Restaurants
The ACME Burger Company: All Your Burger Are Belong To Us
Toronto's been burbling with digital chatter lately on just who serves the city's ace burger. There are more opinions on the T.O.'s fave sandwich stalwart than there are obscure pop culture references in a Ryan Couldrey post. And heck, to their credit, you couldn't swing a coyote lately without hitting a new burger joint opening up to near-messianic expectation ready to feed Toronto's nearly insatiable craving for grill-kissed ground beef. Sure, We all think we know the contenders (and the pretenders), but before you post that 'best-of-2007' list, have a look westward cos what you'll find there might just surprise you.
Nestled on a generic stretch of the Queensway tucked in-between strip malls, big box super-gargantuan-mega complexes and the odd purveyor of modular furniture of Scandinavian design hides the ACME Burger Company. The dining equivalent of a borg drone separated from it's cube, it's truly a restaurant in search of a franchise.
The first thing you notice entering the clean, well-organized space is just how generic everything feels. Take in the utter lack of idiosyncrasy of your surroundings awash in a well-orchestrated sense of 50s diner chrome with a hygienic, ultramodern-modern touch. Sidle up one of those blonde wooden tables that could have been purloined from the aforementioned local Scando-shop and if you can pull yourself away from the pleasant flicker of CP 24 bubbling from a flat panel TV above the door, you'll notice the branding exercise that makes this place feel suspiciously like any Harvey's, Lick's, or insert-burger-chain-name-here. It's actually a little eerie. Stranger still is that, as well manufactured as the experience seems, there actually doesn't seem to be another location besides this particular outlet of the ACME Burger Company-- anywhere! In fact, the only thing that's peculiar about a place that seems to be singularly un-peculiar is the beat up tables and chairs out front for al-fresco parking lot diners adding just the faintest whiff of quirkiness.
Luckily, the menu will get your mind off this Baudrillardian space's over-developed sense of simulation as you tuck in to a burger that's far from generic.
Acme's burgers, as the signage so proudly trumpets, are made from 100% Angus beef and come in either a reasonable 4 oz ($4.75, $6.45 in combo config.w/fries/fountain drink) or a healthy 6 oz ($5.75, $7.45 ). The patty's flame-grilled to order: well-done-but-not-dried-out (sorry folks ACME plays by the rules). The standard supporting cast is all there and all fresh with a tip of the hat to Lick's 'guk' in the form of the creamy, garlicky ACME sauce.
I order the 6 oz. "ACME Burger Signature" combo (6 oz., natch-- $8.75) which adds peameal bacon and a slice of real cheddar, lettuce, tomato, sliced red onion and ACME sauce and couldn't be happier with my choice. It's a testament to the quality of the beef that it is as utterly tasty naked as it is buried in the works-- toothsome and juicy, it stands up well to whatever condiments you throw at it.
The sides also surprise. Upgrade your combo for a buck and get a fantastically ice-creamy milkshake that'll do as nicely for desert as a hangover cure. Choose chubby, onion rings arriving crisp and piping hot, the perfect balance between onion and batter; or in my case, the fries: fresh-cut, English-chip thick, crispy golden outside and fluffy white inside, ready to be sprinkled with a little extra salt and whatever vinegar or ketchup you throw at them; truly some of the the city's best. I personally wouldn't mind a satellite outlet in my neck of the woods if it meant being a little closer to this stand-out spuds.
The service is also exceptional as long as you're not taking pictures of the place. Pleasant and accommodating to any request, they are one more example of how this place exceeds expectations of the run-of-the-mill burger experience.
So the next time you're hunting for home furnishings out south (no, not north) Etobicoke way and have a carnivorous craving, you should definitely be a little wily and head for The ACME Burger Company--Don't let the sign fool you, it's actually decent diner grub just disguised as franchise fodder and perhaps the prototype for a better burger chain-- either way, prepare to be assimilated...
Discussion
33 Comments
Sort By Oldest First / Newest First
Subscribe
Nestled on a generic stretch of the Queensway, tucked in-between strip malls, big box super-gargantuan-mega complexes and the odd purveyor of modular furniture of Scandinavian design, hides the ACME Burger Company-- the dining equivalent of a borg drone separated from it's cube, it's truly, a restaurant in search of a franchise.
Please go back and rewrite this sentence.
I'm going to go eat a burger now.
The sides were good though and was probably the only good thing about the meal.
Burger was good though. Service was superb.
For almost a dollar extra, I was expecting a few sweet pieces of crunchy bacon.
When I had finished, went up to look at the menu. No mention of Turkey bacon. I asked the cashier, she blinked at me. "You didn't like it?" blinnnnnk. "Oh." blinnnnnnnk.
I've been there four other times so far. Good food. Lose the bacon, improve the pickles (those are not burger pickles) and give the staff some personality.
Over all i give Acme Burger 10/10
Evan: There is a lot of staff working there so you have to be more specific but i think the girl you are asking about is the same one that everyone talks about and her name is Khristina.
Hope i was a little bit of help to you :)
Joon-ya: Unfortunately the food there is not kosher/ halal ... but it would be an amazing idea if it was.
Evan: I must agree with you the girl (khristina) is indeed really cute.
What I do miss is the old burger joint that used to be there and replaced with Acme. **Mr.Tasty's* was the GREATEST. I remember my dad taking me there when i was younger. AWW I miss that place. :(
2 thumbs down
Naturally the web site doesn't have a contact/comment section.
Inspection finding: Yellow (Conditional Pass)
Number of infractions: 5 (Minor: 1, Significant: 3, Crucial: 1)
Crucial infractions include: Inadequate food temperature control
although yes, food is good when we make it right, I refuse to eat here because of the wage theft and inequities I faced and MANY MANY other employees faced working there. He owes many of my friends over 1000$.. pays 8.70$ no time and half, never pays on time,gotta wait a month, and sometimes not even in full..
so understand when I say I cannot SUPPORT HIS BUSINESS.
i'm not saying to stop eating there (although that is what I said starting my comment) I just think if you eat there, you support what he does. This is just a friendly warning..this place has left me scarred. Worst job experience of my life. Ministry of Labour is involved. Support your fellow labour participants for equal pay and their rights!