Quest

September 2006

'Wich Hunt

Good things come in threes By Amy Rosen

Mini-meal: Avenue's beef and foie gras trio Mini-meal: Avenue's beef and foie gras trio
Image credit: Finn O'Hara

The official food of the filmerati, mini-burgers are bona fide A-listers around Hollywood, Cannes (though not, it should be noted, at last spring’s Fast Food Nation after-party) and, of course, at Toronto’s International Film Festival. Usually served in triplets, these babies are also known as “sliders,” perhaps for the ease with which they’re eaten. Not that they’re simple: minis often come loaded with luxury ingredients. The burgers below bear some resemblance to their full-figured kin, but sized down and sexed up. Kind of like Kirstie Alley in those Jenny Craig spots. They’re ready for their close-ups.

The Place The Plate The Beef The Toppings The Verdict
Avenue,
Four Seasons, 21 Avenue Rd., 416-964-0411; served from 5 p.m. to midnight
Mini-beef and foie gras burgers (three for $20) arrive with Perigord truffle mayo and exquisitely crisp shoestrings. Generous three-ounce Kobe sliders are medium rare, as requested. Torchon, crisp bibb and sliced tomato, mini-bottles of condiments, cornichon and pickled onions. Decadent, juicy. The clear winner in the mini-burger wars.
Azure Restaurant,
InterContinental Toronto Centre, 225 Front St. W., 416-597-8142; lounge menu after 2 p.m.
Mini-burgers are golf ball–size patties (three for $14) on sesame and poppy seed buns, sided with Harvey’s-esque fries (a good thing). Alberta ground round in one-and-a-half-ounce portions. Lord only knows why it takes 35 minutes to grill them. Sautéed onions, bacon, peppers and, on one mini, an earthy wild mushroom duxelle. Good but a titch dry.
Hal Burgers,
244 Adelaide St. W., 416-979‑8787
Hal’s Burger Trio ($9) sports bamboo skewers and sides of house-made ketchup and grainy mustard. Hand-cut shoestrings are deliciously salty and peppery. Two-ounce patties of fresh-ground aged Alberta beef; could be moister, but nicely charred. One’s got a slice of plum tomato, organic leaf lettuce and red onion; the next, melting sharp cheddar; the third, a slice of grilled chorizo. A casual vibe, organic sides, good burgers and fries.
The Drake Hotel,
1150 Queen St. W., 416-531‑5042; available after 4 p.m.
MDBs (short for Mini Drake Burgers, three for $11.95) arrive with such daily-changing garnishes as avocado chunks, roasted cherry tomatoes or coleslaw. Two and a half ounces of seared organic ground chuck. Sweet onion jam, old Ontario cheddar and chipotle aïoli, albeit in minuscule amounts. Tasty, if not fabulously juicy.

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