Restaurant: Allen's

To most people, comfort food is nostalgic and generally easy-to-eat foods that have some sentimental value to them. For me however, comfort food is JUNK. You know, wings, burgers, fries, pizza, chips, etc etc. You know, everything that's bad for you. But unfortunately, I do have a little bit of understanding of my health, so I can't have that stuff every day (maybe every other day is ok. haha). So while I've kept blogto's Best Burger list around for a while, I've only been able to try them sporadically. When a friend invited me thus to try Allen's....? Of course I jumped at the chance!

Ambiance: 2.5 / 5
Cleanliness: 3.5 / 5
Service: 3.5 / 5
Taste: 4 / 5
Presentation: 3 / 5
Price: $$
Overall: 3.5 / 5

So apparently, Allen's supposedly uses fresh, organic beef for its burgers (I don't know for sure, I read it somewhere at some point). And they DO have a fairly extensive beer list. The lighting was VERY dark which made me not want to go through it. It being a pub, I ordered a black and tan. It never occurred to me to take a photo of the beer (whoops), so I thiefed this one off of the internet. I apologise in advance to the person who took the photo for not giving credit.

For anyone who ends up ordering this. Please, I implore you, DO NOT MIX IT! There's a little section in the middle where the two beers connect that's a delectable little sweet spot. Not to be trifled with and certainly not to be ruined.

I was a little disappointed that the burger comes a la carte, but I suppose I kind of expected it. And on top of that, anything toppings outside of lettuce, tomato, and pickle, is also an extra charge. But I couldn't help myself and ordered sauteed mushrooms, and sauteed onions, and cheddar cheese to top my burger off. The burger itself, was ordered medium rare.

Yes....my photography skills are SEVERELY lacking. Plus, I only had my phone with me. The toppings, actually came on separate plates. Even the lettuce that I'd asked for came beside the burger. Anyway, picking up the burger, I found the bottom piece of bread already soggy. That was a bit of a disappointment. But biting into the burger was scrumptious. Nicely seared, perfectly grilled, and nice and juicy.

If you notice in the background of the photo, we did order a side of fries as well. And quite honestly, the fries aren't even worth mentioning. A little bland, a little dry.

If you've never been, I suppose this place is worth a try, but to be quite honest, by the time you top up your burger, and add in tax and tip, you're looking at roughly $20 for the burger all on its own. And while it was well prepared and delicious, I just don't see it being WORTH that much.

Allen's
143 Danforth Ave.
Toronto, ON
416-463-3086
~Cheers.

Restaurant: Ted's Montana Grill

Media mogul, philanthropist, and environmentalist, Ted Turner, is the largest independent land owner in North America. He also re-introduced Bison back into the United States... And bred them... And cultivated them... And opened up a chain of restaurants so people can eat them.

Ambiance: 3.5 / 5
Cleanliness: 4 / 5
Service: 5 / 5
Taste: 3.5 / 5
Presentation: 3.5 / 5
Price: $$
Overall: 4 / 5

Sometimes, it's the little things that make the difference. And for me, in this case, it was the paper straws. The food was decent, and the Bison steak, while a little chewy, was certainly leaner and healthier than beef. The service was superb, with the waitstaff exuberantly showcasing some of that 'Southern Hospitality'. But it was the paper straws that made the ultimate difference for me.

Sorry, only had my mobile to take photos with.

I stole a Bison Slider from my friend. A smallish cheeseburger, it was moist and tender, and cooked just right. The buns however, were a little disappointing. It didn't seem any different from the store bought ones. And there's nothing wrong with store bought buns, except that the restaurant claims their stuff is "made-from-scratch".

Being that it was my first time at Ted's Montana Grill where they feature a Bison on their logo, a Bison head on the restaurant wall, and Bison options over regular beef, I ordered the Delmonico Bison Rib Eye. This Ted guy, that founded CNN is pretty patriotic too. Every single dish served comes with an American Flag.Yes, that IS a hunk of butter on that rib eye. I should have asked if it was Bison butter. Ah well. Another time I suppose. You get to choose your sides, and I chose half and half (fries and onion rings) and their garlic mashed potato.

The rib eye was ordered rare, but was a little bit tougher than I would have thought, but I will attribute it to the fact that Bison is leaner than beef. But other than that, it was seared perfectly, and the onion ring was big, juicy, and perfectly drool-icious with the home made horseradish dipping sauce.

The one thing I really enjoy about heading into the Southern parts of the United States is the service. It's always friendly, and always warm. I guess they don't call it Southern Hospitality for nothing. And the service at Ted's was no different. We had our main waiter, with a trainee who were patient and warm, but also a couple of waiters who came around, just to make sure that we didn't need anything extra when our guy got a bit busy. We were very well taken care of.

At the end of the night, the manager came over and spoke to us to make sure everything was to our liking, and again, oozing that Southern Hospitality Charm. I'm not generally a big fan of chain restaurants, but this place was warm, welcoming, and inviting, and the food was fairly decent to boot. And using paper straws? Total bonus.


Ted's Montana Grill
1874 Peachtree Road
Atlanta, GA 30309
USA

~Cheers.