The Intrepid Gastronomer: Ambrosia on a bun

» A review of Burger Heaven

K.P. Davis
Columnist

he burger. The American

classic. Few foods have
become more ubiquitous with the
cheap and fast meal than a hunk
of beef overly garnished between
two halves of a bun. Some places,
let’s call them “gourmet burger
joints,” have upped the game by
adding a wide variety of add-ons
to the mix, but I find very few do
it as well as Burger Heaven.

The atmosphere of the
restaurant is tight, with tables
placed around every corner so
that you need to weave your
way through the tiny dining
area almost like it was a maze.
The walls are covered in novelty
licence plates, clocks, rough
cedar lattice work, and pictures
of happy customers from Burger
Heaven’s long history. It’s like a
rustic truck stop in the middle of
New Westminster.

The menu was cheeky. One
of the first things I noticed was
their “Gimme a Beer” option,
where the server brings you a
healthy pint of whatever they
feel like. [lucked out with the
Russell Cream Ale. For beer, the
menu was very straightforward,

: no local microbrews here. This

: was made up for by the large

: selection of milkshakes, both

: regular and spiked. I tried the

: strawberry, and I was pleased to
: find it smooth, creamy, and not

: overly sweet, and there was a lot
: of it to boot.

The portion sizes were

: very respectable. Most burgers

: worked from a basic burger and

: then built up ingredients. As

: tempting as it was to join their

: “mile high club”—a massive four
: patty burger with the works—I

: decided to go for more basic fare. :
: “The insanity’—a cheeseburger
: between two grilled cheese

: sandwiches, was also intriguing,
: but I ultimately passed on it.

I started with “The Works”

: and discovered a delicious

: balance of ingredients. It was a

: good, basic burger with onion,

: pickle, mushrooms, bacon, and

: two kinds of cheese. The patty

: was soft yet charred, a perfect

: medium well with no filler or

: anything overly spiced. It ended
: up being quite the big mouthful.
: Juicy, though maybe a little heavy :
: on the mayonnaise, it balanced

: well with the rustic whole wheat
: bun. By the last bite, even though :
: the structural integrity of the

: burger was failing, there was still
: a surplus of delicious ingredients
: to spare. The wedges that came

: with the burger were brutally

: simple. No spice or herb, just

: chunks of hand-cut fried potato

: with a little salt, and almost a

: baked potato or hash-brown

: texture. The salad was a very

: basic mix of greens and carrots.

Next, I went exotic with the

: “Ell Burger.” It was juicy and

: savoury with sautéed onions

: and mushrooms that balanced

: out the slightly gamey elk. Wild
: game can be difficult, but this

: was absolutely amazing. Finally,
: I tried the “Teriyaki Hawaiian”

: with chicken. Salty ham and

: sweet pineapple balanced very

: well, and the chicken was tender :
: and not overly spiced, letting the :

 

: other ingredients come to the
: front.

Burger Heaven has a long

: history in New Westminster, and
: though it might be tempting for a
: place like that to just coast on its

: laurels, with food like this I see

: them enjoying a long, heavenly

: future. Burger Heaven can be

found at #77 - 10th Street, New
Westminster.

 

The ECO-nomist and tuna

» Why you might want to think more about what's in the can

Brittney MacDonald
A Life & Style Editor

M lifeandstyle
@theotherpress.ca

 

Fyovers wants to save

the world. It’s a common
sentiment and there are even
songs about it. But how can
you save the world when you
are rocking a pretty tight “poor
student” budget? I mean, let’s
be honest here, going green is
awesome in theory, but it can
be a little pricey. In an effort
to do my part in raising the

collective awareness of ecological :
: “trawling.” It involves casting a

: large net out that is then pulled

: slowly behind several large boats.
: The problem with this method

: is it is incredibly destructive to

: the ocean environment, and

: endangers many animals besides

: tuna—sharks, seals, whales,

: dolphins, turtles, and many

: others all run the risk of getting

: caught in the net alongside the

: fish. Because damage to the catch
: and equipment can be costly,

: any unwanted intruder in the

: net is usually killed, or dies as a

: result of drowning. Now I know

: that may sound funny, but keep

: in mind that dolphins, turtles,

conservation (in short, ’ma
tree hugger looking for good
karma), I’ve decided to start a
new column that addresses how
you can help in the conservation
effort, without emptying out
your wallet.

The first step in going
green is a pretty easy one, and it
involves your shopping habits—
more precisely, your tuna
shopping habits.

Tuna is a college diet staple,
along with other cheap and easy
foods such as ramen, macaroni,
and beer. Canned tuna also has
some pretty amazing health
benefits, including improving

: your concentration, helping

: you lose weight, and providing

: much-needed calcium, which is
: especially important for women
: and athletes to ensure they

: maintain high bone density

: later in life—believe me, you'll

: be praising the tuna gods when
: you don’t have to deal with

: osteoporosis.

Tuna is an all-around good

: food to work into your diet, but

: how can it be green? To put it

: simply, it’s all in how the fish are
: caught.

The most widely used

: method when it comes to

commercial tuna fishing is called

: whales and seals all breathe air,

: so they have to surface and the

: trawl net can be cast out for an

: entire day before it is brought in
: and inspected. Similarly, sharks
: can also drown, because some

: breeds have special types of

: gills that require them to be in

: perpetual motion and the trawl

: net moves so slowly that they :
: can actually drown in a matter of :
: minutes if caught in one. :

Now on to a happier topic,

: how can you help?

By buying tuna that

: specifically states it is “pole and
: line,” you ensure that you are

: not buying tuna that is fished

: using the trawling method. Pole
: and line is a reference to a more
: ecologically friendly method of

: fishing, similar to the one your

: dad might have taught you—

: fishing rods, bait, endless hours
: sitting on a boat waiting for a

: nibble. This method eliminates

: the risk of catching anything

: unwanted, because the majority
: of ocean predators won't be

: attracted toa single fish, and if

: something is caught, it can be

: Safely released more easily. This
: method also eliminates the risk
: of over-fishing and is good for

: the economy because it forces

: companies to employ more

 

: commercial fisherman.

Now that you know the

: difference, let’s get down to the
: real question—how does all this
: affect the price?

In years past, pole and line

: tuna was up to three to four

: times more expensive than the

: more standard tuna. Nowadays,
: because of pressure from the

: public for companies to be more
: eco-friendly, pole and line tuna

is pretty much on par price-

: wise with its more destructive

Image via thinkstock

: competitors. To put it into

: perspective, I went to a grocery

: store and compared them. A can
: of Ocean's Pole & Line Flaked

: Light Tuna in Water was $1.88,

: while a can of Clover Leaf Flaked
: Light Tuna in Water was $1.38.

: So there still is a bit of a price

: difference, but Clover Leaf

: was ranked the worst canned

: fish and seafood company in

: Canada by Greenpeace for its

: lacklustre efforts towards ocean

: conservation.