We finally venture off of Queen East, north up the nasty cliff/hill and onto Kingston Road. While the area of Queen Street between Woodbine and Victoria Park has dozens of shops, cafes and restaurants, much of that stretch of Kingston is residential. Most of those types of businesses are condensed within certain pockets, particularly a stretch spanning a few blocks west of Vic Park.
Quite a few new spots have opened up here in recent years (Porch Light, Somun Superstar to name a few) while No Bull Burgers is the more veteran offering of the strip. For a time they had a second location on Parliament Street, though it vanished into the fog a few years ago.
The prices are reasonable and seeing how hungry I was, I went for their "little" burger as well as a small supreme poutine (about sixteen bucks in total). The "little" burger isn't small (compared to an A&W Buddy Burger, or a typical slider from a restaurant), weighing in at 4 oz and a nice big bun. Unlike the frozen BBQ beef texture of Outrigger, this patty brings the real burger goods. Soft, well seasoned and juicy without oozing grease all over the place. My choice of toppings were rather bland, subjectively (just mayo, dijon mustard, lettuce and pickles. No cheese even) and that's all this little fella needed. Very impressed.
Likewise, the poutine was also of a steady quality. Their "supreme" option is a classic poutine with bacon, sour cream and chopped chives. Poutine is something I only treat myself to maybe once every few months (ever since I entered my thirties it seems to like long term leasing space in my gut, ha) but I've been to Montreal dozens of times and I know the good stuff when I encounter it. No Bull's poutine... is a faithful imitation of a Quebec style poutine. The rich, thicker gravy, squeaky cheese curds (really a must) are the foundation and No Bull does it reasonably well. It's not the real thing (I've only had one poutine in Ontario that really hit that mark) but it's very tasty and enjoyable.
Thankfully, the fries are also better than generic frozen fare and those base elements, with the sour cream, chives and bacon adding their respective flavours... I was impressed and quite pleased. This is one of the best true poutines I've enjoyed in Toronto in quite a long time, and I'd take it over Smoke's any day.
Overall... yeah this is some good stuff, and while not an insane bargain it doesn't burn vengeful holes in your wallet either. Worth the trip for you non-east folks.
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