M:brgr, Montréal

Montreal's Best Burger A cab driver told us about M:brgr and we owe him big. M:brgr has an incredible menu with many choices. First there are the meat options: AAA, organic, or Kobe. Then you have 20 toppings: caramelized onions, grilled oyster mushrooms, asparagus, grilled salami, pulled pork... And don't forget the eight different types of cheese: goat, smoked gouda, brie... And if that's not enough you can add foie gras or white and black truffle shavings. We went with the smoked meat burger (AAA and ground smoked meat mixed into one patty) and a AAA with caramelized onions and brie. Well, did we ever love it. The smoked meat burger was juicy tender and smoked meat salty. The caramelized onions were a perfect touch, as was the brie, on our second burger. They have a full bar so we enjoyed an excellent ginger mojito and a dirty martini with the brine and olives frozen onto a skewer like a popsicle - great presentation. My sons' eyes popped out of their head when they saw their drinks - a caramel shake and a rootbeer float. Their drinks were awesome. M:brgr has made it onto our list of Montreral must-eats. Note: a new M:brgr is open in Toronto.
http://www.mbrgr.com/english.html

Top left:Caramel shake

Top Right: Rootbeer float

Bottom Left: Ginger mojito

Bottom Right: Dirty martini

Left: AAA burger with caramelized onions and brie

Right:Smoked meat burger

Kuma's Corner - Chicago - July 2009

Burgers that Rock  Kuma's, another DDD locale, was a defininte highlight.  It's often packed and it's also worth the wait.  We went on a Friday night and lingered with the heavy metal crowd.  Kuma's only plays heavy metal and all the burgers are named after heavy metal bands (the Black Sabbath, the Iron Maiden, the Slayer...).  There was a large group waiting outside of early to mid 20's metal fans who had heard about Kuma's on a blog for metalheads.  Talked to a fellow Canadian from Winnipeg and looked at custom bikes and Harley's while we waited outside on a warm night - our last night in Chicago. Kuma's makes everything fresh to order and offers an excellent selection of independent brewery beers on tap or by the bottle.  Three of us ordered burgers (pictured in the order they are described - top to bottom) and my youngest got mac 'n cheese - homemade, delicious and plentiful.  I got the Led Zeppelin burger - a 10 oz. perfectly cooked to order burg with pulled pork, bacon, cheddar cheese and pickles served on a pretzel bun (as are all Kuma's burgers).  I ate the entire thing and loved every bite.  There was also the Gobllin Cock burger - bacon, cheese and a Chicago style viennese hot dog on top.  Massive and delicious.  We also loved the Contessa burger -  corn salsa, portabello mushrooms and chimichurri sauce.  Another winner.  We loved the cool atmosphere with thumping metal throughout the night.  Awesome service, amazing food and a true find.  Sad to say goodnight to Chicago, but a great way to do it. http://www.kumascorner.com/