Wandering around a mall as sprawling as Balzac’s CrossIron Mills can work up an appetite.
Down towards the taxidermy gauntlet known as Bass Pro Shops and well away from any food court is a place to wrestle that appetite to the floor. South St. Burger Co. is part of the New York Fries empire and so far, the only one in Alberta is in the mall.
This is a busy eatery on weekends. On a Sunday it was lined up almost continuously and diners can’t always find a seat. When we showed up, customers passed the time in line by watching the NHL playoffs on a wall-mounted TV.
The beef used is “naturally” raised, they say and done so without antibiotics or hormones at Silver Creek Ranch, west of Water Valley.
We went with a combo with one of those beef burgers and others with a vegetarian patty, as well as a chicken burger. All include small fries and a drink for $8.79 for the first two and $9.79 for the latter.
The key to this slightly upscale fast-food joint are the toppings which come in a fairly dizzying variety.
Particularly agreeable was the wasabi and curry mayo, guacamole, goat cheese and mango chutney.
There weren’t just onions, but Cajun onions. Even something as simple as South St.’s cucumbers are rarely found at burger joints.
The choices at the topping counter seemed almost overwhelming.
Two of our burgers ended up with goat cheese, another the Swiss treatment (each $1 extra) with two of the sandwiches receiving bacon (another $1). And we chose whole wheat over white buns.
Our cattle burger boasted a wholesome, robust beef flavour, but it’s the toppings that set it apart, with the goat cheese lending a grown-up, pungent edge to the mix.
For an extra cost, we substituted two of the combos’ soft drinks for chocolate and strawberry milkshakes.
Made from real ice cream, these were as rich and creamy as most we’ve ever had.
But for visuals, I enjoyed the mesmerising black swirling coils on the cup of our large diet Pepsi.
The chicken burger sported a patty with a nicely grilled flavour and one we ensured was smothered in tomatoes, gourmet relish, peppers, olives and a big dill pickle.
Our vegetarian burger was okay — a fairly convincing stand-in for beef, though it was, again, heavily masked with extras and condiments.
These patties are not hand-crafted but pre-formed, which is to be expected with a busy fast-food format
The New York fries in the trademark checkerboard cups are handcut (cooked in non-hydrogenated sunflower oil) and better than your average chipped spud. They’re left pretty much unsalted with added sodium optional.
But we still sampled the onion rings ($3.70) — these ones crafted from big red onions.
For those seeking healthier fare, a solitary mixed greens salad with an optional homemade dijon vinaigrette or ranch dressing ($3.39).
Mizue concluded “I still like Burger King.” I couldn’t agree — I thought South St. was a step up with the battery of toppings tipping the issue.
bill.kaufmann@sunmedia.ca
Obama’s favourite DC destinationsSimple ‘Dos’ and ‘Don’ts’ for saving fuel this warm-weather travel season
