The Intrepid Gastronomer: Ambrosia on a bun

A review of Burger Heaven

By KP Davis, Foodie

The burger. The American classic. Few foods have become more ubiquitous with the cheap and fast meal than a hunk of beef overly garnished between two halves of a bun. Some places, let’s call them “gourmet burger joints,” have upped the game by adding a wide variety of add-ons to the mix, but I find very few do it as well as Burger Heaven.

The atmosphere of the restaurant is tight, with tables placed around every corner so that you need to weave your way through the tiny dining area almost like it was a maze. The walls are covered in novelty licence plates, clocks, rough cedar lattice work, and pictures of happy customers from Burger Heaven’s long history. It’s like a rustic truck stop in the middle of New Westminster.

The menu was cheeky. One of the first things I noticed was their “Gimme a Beer” option, where the server brings you a healthy pint of whatever they feel like. I lucked out with the Russell Cream Ale. For beer, the menu was very straightforward, no local microbrews here. This was made up for by the large selection of milkshakes, both regular and spiked. I tried the strawberry, and I was pleased to find it smooth, creamy, and not overly sweet, and there was a lot of it to boot.

The portion sizes were very respectable. Most burgers worked from a basic burger and then built up ingredients. As tempting as it was to join their “mile high club”—a massive four patty burger with the works—I decided to go for more basic fare. “The insanity”—a cheeseburger between two grilled cheese sandwiches, was also intriguing, but I ultimately passed on it.

I started with “The Works” and discovered a delicious balance of ingredients. It was a good, basic burger with onion, pickle, mushrooms, bacon, and two kinds of cheese. The patty was soft yet charred, a perfect medium well with no filler or anything overly spiced. It ended up being quite the big mouthful. Juicy, though maybe a little heavy on the mayonnaise, it balanced well with the rustic whole wheat bun. By the last bite, even though the structural integrity of the burger was failing, there was still a surplus of delicious ingredients to spare. The wedges that came with the burger were brutally simple. No spice or herb, just chunks of hand-cut fried potato with a little salt, and almost a baked potato or hash-brown texture. The salad was a very basic mix of greens and carrots.

Next, I went exotic with the “Elk Burger.” It was juicy and savoury with sautéed onions and mushrooms that balanced out the slightly gamey elk. Wild game can be difficult, but this was absolutely amazing. Finally, I tried the “Teriyaki Hawaiian” with chicken. Salty ham and sweet pineapple balanced very well, and the chicken was tender and not overly spiced, letting the other ingredients come to the front.

Burger Heaven has a long history in New Westminster, and though it might be tempting for a place like that to just coast on its laurels, with food like this I see them enjoying a long, heavenly future. Burger Heaven can be found at #77 – 10th Street, New Westminster.