The Tuesday Taste - Crack Burger

 

When I wake up

someone will sweep up

my lazy bones

And we will

rise in the cool

of the evening

Another Tuesday... another Taste! If you're reading this on the very Tuesday it's coming out, odds are I'm (hopefully) on a plane or at the airport of either Dublin or London, England (edit: I'm finishing writing this in said airports)... so this is going to be a brief review! 

Luckily, the owner of our reviewed place this week thoughtfully put a detailed origin story on their website, saving me a bit of digging about on the interwebs. And no, this is not a reference nor has a connection to a notorious now departed former mayor of our city, either. 2013 called, it wants it's jokes back! And it sure as hell isn't interested in a trade, either...

I'd actually first heard of this burger joint with the snappy, poppy name from a friend and co-worker, who likes to share photos of delicious things he finds from time to time. Any excuse to visit Kensington Market is also welcome by me, and did so one very sunny October afternoon to find out how addictive these burgers really are. 

Their menu is pretty limited, likely by design, with trademark smash burgers being the focus. Which is what I ordered, talked into the double patty by (I'm pretty sure) the owner, plus an order of fries. I took a seat by the window counter and got an instant sense of this place fitting perfectly within the vibe and goings on of Kensington and Baldwin Avenue in particular. People stopping by outside to chat while an employee changed the sandwich board, overhearing phone calls with suppliers, the general "catch up on small tasks during the slow hours" that you find in any small business like this. 

My order took a little longer than intended (something to do with the fryer I think) and so I'm pretty certain to make up for the wait they gave me this heaping double portion of fries (I legit had to split them up into the two containers, there were so many). 

As french fries... these are definitely different. They have that very homemade sliced potato feel and texture, with decent crunch and some filmy bites here and there... but consistently tasting only of natural, fresh cut potatoes. The seasoning had a considerable smokiness to it, like a paprika (if not just paprika) which I found quite a curious choice but worked totally fine here.

Decent fries I suppose, but there were just so darn many my singular stomach couldn't dream of finishing them all in one sitting. Alas they didn't translate great on a reheat attempt (fries rarely do).

 

I was way more interested in the burger anyway, which was indeed a condensed, hefty beast. 

Flavour and texture-wise, it has all the typical features of a smash burger. The griddle/greasy taste, the American cheese so melted that it is essentially one with the beef, the soft bun... all of that is here. Crack Burger takes it a step further and forgoes the very notion or suggestion of vegetables on here. Tomato? Lettuce? Raw onion? Pickle? Too distracting. Maybe a little bit of caramelized onions for sweetness, but the rest you're getting is a thunderous dose of meat. 

And quite a dose it is. There's bacon in here too! Frankly... this kind of in-your-face-blood-flow-be-damned type of burger usually isn't my thing (I like some lettuce crunch, or some pickled zing, or some creamy sauce). That said, in isolation as a burger it's a damn good one. The beef is cooked perfectly (thin and tender, lingering wonderfully in the mouth), the cheese coats it (that blurring of where one ends and the other begins I mentioned earlier) and those greasy fried onions fill the gap inbetween. 

Does it need the bacon? Not really, but it is welcome nonetheless. Stringy and fried, though firm enough and tender... bringing that distinctly salty pork hint to the affair. Frankly the beef here is so flavourful (you can taste that griddle) that the bacon sort of floats in the background.

Overall! A tasty burger is, at the end of the day, a tasty burger and Crack Burger is indeed that. It's so heavy, beefy and greasy that while not the kind of burger I'd regularly crave uncontrollably (as insinuated by their name) I definitely recommend trying them out if an expertly smashed burger is your thing. It does swim in its particularly simple lane of flavour, which is much more than I can say about the glut of good-not-great smash burgers that have filled the Toronto food scene in recent years.  

They're definitely a solid step above your average smash burger, probably even a couple steps. While the fries were just okay, the burgers are indeed worth the trip. Check em out!

Tuesday Tune

One of my favourite Beck songs... I even covered it at the Redwood Theatre back a few years ago (there's video of it, but I'm not sharing that version of the tune heh heh). 

That's it for now! Until next time... stay safe stay cool and most of all don't spill that mustard!