Although I've been to the Romer's Burger Bar in Fraserview, I hadn't been to the one in Kits. So one day after work, we decided to go and give it a shot. Although I had tried the Onion Rings before and had found them a bit too crumbly for my liking, I wanted to give them another shot. From the description, with the dusting of cheese, reggiano to be exact, and some thyme as well, we thought this could work. Same light batter, but this time, the onion stuck through the whole time, so that I wasn't just left with empty batter. The dill sauce was good as well, nice and tart. They also have three types of Wings available, measured by degree of messiness. This is the "not so messy" which is essentially Salt and Pepper. We asked for a side of the Hot Butter Sauce as well. Had we gotten the wings WITH the sauce all over it (add some gorgonzola to that too), it would have been the "slightly messy" version. What's the outright "messy" version? It's their Spicy Thai wings. We didn't give those a try, but I'm tempted to for next time. This was their Burger of the Month when we went, (back in May 2012) and it's called the Spicy Q. It's a burger based on a craft beer! The onions and mushrooms are braised in a BBQ/Beer sauce. The grass-fed beef is on the bottom, with the onions and mushrooms on top. But wait, there's more, add some smoked provolone and crispy pancetta to that, and top it all off with a some fried jalapenos. There was some watercress and tomatoes for "health" reasons, but they were barely noticeable beneath the burger and toppings. This was a massive burger, the kind where the juices are flowing down to your elbow. The mixture of flavours is insane, with the onions being so sweet and soft, the pancetta being salty and crunchy, and then you add the cheesiness of the melting provolone along with the heat of the jalepenos? This was a very satisfying burger The lightly toasted brioche bun was under tremendous pressure to hold everything in! Whenever I go, I always get the Righteous Rib Burger, where the patty is topped with thick-sliced applewood bacon, and a healthy dose of braised short rib. There are some raw onions as well and the garilcky sauce has notes of Gorgonzola in it too. You'll notice that I don't have the brioche bun with my burger, instead, I "made it green" and they serve it with two thick chunks of iceberg lettuce instead. Somehow, this makes me feel better about inhaling a burger with short rib loaded on top. The lettuce is substantial enough to keep it all together, it's not just flimsy leaf or two.
On a repeat visit, we tried the Chorizodor, where the patty is actually a house-made chorizo patty, made nice and spicy. There are three cheeses on this, a cheddar, a pepper jack and the creamy boursin. It's supposed to come with avocado but I'm not a fan, so we skipped it completely. If the chorizo isn't spicy enough for you, they add a bit of their Diablo sauce for some extra kick. Take Note:
They charge extra to "make it green"
They have a salmon and halibut options if you don't eat red meat
There is also a vegetarian option call the Portobello Stack, where the portobello serves as the bun to fresh, grilled and roasted veggies
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!
Although I had tried the Onion Rings before and had found them a bit too crumbly for my liking, I wanted to give them another shot. From the description, with the dusting of cheese, reggiano to be exact, and some thyme as well, we thought this could work. Same light batter, but this time, the onion stuck through the whole time, so that I wasn't just left with empty batter. The dill sauce was good as well, nice and tart. 
They also have three types of Wings available, measured by degree of messiness. This is the "not so messy" which is essentially Salt and Pepper. We asked for a side of the Hot Butter Sauce as well. Had we gotten the wings WITH the sauce all over it (add some gorgonzola to that too), it would have been the "slightly messy" version. What's the outright "messy" version? It's their Spicy Thai wings. We didn't give those a try, but I'm tempted to for next time.
This was their Burger of the Month when we went, (back in May 2012) and it's called the Spicy Q. It's a burger based on a craft beer! The onions and mushrooms are braised in a BBQ/Beer sauce. The grass-fed beef is on the bottom, with the onions and mushrooms on top. But wait, there's more, add some smoked provolone and crispy pancetta to that, and top it all off with a some fried jalapenos. There was some watercress and tomatoes for "health" reasons, but they were barely noticeable beneath the burger and toppings. This was a massive burger, the kind where the juices are flowing down to your elbow. The mixture of flavours is insane, with the onions being so sweet and soft, the pancetta being salty and crunchy, and then you add the cheesiness of the melting provolone along with the heat of the jalepenos? This was a very satisfying burger The lightly toasted brioche bun was under tremendous pressure to hold everything in! 
Whenever I go, I always get the Righteous Rib Burger, where the patty is topped with thick-sliced applewood bacon, and a healthy dose of braised short rib. There are some raw onions as well and the garilcky sauce has notes of Gorgonzola in it too. You'll notice that I don't have the brioche bun with my burger, instead, I "made it green" and they serve it with two thick chunks of iceberg lettuce instead. Somehow, this makes me feel better about inhaling a burger with short rib loaded on top. The lettuce is substantial enough to keep it all together, it's not just flimsy leaf or two. 
