Eating Toronto – The Burger’s Priest

So here is another one of my favorite burger joints in the city, The Burger’s Priest.  I try not to have as much fatty foods now, but I do enjoy a good burger.  Visit their website here http://www.theburgerspriest.com.  I have been coming to Burger’s Priest for a while now and I love it.  I remember before when they only had 1 location in the East end of Toronto.  Now they have 2 current locations and from what I read on their website, a third one is coming to the downtown core; so definitely look out for that!  You can also follow them on twitter @burgerspriest

Address:

East End/Beaches Location: 

1636 Queen St. E. Toronto, On

North York Location:

3397 Yonge St. Toronto, On

Downtown Location:

Coming Soon…

The photos I have are from the original location (1636 Queen St. E).  The North York location is a little bit different (I will explain as we get through them)

Here is the Burger’s Priest.  It is a small joint and may be missed if you are not paying attention; but when you are in the area, there should be no excuse to pass by this place without paying attention.

You can view the hours here or just visit the website link I posted earlier.  Noticed how Sunday is Church day.  I made the mistake of visiting many Sundays forgetting this fact and ripped many hairs off my head. 

As you can see from this photo the space is small.  The counter space can seat about 4 people.  The most recent time I’ve visited, you aren’t even allowed to sit down and eat anymore due to the limited space.  The North York location (3397 Yonge St.) does have a bigger space but still is not a whole lot – if you are looking for a good place to sit down and enjoy your burger, you might be disappointed.  
You can see right off the bat that they have their own freshly ground meat.  The meat is pressed into burgers on order.  It doesn’t get fresher than this

Here are the burgers being cooked on the flat top/griddle.

Here is their menu you can also find it online http://www.theburgerspriest.com/menu/.  You might realize you see some items on the sign you do not see on the menu.  When I first came here the menu was limited.  That is because they have a secret menu http://www.theburgerspriest.com/secret-menu/.  I remember when they didn’t have these on their site and you had to Google their secret menu and hope you don’t sound stupid when ordering and hope it is a real item. There are still a lot of items on the secret menu that aren’t listed on the boards – from what I remember they won’t give you info on the secret menu, you have to find out yourself…after all, it is a secret. I also remember “Blue Steel” and “Magnum” had to be ordered by doing the face from Zoolander!  Again, this is from the East End/Beaches Location (1636 Queen St. E).  The North York Location (3397 Yonge St.) has the addition of milkshakes.

The Priest – $9.99 CAD – Cheese Burger + The Option

If you are wonder what “the option” is, it is basically a vegetarian option you can choose.  Don’t let vegetarian fool you though, this is a cheesy mess, cheese stuffed in between 2 portebello mushrooms, crusted and then fried – this thing is amazing!  Click here to find out more about the option http://www.theburgerspriest.com/the-option/.  On that note, The Priest is the Option + a cheese patty.  This burger is amazing.  The only thing I have against it is that I personally like to have more of the meat flavor.  Since the option is to big and flavorful it hides some of the juicy meat flavor they have going.  A very good choice for noobies at Burger’s Priest – you don’t want to get too crazy yet.

Double Cheese Burger – $7.99 CAD

What more can I say; classic double cheese burger.  I always add “smokes” to my burger which is pretty much breaded and fried jalapeno peppers – it definitely adds a nice kick – these are real jalapenos too!  I recommend this burger to everyone.  It really allows you to appreciate the flavor and juiciness of the burger patties.  It is also a good place to start without jumping straight into some of the crazy “secret menu” stuff.  As I stated earlier, the Priest might mask some of the beefy flavor (still a great burger) the double gives you a beefy punch in the face.  Definitely try the double.  This burger is also ranked number 6 on Toronto Life’s Top burgers in the city check it out at http://www.torontolife.com/daily-dish/restaurants-dish/2012/05/16/25-best-burgers/.

Chili Cheese Fries – $5.99 CAD

I haven’t had their fries in a while.  I personally didn’t enjoy their fries too much.  The chili cheese fries were good because of the chili.  Once the chili is done, the fries themselves aren’t the best – you can give them a try, its just my personal preference.

Vatican City – $11.29 CAD

Boy this bad boy is amazing!  A double cheese burger but instead they replace the top and bottom buns with grilled cheese sandwiches.  Yes, that’s right, you heard me, GRILLED CHEESE SANDWICHES!  This use to be on the “secret menu” on the website its still under the “secret menu” but at the restaurant, I saw it up on the board – I guess its not that much of a secret anymore.  When you have something this good, its a matter of time before it becomes a non-secret.  If you are feeling a little crazy and in the mood for an awesome burger please try the Vatican city, its just so freaking amazing.

The next few items I have tried but do not have pictures of them as of right now.  I will try to get them up as quick as I can eat burgers!

Cheese Burger $5.49 CAD

Just a classic cheese burger with one burger patty and cheese.  Obviously you still get a great tasting burger but honestly..who wants a single patty.

The High Priest – $9.49 CAD

I can’t seem to find this on the website but trust me it does exist.  I also see it on the menu on the board at the restaurant.  This is also a “secret menu” item.  It is a “Big Mac” done right…or “God’s Big Mac”  If you enjoy the Big Mac from you know where, you will enjoy this burger.  It is made exactly like the Big Mac, with a bun in the middle, it is dressed like a Big Mac; you cannot choose your toppings for this one, its comes dressed.  A great burger, still get the great taste of their burgers and a little crazier than a regular burger but not as crazy as some of the other “secret menu” items.

The Pope – Price Unknown

Another burger in the “secret menu”.  Remember when I said the Priest seems as if the cheesy mushroom hides a bit of the beefy taste.  Whats the solution? How about add an extra burger patty..That’s exactly what The Pope is.  It is the priest (cheese burger with the cheesy mushroom) with an extra patty.  I warn you, this thing is MASSIVE.  It is amazing tasting, but a little hard to wrap your mouth around.  My friend who is a girl was able to eat this – had to take in between bites but was able to do it, so don’t be too afraid.  Try this if you’re feeling a little crazy.

Wrap up

You seem to get the hang of this place now but there are many things you might be wondering lets say having a Pope “Vatican” style (making the buns grilled cheese sandwiches).  They thought of that already, that is the Tower of Babel.  There are many more crazy items on their menu.  You can add extra patties, you can “Vatican” style any burgers, add smokes etc etc.  Learn the lingo and impress your friends.  Especially if you are from out of town, come here and order something from the secret menu, those around you will be impressed big time; you will be ordering things they can’t even see.

Conclusion:

Burger’s Priest is one of my favorite burger joints in the city.

I have to say though, they use to be a little better than they are now, I feel their burgers use to be more juicy than they are now

Burgers have great beef flavor, juicy and tender.  Flavor of the beef really carry the burger, its not about the condiments and the toppings, I believe the fresh flavorful beef really makes the burger and not the other way around

I highly recommend this place, if you are from Toronto and haven’t tried or from out of town and are looking for some great eats in the city

Look out for their different locations

East End/Beaches Location: 

1636 Queen St. E. Toronto, On

 

North York Location:

3397 Yonge St. Toronto, On

 

Downtown Location:

Coming Soon…

Check out their website http://www.theburgerspriest.com.  Follow them on Twitter @burgerspriest. View their menu http://www.theburgerspriest.com/menu/ and secret menu http://www.theburgerspriest.com/secret-menu/. Thanks for sticking around, I know I wrote a lot on this one.  Til next time!