Moderne Burger
2507 West Broadway
Vancouver, BC
In the last couple of weeks, I mentioned about my “misfortunes” in Vancouver’s West Side. Originally, Moderne Burger which ended up in a visit to Aree’s Dawg House, then my meeting with Mijune at Baru Latino and Trafalgars Bistro. So, why go there again? Third time is the charm? Remove that sense that I do not like this area (which, I will admit, I am not particularly fond of)? While I have a behind-the-scenes reason (which won’t become evident until further down the road – and I do not mean this post), let’s just say in the meantime I just wanted a burger… (On that note, this visit was way before my visit to Triple O’s but, because of that “shuffling” the order got switched).
This area has a perennial problem: parking. While this is the second (or third) reference to Modern Burger, by far, it is not my second or third attempt to go there. Every time I try to go there, I have to circle around a couple of blocks to find a parking spot. This time it was not that different; however, I spotted an open spot in front of (no pun intended) White Spot and quickly go around one of the side streets and back to Broadway to grab it. It was a tight spot but I was able to parallel park without any problems.
One thing I seldom mention but it is quite evident is the fact I go out to eat by myself most of the time. I won’t go into details about this topic except mention a really wacky advantage of going by yourself: it is easier to accommodate a single person than two or more. No table open but you have a bar? Done! This is exactly what happened to me: there were several people waiting for a table to open but when they notice me by myself and sort of hinted to me “one?”, I nodded and was seated right away… Next to me? Another solo diner! So, then, after a quick look at the menu, I was ready to order…
One thing you must admire of some restaurants is the size of menu. Now, I am not talking about 15 pages of dishes (which, a lot of times contains the same meat/vegetable but different sauce); instead, in the case of Moderne Burger, we are talking about a letter size page with large letters: one side contains the food, the other side contains the drinks. And it boils down to the patty, i.e., beef, chicken, salmon, some extra toppings and fries. Simplicity as its best. So, to follow those lines of thought, I went for their “regular burger”, aka, the Moderne Steak burger and asked for some extra mushrooms. Hey, I like my mushrooms! And, just to test, some fries along.
While the picture above makes emphasis on the burger itself, I will start with the fries: something they provided a lot of! In fact, if I was there with somebody else, it might have been a good idea for one to order the burger and fries and the other to order only the burger. And, while the amount was there, the end result was average at most. I have had better but, at the same time, I have had worst. To me, fries out to be crispy on the outside and fluffy in the inside. To accomplish, you would usually fry them twice. This is one of those odd instances where I would rather have the food “Sitting” there are finishing preparing it when ordered. But, going back to Moderne Burger, they were soft but lacked that “crispyness” outside.
So now, to the main item, the burger. At first sight, I will admit it looked just OK. In a way, the bun seems to take a bit too much volume, not to mention it looked generic. If that was indeed the case (I will leave that as a side note), I must say I am disappointed. C’mon, if you are a burger shop and believe you can make a kille beef patty, why undo all that creation with a lousy bun? With that partial disappointment, I cut it in half and started munching the first half. I will have to admit, unlike previous instances where I have ordered a burger with mushrooms, in this case, the mushrooms did not add much to the burger! No, it was not because it was wrong; rather, the patty has a meaty taste, making the mushrooms partially unnecessary. And, yes, the beef patty was good: moist and juicy. However, it was not perfect. In fact, there was one flaw: it did not have that “seared” taste. You know, that slightly burned/charred taste when you grill meat? That was missing, despite the looks of the first picture.
And that brings to the question of how is Moderne Burger… I will have to say it is good but not as good as my fellow bloggers hinted. To me, Burger Heaven still provides a better burger. Also, against Moderne Burger is its location: I don’t like the idea of driving all the way to West Side just for a burger considering all the parking “issues”. As a result, I would go if I just happens to be in the area (unfortunately, that translates to almost never)….
Next update will be up this Friday!
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{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
I do have to agree with you about the bun, it is a bit big. I like Burger Heaven too, but I guess I must’ve had the wrong burger there because it wasn’t very juicy. On that note, I had a really good burger that is probably better than anything in the GVRD. It was the Burger Bar here in San Fran (also in LV and STL).
I have to admit that I’m one of those people who love Moderne Burger.
I agree that they are quite generous with the fries…I usually end up sharing the fries w/ Jenkins! Did you try the cherry Coke? It’s a throwback to the old days…so tasty!
Sherman, if you look at my post on Burger Heaven, you will notice the picture of the aftermath!
Gigi, I was aware of the cherry Coke but did not want to try it. Feel free to call it bad memories.
KimHo – ok, I will not pry :p
Gigi, could it be because of what happened last time you were a bit too curious (regardin Yan’s Garden)?
The patty does look very “meaty”…it’s looks like ground beef and no binding…it does look good, but it almost looks like it should be in a pasta sauce or sloppy joe. Yeah the bun looks kind of crappy.
Kim – haha…seems like I have a habit of asking you questions that bring up memories you don’t want to discuss! Call me nosy…
Gigi, that is fine; however, notice that last time, you regretted it!
Kim – haha…that is very true…I almost forgot!
anyone who cuts their burger in half to eat it hasnt got a clue !!!!
Anth, welcome! While I understand where you come from, that is the lesser of two evils from the picture taking perspective. In the past, I used to bite into the burger and then take a picture of it, not necessarily a good sight.
Hi, I’ve been reading your blog for awhile and for the first time, I’ve felt compelled to comment on your post. I feel like this review is oddly biased — as if there’s some imaginary super burger that you’re comparing this burger to. The bun looks generic—compared to what? Moderne Burger’s concept is to make a solid American-style diner burger. If you want foie gras and onion confit in yours, go next door. And their location takes a hit because it’s too far from where you live? So, conversely, would you commend with praise restaurant if they decided to open next door to you? Sorry if this seems harsh, but I would suggest you be a little more objective with your reviews because it seems like they often don’t have a clear point.
ekko9, welcome! It is called expectations. If you know you make a good patty (something I acknowledged), why kill it with some lousy sides? If it was closer to me, my comment would most likely be the same, the difference might be that I will remove the distance issue. On that note, I have driven +50Km for food so it is not that I am not willing to do it, specially if the food is good. Finally, my reference points are places like Burger Heaven (better burger) and Burger Burger (reasonable burger at a cheaper price).
See, that’s exactly what I mean. You can’t write reviews with expectations in mind or by comparing them to other restaurants. Then everything is biased and it becomes hard for your readers to know what’s really good or bad. And lousy sides? So a fresh, custom Venice bun, fresh veggies, and fries cut to order are now lousy? First you say it only had one flaw, but at the same time, you’re also saying that everything about the burger except for the bun was lousy? Really confusing. I could take that bun to a thousand food professionals and none of them would call it lousy.
You might benefit from having someone proofread your reviews before you post them like this.
I just realized that you meant that the patty had one flaw, so I retract that statement. But I still maintain that it’s ridiculous to call their bun or sides as “lousy” and that no food professional would agree with that description.
Ekko9, nowhere I have claimed I write reviews. In fact, I have openly written I do NOT write reviews. Check it here. Now, as for your points:
1) Can you elaborate as to why I can’t set up some expectations when I visit a restaurant? If I can’t do so, I will fail to see then reasons to drive accross town to visit a specific one if the one in the corner can just fill up my stomach. I believe that expectations is what drives us to find something better.
2) To make a really bad analogy, that person who can claim has no bias, go ahead and throw the first stone. Everybody has biases and, if you have read this blog long enough (something you have indicated you do), you will have a good idea of where some of these biases come from.
3) References are a necessary evil. I could go on and on by just saying I like/dislike something; but, by providing a reference point, that facilitate the explanation process of why I like/dislike something.
4) Freshly cut to order fries, while in concept sounds good, it is a bad idea. Good fries ought to be fried twice (if not more times) at different temperatures with a rest in between. The reason behind it is that the first time “cooks” the potatoes; the second time crisps it, which yields that crispy on the outside, fluffy in the inside a lot of people like. Wonder why people like McD’s fries? Tallow issue/addition of sugar aside, is the fact they are fried twice.
5) A burger is a sum of its parts. I believe it is lousy because it did not complement the burger. And, in the topic of the bun, I am not the only one who thought the bun could have been better…
6) I am flattered you compare me with a professional. That can only mean I have reached a level where people think I could be one – something I do not think I am nor claim to be!
As for proofreading, agreed, I could do a better job; however, taking into consideration that English is not my first (nor second, nor third) language, I think I am doing a hell of a good job – if I can say so myself!
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