Mama’s Boys Burgers

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Location:

480 Danforth Road, Toronto, M1K 1C7

It’s always exciting to discover a new burger joint. I love burgers and I love good burgers even more. I knew I was going to be in Scarborough so before I went I googled ‘best burger in Scarborough’ and ploughed through the results. One of the places that showed up was a place that I had never heard of before. It was called Mama’s Boys Burgers.

Based on the reviews I read the place sounded awesome. Rave reviews from everyone who had been. Doing my diligent research I saw that they used fresh ground beef ground daily in house. I thought to myself that I had might of just discovered a new favourite, albeit not to close to me but a favourite none the less. It was clear to me that there was nowhere else to go this fine day.

When I got there I saw a typical old school burger joint truck stop. You know the type, like Golden Star, Burger Shack, Dairy Freeze, you know, a 60’s style diner. As I walked in I noticed that on Fridays and Saturday’s they are open till 3:00 am, another good sign that the place was going to be great. The place was somewhat busy (and continued to be so as I ate).

It took me a moment to order. They had 4 oz burgers, called American or 6 oz burgers called Mama’s. I went for the American Double, 8 oz of beef. I also had the choice of grilled or flat-topped. I chose flat-topped of course as they make for the best burgers, especially when the beef is a fresh never frozen patty. The toppings I would do after it was cooked, a la Harvey’s, and for a side I got the fries, for a drink a can of Coke.

As I waited to place my toppings I watched the burger cook in the open grilling area behind the toppings counter. The patties were preformed, not smashed, and there were other things on the flat top such as bacon, souvlaki and gyro’s. After about 6 or 7 my white sesame seed bun was placed down and I picked my toppings. The usual toppings were placed on the bun: lettuce, pickle, onion, tomato, ketchup, mustard. The patties were placed on the burger, it was closed and speared and I got my fries and coke.

Digging into the fries I was not so impressed. They were chunky fries but they weren’t crispy enough. They were okay, but nothing out of this world. Not crispy enough, and being chunky the inside was more baked potato than fry tasting. After a couple of fries I rinsed my mouth out with a gulp of coke and admired the burger. Everything looked good, the bun was hefty, strong, dense and had good bounce. The patties, which were a little smaller than the bun looked good. With the two patties the patty to bun ratio was perfect, one patty I believe would leave a fair amount of bun left over at the end. The toppings looked fresh and I was ready to try this great burger.

I bit into it and juices poured out of the burger. Well done, juicy, a good texture if maybe a minutely bit tougher than it should be but otherwise so far so good. But something was off here with the taste. It wasn’t the lettuce or tomato which were fresh crisp and ripe. It wasn’t the onion (which I could of used more) and it wasn’t the pickle which was overly vinegary. It wan’t the yellow mustard or the somewhat off tasting Ketchup (it wasn’t Heinz which in my opinion means it is always off tasting). No, it was none of those, it was the actually patties.

Within three bites I knew I did not like this burger. These patties tasted almost bad, almost. I could still eat the burger but I really didn’t like it. The patties had a strange taste that I could not place. The patties themselves were just beef with no spices or fillers or anything but they didn’t taste like beef, or at least good beef. Maybe it was the flat-top and all the other things that were cooked on it. Maybe it was bacon I was tasting, maybe it was gyro, or something else. Whatever it was it wasn’t what a burger should taste like. It was close to gross.

I wondered if maybe a grilled burger would taste like this too. I wondered if maybe they never clean their flat-top. I wondered what people were eating when they reviewed this burger online. I wondered if maybe it was just this one burger I was eating and if I came again would it still be the same. I wondered lot’s of things as I tried to finish the burger. In the end I didn’t finish it. I had two or three bites left and lots of fries left. I was full though, more so a full from food that I don’t like than a full from overeating felling.

This has to be one of the most disappointing burger experiences I ever had. I expected greatness but was served mediocrity. Perhaps if I was to come back it would be a better experience but I don’t think I will be. My first impression was terrible and therefore this review reflects that experience. Even the fries weren’t great . Mama’s Boys Burgers, I’m sorry but you and I can’t be friends.

Out of 7 Mama’s Boys Burgers scores 1