Harper's Burger Bar

Thank you Bettyann for this recommendation.  As promised, our next adventure led us to Harper's Burger Bar at 93 Princess Street.  This is a gourmet burger bar from the owners of "Atomica: gourmet pizza and wine bar" and "le Chien Noir: bistro".  The decor is quite lovely (however I'm a sucker for interior brick, stone and natural wood) and meshes quite well the old world materials with a modern flair.  The menu encourages local meat and produce offerings and there is an emphasis on environmental stewardship.

Jo's Review - I heard a lot about Harper's before going, so my expectations were high.  We went on a Sunday afternoon when it was only moderately busy so we easily found a seat.  Very quickly a lady came over to our table and dropped two menus on the table.  Without even making eye-contact, she abruptly turned and went back to the bar.  I found this so off-putting that I felt insulted.  Also, our table needed to be wiped clean of dried spill marks, but this never happened.  Fortunately, this was the extent of our bad experiences.  Our waitress arrived soon to take our orders and she was very amicable.

Typically, I like to graze - so I just couldn't resist the opportunity to try the triple-slider offering for $11.50.  You can order 3 different mini-burgers (sliders) from the ten different beef burger options.  My 3 options were the #2 EASY (Ontario cheddar; local bacon; soya glazed shrooms; and secret sauce); the #6 UMAMI (brie; balsamic candied onions; soya glazed shrooms; and white truffle aioli); and the #8 DELUXE (monterey jack cheese; avocado spread; local bacon; roasted garlic; and rosemary mayo).  I also ordered caesar salad and a diet coke, bringing my meal to a whopping $17.50 (ouch)!  My favourite slider was the traditional #2 - perfectly cooked and flavoured.  But I have to say that I loved the #8 also - probably because of the refreshing avocado spread and the unique flavours.  The presentation was very nice... with pickles, onions, lettuce and tomato on the side for you to add as desired.  The pickles were kosher/brine style (not my favourite) and I personally prefer the sour dill type but it's understandable that gourmet burgers would feature the kosher style.  I read in other on-line reviews some complaints about the portion sizes being too small.  For us, the portions were the perfect size which I appreciate because I really dislike the waste of food.  Overall, I enjoyed the burgers (especially the different grazing choices).  The caesar salad was okay, lacking in some of the characteristic flavour I prefer.  I do recommend that you experience Harper's yourself and hopefully, with a few reviews brought to the attention of some of the staff, they can learn how important it is to provide attentive service to customers.

Stephen's Review - Of all the places we have tried to date, this one I was looking forward to the most. We had seen pictures of the interior, the decor, the menu and had heard and read a fair bit about what to expect from the food as well so I had some pretty high hopes. On entering, again it was as expected, a pretty good feel. Like Jo, I loved the decor; exposed brick, rough sawn wood (on the ceiling) and oak wood flooring. Very well done. The tables, chairs and booths were dated but the rest of it was pretty cool, especially the pendant lighting. The massive menu board was a tad intimidating at first but once you got into it, was very helpful for first-timers to this restaurant.

Menu Board

And speaking of first timers and first impressions, I was very disappointed initially with the wait staff. Not a hello or welcome to be had and in fact as Jo noted, the first waitress simply walked towards our booth and simply tossed two menu's on the table and returned to the safety of her wait station... no eye contact, no welcome, no greeting of any kind. For me, it set a pretty subdued feeling towards what I had hoped to experience. However, after a brief wait, a different waitress approached and although she was not outgoing in any way (not a bad thing), her smile was genuine and she did look us in the eye with a big broad smile. She asked if we would like a drink and so we ordered a couple of diet cokes.

Jo and I had spent some time thinking of what we were going to try before we got there so we were pretty much prepared to order but while we waited, we had a good read of the menu board and our options. With our drinks delivered, we ordered and I opted for the #1 Classic with fries. I decided to forgo the bacon and cheese this time in an effort to reduce the quantity of fixings in hopes of better tasting and appreciating the burger itself. The Classic comes with lettuce, red onion, tomato and pickle on the side while the bun had a dab of special sauce on top and bottom with a pretty awesome looking char broiled burger looking really, really good inside. I placed all of the fixings onto the bottom bun and added mustard and ketchup to the top bun and piled it all together. Again, as Jo likes to say... it looked like the picture. 

Now before I taste-rate the Classic, let me tell you about the fries I ordered as my side. First disappointment was that they were those little shoe-string cut fries like you get from Mickey Dees... not at all what I was expecting after reading so much hype about fresh-cut, Yukon Gold, crisp-fried, etc... etc... They were served in a relatively small, brushed aluminum, flower-pot-looking container which sat atop a wire-mesh platter/basket/tray with a piece of wax paper on the bottom. (Different for sure... and kind of trendy.) Although most of the fries were cooked well and very tasty, many were stuck together and as I often find with shoe-string cut fries, there were lots of very small, very overcooked pieces that you simply can't eat. I also tasted Jo's Ceasar Salad side and for my taste, it was a little too heavy on the dressing but just the way Jo likes it. The fresh lemon wedge was appreciated by us both.

Now back to the Classic. I was pretty pleased with the first bite or two... better than expected taste, just the right amount of flavours and juice from the condiments and the patty was exceptionally good. Not overcooked, juicy, seared perfectly  and just like a homemade burger straight off the BBQ at the lake. However, I had a few bites where there was a bit of an off taste that had me confused. Was it the secret sauce, perhaps a little grease from the burger or something in the condiments. After discussing with Jo, it turned out to be the pickle. Definitely a brine style pickle and I would probably go-without the next time. After really understanding the full flavours and tastes of the Classic, I really was able to sit back, assume the elbows-up-and-out position and enjoy.

Overall, I was pleased with the burger and some of the fries and found the quantity perfect for me. Don't plan on sharing your fries because even though I thought it a perfect amount for one (like Jo... I hate food waste as well) they really won't go far enough for two. Right Jo? I was pleased that although I ordered the drink, burger and fries separately, our waitress priced my order as what I believe is the only combo on the menu... the "Lunch Box" which came in at an even $10. I was pretty pleased with that, especially when you compare Jo's slider's, salad and drink at a whopping $17.50! (Not a chance for that combo again!) Our total came in at $31.08 and although the food was very solid and pretty good overall, we could not get past this sense that no one really cared that we were there as customers and for that price... I can be ignored somewhere else.