Tags
burger bar, burger joints, burgers, Crisp Asian Slaw, Food, impromptu lunch, London Olympics 2012, Mango Mint Iced Tea, mushroom burger, olympic record, Poutine, Romer's Burger Bar, Urbanspoon, Vancouver
With no set plans for the weekend, I was sleeping in until I got a text message from Vince. Apparently he was in the area for an appointment and wondered if I would be interested in meeting up for lunch afterwards.
We spent the next little while trying to figure out what to eat and where to eat for our impromptu lunch. We finally narrowed it down to burgers and I turned to one of my online resources (aka Urbanspoon) to find something in the area. Aside from the usual A&W, White Spot and various other chain burger joints, I came across another suggestion for Romer’s Burger Bar. We decided to check it out.
Romer’s Burger Bar at the River District location
When we first arrived at Romer’s, it didn’t seem too busy. Perhaps we had just missed the lunch rush? We were even given the option of sitting on the patio or inside. Opting for the inside seating, we were given a table close enough to the patio but still “inside” the burger bar We were able to enjoy the fresh air from the exterior while watching bits of the London Olympics on the television. However, before focusing on the television, we first needed to order our meals.
view from our seats
Romer’s Burger Bar menus
The burger assembly line
Faced with so many options, as always, I needed an extra minute to decide on my order. Our friendly server had to come back a couple of times to check on us while I tried to decide on what I felt like having. I started off with Mango Mint Iced Tea which I quite enjoyed. The mango and mint blend was interesting and refreshing.
My Mango Mint Iced Tea… so refreshing!
When it came to the actual meal, I struggled between ordering a burger or one of two salad entrees. After a bit of thinking, I decided on getting a burger (I’m at a burger joint, right?) and the mushroom burger won out hands down. I had not ever considered any of the other burger options because I love mushrooms on my burger. To satisfy my salad craving, I ordered a side salad instead of a side of fries. Vince was a little quicker in deciding what he wanted to eat. He opted for a burger and a side of poutine. It was a rather expensive side of poutine. I tried a bit of it but perhaps he may want to go to Preston’s or Dunn’s to try their tasty interpretations of poutine.
- Vince’s Man’s Man Burger
Vince’s side order of Braised Short-Rib Poutine
My order of Magic Mushroom Burger and Crisp Asian Slaw
When my burger came, I saw a blob of white in there. I tried to think back of what was supposed to be in the burger and we wondered if it was something like blue cheese. I am not a fan of blue cheese. No, that is an understatement — I dislike blue cheese. I guess it’s an acquired taste that I never managed to acquire. I was worried that I had missed it when reading the menu and decided to take my fork to try a little. At least it was in a big blob format and I’d be able to push it off to the side if it was what I dreaded. Turns out that big blob of white stuff is most likely garlic butter. (And if it is actually blue cheese and someone from Romer’s ever reads this blog post.. please do not shatter my belief that it is not blue cheese. I know that people are always saying not to hide from the truth but this is one time that I can do without — if it is blue cheese.)
We had a great lunch and decided that this is a place worth revisiting to try other options on the menu. I was also happy to watch a bit of Roger Federer in a tennis match and the Australian team make an olympic record in the Women’s 4X100m Freestyle Relay event. Vince also discovered they have free Wi-Fi and we watched a few olympic blunder(falls) video clips as well.
Nice blog…I scanned most it and agree it’s a place to revisit a few times to try out other burgers, etc…a touch pricey IMHO though…
Thanks for dropping by and leaving a comment, SLaw!
Do you have a favourite menu item?
You’re right.. it is a touch pricey. $11 for the mushroom burger and that doesn’t include sides. Another $3 for the asian slaw and $4 for the drink. I think the poutine was like $10 although it was a much bigger side order than my side salad.
I also love mushrooms on my burger. Period.
Aren’t they just the best? Sometimes they make a messy meal… but well worth it!
True that! I love hardees mushroom n swiss burger! the best
melted swiss cheese and mushrooms… yummy!
Ok, not only did you eat a great burger, you also ate some poutine. I really, really want to eat poutine. Soon.
I only tried one small sample of my friend’s poutine. My burger was good enough for my meal.
From all the places you have been, where was your favourite for poutine?
Embarrassingly, I have never eaten poutine in my life. It is one of the things that is high on my to-eat list. I guess it is also a bit difficult to get in The Netherlands, so that is also an unfortunate reason why I have never eaten it.
Oh! Definitely a “must try” … then you can decide if it is worth eating again. Here’s what wikipedia had to say about poutine. But just so you know, it’s probably not the healthiest food choice out there.
A quick google search shows that many people have discussed the health risks of too much poutine.