The ACME Burger Company: All Your Burger Are Belong To Us
735 The Queensway 
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Phone: 416.916.5333
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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...
Comments (25)
From the teaser that doesn't allow comments:
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.
Now that I've read the review, please go back and rewrite the whole thing, minus stretching Baudrillard references, slugs at other BlogTO writers, spelling mistakes, and that mess of a 'what your combo comes with' line.
I'm going to go eat a burger now.
My friend and I must have gone when Acme Burgers was having an off day. The service was horrible and the burgers weren't much better.
The sides were good though and was probably the only good thing about the meal.
After you finish your burger, Jordan, take heed of the following: your website is ugly, none of the links work, and I'd be hesitant to hire a "design studio" for a job when they have to use someone else's stock photography as the primary image on their landing page. Did you just recently discover you could download photoshop off a torrent site or something? BLECH!
It's an uncoded splash screen and my own image, thank you for noticing! But I'm glad that you can write in full sentences.
I decided to try the burgers!! Awesome! Great topping too, everything fresh! Service with a smile! Give it a try!
frank you did a great job the place is perfect the burgers sooooooooooo tasty it is realy " mouthwatring would be an understatmant" i think they brought the quality product from fine dining resturant into the fast food chain.The price is fair the place is very clean fresh drop not pre cooked many toppings to choose from, frindly and fast service .
I went there just before New Year's Day. I tried maneuvering over a piece of cardboard in the parking lot. That piece of cardboard turned out to be part of the curb, and now my bumper is flapping in the wind.
Burger was good though. Service was superb.
New location opening soon beside Aroma Expresso bar in the Annex. Good coffee+good burgers+good falafel+good movies in a row? Cool.:)
I had a burger the other day as I was lost and found ACME, decided to stop for dinner and boy was I suprised...it was one of the best burgers I have had. I will be a regular and hope more ACME's pop up in my home town of burlington.
Had a chicken burger with bacon at the Annex location. They cooked it up, gave me what I asked for on the bun, then forgot the bacon. Burger sat there, shivering in the cold. Waited only a minute though! That's all it takes to cook a piece of raw bacon apparently. Brought it to the table and started eating, only to find a stringy, cold slice of TURKEY bacon. That's not real bacon!
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.
I went to Acme burger and I found the food there to be amazing. I was very surprised. The place was extremly well kept and the staff was wonderful ( There is an employee who works there and I was wondering if anyone new her name ) To shy to ask!
Over all i give Acme Burger 10/10
I went there last night for the first time and I absolutely loved the burger. As you watch the beef cook on their grill, you can tell it is nothing less than superb quality meat. I think they had a pretty good variety of toppings and sauces which im a huge fan of. Sweet potato fries and onion rings were pretty good too. Most importantly, the burger and the bun were better than the 3/5 that this site had me expecting. I definitely think this place is much better than any fast food place i've been to. Aside from maybe Stanley's in Mississauga, i personally havent had a better burger in Toronto. I also enjoyed the Turkey bacon. Does anyone know if this food is kosher/halal? I eat everything but pork but i imagine people would line-up for this place if it were either of the two. Thanks.
Joon-ya : I don't think there food is kosher nor halal. But if you plan to go back there just ask them.
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 :)
I went to Acme Burger on Royal York and Queensway and may I say they have the best burgers I've ever tasted. Extremely clean, great variety of topics to choose from and many different items on there menu.Going back there for me is a must! I was very impressed with everything and extremely satisfied with the food. Great job Acme Burger!
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.
Joon-ya, they serve dairy and meat together. That means they are definitely not kosher and probably not halal either.
I had their burger many times since I have tried it for the first time 6 months ago, I truly beleive it is the best burger in town. The burger is just sooo juicy and hits the right spot. Their fries are addictive and their milkshake is to die for, try the vanilla strawberry mix,mmmm. I give it 2 thumbs up, they won a long lasting loyal customer. Sorry Heros & Lick's, you have been dumped :)
Acme burger is terrible. They burn the meat, take forever, you have to repeat your toppings like 5 times before they get everything on there. The "Acme Sauce" tastes like fish/tartar sauce or something, and it blows. Screw Acme Burger. If you're in Etobicoke for a burger why aren't you at Apache or Chubby's?
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