- review on the restaurant: Le Gourmet Burger, 1433B Bishop St. (Montreal) -

by M♥

Let me just start this post by a confession or preferably an admission… I LOVE BURGERS. Whether it be from a fast food restaurant (with careful selection), a pub or an upscale restaurant, often are the times I’ll choose a burger over hot wings or a filet mignon. So, if i get the opportunity to try out a new burger somewhere, my reaction is immediate – let’s go!

I was introduced to Le Gourmet Burger by my good friend Nanaa, fashion designer for the line Coccolily, and I am grateful to her ever since. The concept of the place is simple: choose your burger, choose your gourmet toppings. The ultimate personalized burger experience… AAHHH-lelujah! THIS definitely needed to be the first place to talk about on Paperplanes’ food section.

On a given afternoon, Organic Diva and I stepped in Le Gourmet Burger to meet with the owner George Najjar, already salivating from the smell and sound of burgers cooking and the convivial sound of customers chatting up over their meal. We sat down and started talking burgers over our own gourmet burgers.

Before Georges opened Le Gourmet Burger, he underwent years of extensive research on burger joints around the world from South Africa to Korea, the States and here, for he had the idea of opening a place as such for years as well. Once the concept was clearly formulated in his mind as with the decor and menu, it was time to take action. He found a spot close to Kafeïn Bar, another place he owns on Bishop St.

The Place

This charming eating spot is located on Bishop street, where nearby university students often find hunger solace. The space is  so inviting, with its open interior layout and a refreshing color palette of earth colors (brown, green, white and metallic) found on the brick wall, furnishing and accesories. The homemade feel of the place brings an automatic laid-back atmosphere that makes you want to sit-back with friends and have a good time over a nice fresh meal.

The Food

At Le Gourmet Burger, you are guaranteed to get a über-fresh meat, carved on-the-spot in the size you want (full sized or mini sized), with the toppings you want such as guacamole, mushrooms, eggplant, bacon (of course!), grilled eggs, caramelised figues, sweet red pepper, just to name a few and a rich array of cheese like brie and provologne and just as rich choice of mayonnaises. Trust me, you’re in for a treat! And Georges is open to new suggestions. Recently, he added sun-dried tomatoes to the menu. Excellent choice!

For the meat-haters and open-minded meat-lovers, the veggie burger is not the commonly known burger-that-taste-like-meat-but-isn’t-made-of-meat. NO… it’s a real veggie burger, made with real veggies that taste like real veggies. I personally call it the Shameless veggie burger, ’cause there’s no shame in loving the taste of vegetables.

You have the choice between regular fries and sweet potato fries (we recommend the latter). And Georges introduced a new crispier sweet patato fries, and we were there as food tasters to try it out. Personally I liked both recipes.

The good thing about Le Gourmet Burger is that by choosing what you want in your burger, you automatically want to come back and try some more topping combinations. There is much more to say about Le Gourmet Burger, but I’d rather you stop reading and go get yourself a burger. Say Paperplanes sent you, hi hi!

But all in all, before you go…

Our coup-de-coeurs (favorite things)

The fries holder, the out-of-restroom sink (’cause oftentimes, we just wanna wash our hands), the Boylan black cherry soda, the 360 degrees mirrored washroom, and the friendly-service. Don’t forget to check out their website and blog at www.legourmetburger.com

M♥

P.S.: When you take a mini-burger, the toppings (usually 1$ each) are 1/2 price. Try three minis with different toppings on each or different meat. That’s the ultimate experience.

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