Nimby Burger

Nimby Burger
2210 Cornwall Avenue
Vancouver, BC

What? Another burger place post? Well, true, I wrote about Five Guys Burgers and Fries last week but, considering that the rest of the posts for this week would have ended up being that of Asian restaurants, I thought, nah, this might be “worth it”…

Now, Nimby Burger (as in… Not In My Back Yard?) has made some noise in the last couple of weeks, including what I believe is the best method of testing if the restaurant (as set up) works: serve their food free. I mean, why should I pay a restaurant if they are still tweaking things? Aside from that is the fact it imitates principles similar to that of a well known burger shop in the US, In-n-Out Burger. While I haven’t been to In-n-Out, at least I know how I like my burger. With that in mind, I went there the weekend after they opened.

I arrived about 15 or so minutes after noon. It was a drizzling that day but not enough to discourage me from ordering outside. Yup, you order outside and have fun finding a place to eat them! But, of course, before I even consider it, is the process of ordering and wait for your order.

My order of fries being, well, fried!

I ordered a dooblay, which is two patties and two slices of cheese, along with some fries and a drink. I wanted to go overkill and order the milk shake as well; however, I was a bit too early and they weren’t ready to dish those out. After almost ten minutes, which I consider was somewhat long, I got my order and walked to the nearby beach. As in *this* beach…

Yes, alas, it was cloudy…

As mentioned, a dooblay and fries. Some noticeable things right away: Unlike a lot of burger shops, the burger wasn’t completely wrapped. That is double-edge sword: if you are not planning to eat it right away, it gets cold really easily; however, since it is not fully wrapped, it does not get “steamed” inside by the heat of the beef patty. I would assume most people would buy it and eat it right away so that won’t be an issue.

Before moving to the burger, let’s go to the fries. When Sherman visited Nimby Burger, he made mentioned they were “limp, oil-soaked and lifeless, they need to be better”. After he made mention of it, Nimby Burger’s management mentioned they had “fixed” it. So, did they fix it? Well, it wasn’t limp nor oil-soaked or lifeless. Instead, it was just starchy and devoid of any taste… Part of the problem is that, since they are made to order, it can’t really achieve that fluffy inside, crispy outside texture. Furthermore, it seems they held back some seasoning so… No.

Now, back to the burger, it wasn’t as heavy as the one I had at Five Guys. The meat had a soft texture while also showing some slight char taste. From that perspective, it was good. Since the patties were thin, I wasn’t expecting too much in term of juices; however, in the end, other condiments made it slightly damp. Not necessarily something I would have expected; instead, it had mixed feelings. It add some more taste but too much liquid detracted the overall eating experience. On that note, I didn’t see a bacon option and no mention was made about lettuce or tomatoes so I assume these are “by default”.

While I want to compare it to Five Guys, reality is that I can’t. Part of the reason is the price difference, as each dooblay is $5.50. On its own, it is decent, just you have to answer the question of whether this small, somewhat light burger is worth that price. However, the rest… Not necessarily so. Did I mention the fries were $2.50 and pop was $2.75? ($3 for milk shake). If we keep that in mind, suddenly the price gets closer to what I paid at Five Guys which would make Nimby a loser from that perspective. So, to me, in the bigger scheme, while it has some qualities of its own, in the end, I believe there are better options. Burger Burger anybody?

Tagged under: Beef • Burgers • Kitsilano • Vancouver