers. Said peppers add a nice bit of heat and some flavour with the oil smoothing everything out. It won't blow the doors off you but if you're not into the hot stuff, it'll probably get your attention.

They offer a few different French fry options. I've had some plain and they're okay. First off, the fries weren’t overly salted which is better than being too salty and easily fixed. They use fresh cut Yukon Gold potatoes which are considered a very good all purpose potato but I  believe that Russet's make better fries. Creating a crisp and golden brown on the outside, soft and fluffy on the inside fry. These ones here are somewhat limp. Not at all a deal breaker though as the taste is still solid.

The Poutine, is good but not great. My feelings on the fries are the big reason. A simple food like this can only be as good as it's weakest link and the tater of choice is just that. The gravy is beef which seems to be the norm here and is quite good. The curd seems to have some squeak which will make the purists somewhat happy. As I said, all in all, this is good stuff.

The Greek Fries again are good but not great. Again, the potato being the weakest link. These fries topped with crumbled feta, olive oil and oregano are still pretty tasty. The cheese isn't as pungent as I'd like but it's fine none the less. The oil and oregano work really well in the dish. So again, over all, good.
 
The Pork Souvlaki is, stop me if you've heard this, good but not great. In fact, it's very good. What really keeps me from rating this higher is that it's fairly mildly marinaded. Souvlaki can range from mild to punch you in the face bold with garlic and oregano flavours leaping out at you. I prefer that latter. This offering is incredibly tender though, has a nice taste but didn't stand up that well to the tzatziki which in and of itself is fantastic. It normally comes in a pita but I had it on a bun and added some of that great Spicy Feta. Very good overall.

I really liked the burger. Called the Signature American it’s a Banquet Burger that has sautéed onions on it. As you can imagine, being named American, it’s 4 oz. (per patty) double burger done on a flat top. It’s not in my pantheon of great burgers but is solidly in the next group below. The beef is ground in house but, as with the fries, under seasoned. A little S&P helped with that. The beef was otherwise good and while the cheese lacked a bit, (only 1 slice) the bacon had a good presence. I love onions and want to love sautéed onions on a burger but I just don’t seem to. So next time I’ll omit them.

So there you have folk. Some really good fast, no make that fresh food in Toronto's east end.

You can find Mamas Boys Burgers at 480 Danforth Rd in Toronto, On.
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You can also find them on facebook.



Well that's all for now folks, see you again in the food court.

The Old Guard

In 1980 Joe Batshon, along with the rest of the family immigrated to Canada from Israel. Within a year the family had purchased a restaurant and began a local tradition. Jumping in on the independent fast food movement at the time they sold, much like a lot of places that dotted the GTA landscape at the time, burgers, souvlaki, steak on a bun and fabulous onion rings. Many, such as Fire Pit and Lick’s expanded, lost control and either went away or are shaddows of their former glory.
Joe stuck with the business, didn’t sell out and today is the owner of what has become a community landmark. An integral part of this small town, long ago swallowed up as Toronto pushed it’s boundaries, that never really came to grips with progress. The Burger Shack, as much as any other restaurant in Forest Hill, is the heart and soul of the neighbourhood. Even though it lies just outside the Forest Hill postal district.

There was a time in the not too distant past that, when charged with locating Toronto’s best burgers, people would invariably point to The Burger Shack. The crown seems to have been lost over the last few years but not through their own misguidance. The simple fact is, while they still crank out the same quality burgers, the competition has stepped up. Some of the most recent surveys in the local publications are full of Johnny-come-latelys and their upgraded takes on this simple yet easy to screw up sandwich. Sticking with tradition can sometimes be a double edge sword. Joe’s burgers are no less tasty than when they reigned supreme. It’s just that restaurants see that as the bar they need to hurdle. Some, as you’ve probably read, have cleared that level very handsomely. Still, it’s nice to have those food memories from ones childhood. It's also nice to have a good, solid place that cranks out consistently terrific eats.

Burger Shack sits in what is now the northern edge of mid town. The small cash only place seats a couple dozen or so and does a steady, if not, bustling business. The seating screams fast food as does the modest décor. There’s plenty of articles heralding their success, collected over the years, framed and hanging on the walls.
There’s an open kitchen where burgers and what have you are flame broiled and rings and things are deep fried.
The back kitchen is a buzz with food prep. Just about everything here is made in house. Burgers are hand formed daily, sauces, gravies, dressings, fries cut, onions diced, it’s just a whirl wind of activity.

So let’s get a look at what’s cooking at The Burger Shack.

At one time every independent fast food place made great onion rings. In fact, as much as any other offering, places were selected for their rings. Usually of the beer batter style.
The Shack’s version is just as good as I remember from my childhood. Plump, fluffy and oniony. Nicely crispy, golden brown on the outside and velvety on the inside. Easily passing the pinch and pull tests. Still some of the best this city has to offer.

Poutine, for those not familiar, is a dish native to Quebec. Once referred to by Tony Bourdain as a “gastronomical train wreck.” Fresh cut fries covered with cheese curds and gravy. While not quite traditional in that they use beef instead of chicken gravy this incarnation is incredibly tasty. Traditionalists will deduct points for non squeaky curds but I, for one, really don’t care. I actually love to let the dish sit a bit and those curds melt into a gooey mess. While few places in the city do it incredibly well, this is enough tide you over until a trip to the Eastern Townships occurs.

If I were eating at a Greek fast food restaurant I’d have my Souvlaki on a pita. But here I am at a burger joint. As such, I’ll stick with my old favourite, Souvlaki on a Bun. At one time in the late 80’s I worked directly across the street from a place that served this and, again, a trip down memory lane was in order.
This did not disappoint. The pork souvlaki is just as it should be. Well seasoned and garlicky. The tzatziki could’ve been a little bolder but it was still good. I keep it simple with onion and tomato. It all comes on a lightly toasted large sesame seed hot dog bun.

You just can’t do a review of a burger place and not have a burger. It’s just not allowed.
I will caution you up front about one thing. Many places like this sell a homemade burger and a cheaper frozen patty burger. You don’t want that one. Stick with the homemade.
As I said above, the burgers are made fresh daily from meat delivered from a local butcher and triple ground in house. Unlike the new craze, smashed burgers, these are flame grilled and thoroughly spiced. Every purveyor had their own secret blend of spices and Joe is no different. One thing for sure though, they all have garlic in them. I’ve always thought the best measure of these types of burgers is the garlic burps that follow. There are exceptions to every rule however these are among the less garlic infused specimens I’ve had. This is their most popular, the Banquet Burger. Meaning it has cheese and bacon.

The Shack does a nice homemade breakfast as well. There’s nothing “Special” about their morning offerings. Your standard bacon and eggs type stuff. All done to a higher standard than most as you can well imagine.

So there you have it folks. Some good, solid, scratch made food that brings me back to a time when I had no mortgage payments, I was still an NHL prospect and about to start working on my first million. Sadly far too many of these places are now A & W’s, KFC’s or the like.

You can find The Burger Shack at 233 Eglinton Ave. W.

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You can also “Like” them on facebook.



Well that’s all for now folks, see ya next time in the food court.