Unless you’ve eschewed traditionally accepted conventions of entertainment and have been living life as a devout vegan Mormon, you’ve likely heard of Parts & Labour. No… you’ve definitely heard of Parts & Labour. And you’ve possibly heard about the now-famous P & L Burger, which won Episode 3 of CMT’s Burger Wars. (Oh, you didn’t? All good… we’d never heard of Burger Wars either.) Well the cool cats behind The Social Group (the fellas who brought us the aforementioned Parts & Labour, alongside The Dog & Bear and The Hoxton) are bringin’ on the beef at their new resto that shares its moniker with their prestigious patty – and happens to open today. It goes without saying: P & L Burger, the restaurant, is indeed serving up P & L Burger, the burger.
But it’s actually not the tastiest they’ve got. At least not in my humble (read: obnoxious) opinion. No… you’ll want to sidle on up to the laidback stools – which frustratingly don’t move except to swivel – and dig your man-hands into The Italian. It’s like a veal parm sandwich on steroids, only slightly less enraged. A house-ground patty (all the carnivorous options at P & L Burger start with the same homemade burger base) is topped with mozzarella, sauteed onions, roasted hot + sweet peppers, then doused in a tangy marinara sauce. Now that’s a burger for the vets of vittles.
This joint is pretty traditional so far as burger stands go: onion rings, poutine (but, y’know, a proper poutine), fountain pop, milkshakes… But that’s just how I, and I’m assuming non-nitwits, like it. It’s a no frills joints devoid of even bottles of brew. Seven burgers (yes there’s a veggie one, and yes you can opt for gluten-free if you like faking you have Celiac) comprise the meaty menu options, most notably: The Philly that’s got American cheese, sauteed onions and mushrooms, hot peppers, and mayo, and will likely cause indigestion; The Deluxe, which is topped with bacon, American cheese (apparently our cows are sub-standard), tomato, red onion, iceberg lettuce, and P & L sauce, and is guaranteed to cause indigestion; and The P & L, which won the hearts of whatever audience makes up Burger Wars’ ad buy demo.
Kudos to Chef Matty Matheson and the P & L Burger team for not simply slapping the Parts & Labour name on a concept completely devoid of personality and/or one that’s altruistically creative to the point of confusion. If you’re going to add to our already over-saturated burger market, you better do it with the greasy appeal P & L Burger has managed to muster.
