Rumbling for burgers at Romers

Needing some girlfriend time and some comfort food...me and the BFF headed to Romer's Burger Bar's newest location in the SW Marine & Kerr area. It was her decision and I had to do some preliminary research...so I spent most of my morning drooling at their website. 

Although we both ordered burgers, the first thing to arrive were the garlic fries. Holy crap, they weren't kidding when they said garlic, eh? Chunks of raw garlic with sea-salted fries. Yes, kiddies, I said it, raw garlic, none of that sweet mellow roasted garlic you are thinking of, this is in-your-face RAW garlic. It makes for the best aroma when it lands on the table, but if you're like me, start offering to EVERYONE at the table. If you are the only one having raw garlic, you're just being mean. But once they start, dare them to stop! The fries itself were good too, with a crisp outside and a tender inside. Eat them when they come, don't bother waiting for the burger, these fries are best when they burn your tongue a little! 

Since there were two of us and we had ordered two burgers, it only stood to reason that we would order two sides, right? So we decided to go for one of my favourites, the onion rings. Very crispy and delicate, they were dusted with a lightly grated sprinkle of reggiano. Once you bite into them, the onion comes apart from the batter and you're left with a crunchy exterior. Some people might love that but I like a bite of onion throughout my onion ring, and that was missing here. I had to note too, that the batter itself was bland, I think they need to add some salt and smoked paprika to the batter to punch it up a bit. Texture was excellent, but taste was a little mild. Mind you, I had a clove of raw garlic before this, so my taste buds might be wonky here. 

The BFF ordered the Rodeo Burger, described on their website as a burger flavoured with Aancho starbuck spice, topped with applewood bacon, red onions, tomatoes, horseradish jack and cilantro, yes, cilantro. Oh, and it would have come with a blob of  smoky bbq sauce but she got it on the side...as you can see.  All their burgers come with an olive and a pepperoncini, a pickled pepper, sorry, it got cut off from the photo.

Oh, and here's what you get when you "make it green". Instead of the yummy and light brioche bun (yes, I stole a bite off the BFF's ), your patty is sandwiched with two wedges of iceberg lettuce. They charge you $0.75 more for the honour which I think is kind of silly, since you're saving them the brioche bun, but @RomersBurger, if you're listening...care to explain? 

Never one to eat a burger without analyzing it, I peeled the iceberg top off and was glad I did. I asked for a spoon and scraped the mayo off the top first. But then I noticed...the perfectly cooked short rib sitting atop a burger patty, drenched in a gorgonzola cheese sauce and with some apple smoked bacon in between. Upon lifting the burger patty itself, I discovered some red onions which I removed, since I don't like raw onions. Oh, and you can see the pepperoncini in all its glory. 

And after all that food, we had to take a break and walked outside to enjoy the rather warm day. And right outside Romers is a doggy parking lot. Too cute! Alas, I digress...after the break, we were ready for dessert, and oh, what a dessert we had in store for us! 

We were too full for the Kraus Bakery Pie, but there is always room for donuts. So we placed an ordered and awaited the sweet heaven to come. For $5, you get about 10 mini donuts...fresh from the fryer. The donuts are great, but the highlights are the sauces on the side. From the top, we've got a limoncello dip, then a maple whisky dip, ending with a kahlua nutella dip. Oh, I know people wax poetic about the maple whisky, but I have to say, the kahlua nutella has a depth of flavour and syrupy texture that really can't be beat. Most people know I love tart desserts, but donuts and limoncello just don't jive. Try them all for yourself and let me know if you agree!