Wally's On Steeles - Wally Burger with Cheese

Place: Wally's on Steeles

Location: 1351 Steeles Ave. E, Brampton

Type: Independent

Atmosphere: 

Burger: Wally Burger with Cheese

#of Patty's: 1

Type of Cheese: Cheddar

THE PLACE

Wally's is a hard restaurant style to nail down. It's modern looking, it's restaurant looking but what is its overall atmosphere? Part of the problem is that Wally's was made from the ashes of another restaurant and had to work within its framework, which is why there is a fireplace in one corner that, otherwise, wouldn't make much sense. Also there is a lot of wood veneer which, a friend pointed out, will probably begin peeling after a couple of years. So is it classic? Is it modern? It's a bit of both. At least it was warm and the tables were clean, really can you ask for more?

THE BURGER

Let's get this out of the way right at the start. This is not a cheeseburger, this is the Wally Burger and then you could add cheese to it. A cheeseburger takes the cheese as a part of the whole and plans for its flavors and cooking. This is a burger with a slice of cheese thrown on for fun. But I'm not going to hold that against them, I just wanted to point out how much something like that bothers me.

The problem with The Wally Burger with Cheese is bigger then a slice of cheese, the problem goes down to its very essence. There is something very bad with the Wally Burger, and I could not put my finger on it. Was it under seasoned? Yeah, maybe, I don't know. Was the burger fresh? Honestly can't tell. It tasted like it could be frozen, but maybe not. Possibly over cooked? Well yes, a little.

That there is the problem. The Wally Burger tasted unlike any burger, cheese or otherwise, than I have ever tasted before. It was not a good taste, but it was a strong taste. Even now, with the bennefit of hindsight, I can't figure it out. After about half way through the burger the word "rubber" popped into my head, but it wasn't fully that. Basically it was an altogether new taste and it was bad.

There was a nice slice of cheese, thicker than at most chain restaurants, but the taste was completely drowned out by the taste of the burger. The bun was good. Well toasted and firm enough.

Unfortunately the fries that came with it were soggy and stringy. Also there were no refills on iced tea, what the hell is that?

So listen, I have to be honest and I have to be fair, the burger with cheese was edible but that taste was just terrible so I have no choice but to give The Wally Burger with Cheese 

The Works - Reese PBC

Place: The Works

Type: Chain

Web Site: 

Atmosphere: Industrial

Burger: Reese PBC

# of Patty's: 1

Special Sauce: None

Toppings: Crushd Peanut Butter Cups

THE PLACE

I've covered The Works before, so let's just say it's an industrial look and leave it at that.

THE BURGER

Here is how it works. Take the already great Works burger, stuff it with peanut butter and chocolate and top it it's crushed Reese Peanut Butter Cups. Let that sink in for a moment. It is literally a peanut butter cup burger. The calorie count alone must be amazing. And yes, it's not a cheeseburger. I think the sheer decadence of this burger makes up for the lack of cheese.

But does it work? Kinda, but not completely. The peanut butter cups on top of the burger was a brilliant idea and tastes amazing. Unfortunately the peanut butter and chocolate inside the patty wasn't a good idea. The heat from the patty melts them so much that the chocolate looks and tastes like brown water, and the peanut butter is just a big, liquid mess that you barely taste. 

Fortunately the burger itself was the usual high standards, the bun was great, the fries were above average. If I were in charge I would just put the peanut butter cups on top and leave it at that, but I'm not so here we are.

This is definitely an above average burger, far above average but not as high as the usual fare from The Works. It's a solid 3.7 out of 5.

Also it's not a cheeseburger, but not everything can be perfect.