Ricky's Cafe - North Burnaby
I have a confession. I used to think all the Ricky's restaurants (Ricky's All Day Grill, Ricky's Cafe, etc.) were gross; I grouped them in with the likes of Denny's and Knight & Day, which all hold a special place in my hungover heart. So you can imagine my surprise when I had one of my favourite burgers at Ricky's Cafe in North Burnaby.
Radical Bacon Cheeseburger
Oh my lawdy, THIS BURGER. The portion size was gigantic and I am too scared to look at the nutritional information, but see that knife there in the middle? Use it. Someone had clearly strategized that the only way to get a bite of everything without looking like you made out with the Hamburgler was to cut this monster in half. Even then it was a bit of a struggle, but nothing good comes without a little hard work right?
The beef patty was thick and juicy (there's a joke to be made here from which I will refrain), and the bacon was a perfect thickness where you could bite in and actually take a piece off without having to awkwardly slurp the whole slice into your mouth. You know what I'm talking about. The shoe-string onion rings on the bottom added a nice touch of sweetness (love when places add this!) and were different enough from the onion rings I got on the side so I didn't feel like I made a mistake by subbing it in for fries. The real show stopper here though was that crispy cheddar cheese!
Don't get me wrong, I love burgers with a soft bun, squished down, maybe some caramelized onions and then ooey gooey cheddar cheese, but that's a whole different animal. The crispy layer of cheese added both texture and huge flavour. Something about getting that crisp on gives the cheese a nuttier, deeper flavour which went so well with the bacon and hit of sweetness from the onions. Despite my efforts, I wasn't able to finish the whole burger, but I didn't want to waste any of the cheese, so I broke off pieces ate them like chips! Which sounds like an amazing snack to have at home. Hmm...
The thick cut onion rings were perfect as a side. The batter was crunchy without being greasy, and the onion inside was soft enough to bite off without being stringy, and sweet enough to not feel like you were just taking a bite of an onion.
In the end, this burger single-handedly redeemed the Ricky's name for me. I will definitely be back! They also had some sweet drink specials - on Sundays you can pick from any of the drink specials they have throughout the week! I'm looking forward to taking advantage of it this summer on their outdoor patio.