5 new burgers in Toronto you need to try at least once
New burgers in Toronto are turning up the heat on one of the city's favourite dishes.
With the return of baseball season in Toronto, it seems like all anyone can talk about in the city is hot dogs, but what about their disc-shaped, cheddar-topped cousins? I'm, of course, talking about the humble hamburger, which, like the hot dog, is among Toronto's most enduring go-to fast-food favourites.
While the burger culture in this city is well-established to say the least, new places to eat them are always popping up and, as we trundle toward summertime, the primal urge to sink one's teeth into a patty, be it smashed, grilled or dripping with jus is only ramping up, which makes it particularly exciting that we've recently gotten a whole class of new burgers to try.
Be it a delightfully messy, tropical-inspired masterpiece from a neighbourhood cocktail bar or a concise, classically dressed smash burger that hits every note, these are the new burgers in Toronto you need to try.
Mista Boiga
Geary Avenue's Big Trouble Pizza may have gone the way of the dodo, but the burgers it once slung as a side business have taken over, and they're very much deserving of their newfound solo career.
Perfectly balanced smash burgers are available in three different flavours, ranging from classic all-dressed to out-of-the-box, with the occasional rotating special, but you really can't go wrong no matter what you choose.
New York Sliders
This viral burger joint has already made a splash in the GTA with locations in Brampton and Mississauga, but its new Queen West location finally brings the flavour to downtown Toronto.
The stars of the show here are, unsurprisingly, sliders, and they come in no small number of shapes and sizes. From Oklahoma-style beef patties to grilled halloumi sliders and slider-sized chopped cheese sandwiches, these fun-sized bites make it possible to sample as many as you like.
Cassette
This newly minted restaurant and social hub at the Gladstone Hotel may not be exclusively devoted to burgers, but the ones that appear on its menu are not to be passed up.
Opt for the classic Gladstone burger, dressed in caramelized onions, Gruyere cheese, pickles and Marie Rose sauce or get Greek with the lamb sliders, which feature lamb kofta patties, sumac salad, cucumber and tzatziki.
Two Hands
It's right there in the name: you'll want to have all phalanges at the ready before you attempt to pick up your burger from this Little Italy hidden gem.
Here, you can choose between a classic cheeseburger, bacon cheeseburger with caramelized onion or, if you're feeling fancy, the truffle berry burger, with arugula, pickled red onion, Swiss cheese, truffle aioli and blueberry relish. Just make sure you double up on the napkins.
Bar Etc.
Tropical-inspired cocktails with unexpected twists are the ticket at this Leslieville cocktail bar, but its food offerings — and, in particular, one particularly unique burger — are not to be missed.
Taking inspiration from the almighty Hawaiian pizza, the simply named pineapple smash burger is so much more than what it sounds like: an Oklahoma-style beef smash burger with peameal bacon, pineapple chutney, togarashi aioli and cheddar.
Fareen Karim at Cassette
