Let me begin by saying that T.V. is evil. You should never listen to T.V.

We were watching a rerun of How I Met Your Mother, discussing what we wanted to do to the chicken I had pulled out for dinner. (I mean come on, I try and do something different every time right?) The episode was all about how Marshall wanted to eat the “perfect burger” one more time, but he could not find the place after 8 years of trying. Well after a poetic rant about this burger, we look at each other and both say “I want one.” But I did not have the ingredients to throw together some of our own, nor did I have some frozen ones hidden away in the depths of the freezer.

We agreed that we did not want to eat out that evening, we just wanted the burger. Serendipitously the mail came with a menu for the new barbecue place in town. Woody’s Bar•B•Q, where Webbers used to be down at the lake. (For those Barrie people reading this) We read and found that the menu only contained one burger, the Big Black Angus, but the description sounded good anyway. I called the order in. The person taking the call was fantastic. She was happy, helpful and thorough. It is always pleasant to speak with someone who is happy to help you, no matter what the job.

When I was finished ordering I was told that the order would be ready in less than 15 minutes.

Our Order
2 Big Black Angus Burgers with Bacon and Cheddar
1 Fries
1 Mac ‘n’ Cheese
1 Cole Slaw
1 Baked Potato
1 Gravy

The Price
Burger comes with two sides, $10.99
Bacon and Cheddar $0.99 ea

The Restaurant
We were greeted immediately by a smiling waitress and asked if we wanted a table for two. I said that we had an order for pickup. I was told that it was not a problem, and she got the lady that had helped me over the phone. We paid and the food was being packed as we spoke. The restaurant itself was a cross between a sports bar and a western. There were metal and chalkboard signs with funny slogans on the walls as art, and painted wood trim everywhere. The serving staff was dressed neat and tidy in black. And if you haven’t been in that building before, there is a SPECTACULAR view of the lake. The restaurant itself also smelled of grilled and barbecued food. The smokey scent of charcoal and flame kissed meat perfumed the air nicely. It was not overpowering.

The Food
The first thing I noticed when we left with our meal was that the smokey scent was still there. Either the meat was grilled over natural wood charcoal, or there was some smoking action happening where our food was being prepared… or both. It was a very pleasant aroma and added to our appetites.

When we got in, I started pulling everything out. Unfortunately they missed the gravy for my husband’s fries. The packaging of the takeout was typical. There was nothing fancy about it at all. It was done in a tidy manner, no food spilled in transport. The butter pats and sour cream for my baked potato were in the container with the burger, so the sour cream was warm and the butter completely liquified. I could have gone either way with the butter, but prefer cold sour cream. I added my own chives, having forgotten to ask for them at the restaurant. And they did not ask if we wanted utensils, but provided them anyway.

The side dishes were good for the most part. The fries were neither thick, nor thin, but rather just right, and cooked to golden crispy perfection. We did have to add salt. The Mac ‘n’ cheese was disappointing, and I am not entirely sure it was fresh, as opposed to pre-packaged. The noodles were overdone and the cheese sauce had congealed and did not coat the noodles. Please refer to the Planked Mac ‘n’ Cheese recipe for the real deal. The cole slaw was great. Instead of the typical julienne style – shredded cabbage and carrots, the slaw was chopped to a fine dice like minced garlic. The dressing was creamy but not overpowering. It did well with a little pepper on top. It was also packaged separately from the heated foods so as not to get warm. I found this thoughtful. The baked potato was cooked to perfection. Stored in its own foil wrap, pre sliced for dressing, and fixings on the side. This potato was cooked to absolute perfection. It was marvelous.

Now for the moment you have been waiting for. The burger. I can hear you all screaming at your monitor to get on with it! I know you are!

The half pound of ground angus beef did not have a uniform shape, and seemed to have been made by hand. It fit well on the bun and was topped with fresh ingredients including pickles, tomatoes, onions and lettuce. I topped mine with just ketchup and mustard. It was definitely not fried, but grilled to well done (as per regulations in Canada). Due to the travel time, I feel that the burger was a little overdone, and would have been perfect had we eaten it at a table in the restaurant. Flavour wise, it tasted like a beef burger with no fillers. I felt that they could have used regular ground beef to create the same burger. The recipe used was stripped down to the essence of a burger, that being purely ground meat and few spices. Altogether this was a very pleasant burger, meeting my craving. I am not going to say it was the best ever burger, ever. I would definitely order it again.

All in all, I am looking forward to actually going and experiencing Woody’s Bar•B•Q in restaurant. The staff is friendly and helpful, the sides are good and the view is spectacular.

Happy Eating!