The Works Gourmet Burger Bistro in Pickering is just that. What an incredibly creative burger menu!
What You’ll Find at The Works Gourmet Burger Bistro in Pickering
They offer appetizers, salads, poutine and a few sandwiches, but burgers are the star here.
We came with friends who’d seen a write-up in the News Advertiser. None of us had been.
The decor is construction-themed and is divided into smaller groups of tables so it’s not one big room. They’re prepared for patio season with 2 large glass garage door style walls which will open to the outside (in cooler weather, the glass can be cold to sit next to as we experienced last night).
It was a packed Saturday night. Service was friendly. It did take awhile for our food to arrive.
What We Ordered
A couple of us tried the shakes, served in Anchor glass measuring cups, almost too thick to drink through the straws. Joe’s was chocolate, and he thought it was OK. Mine was chocolate banana (minus the banana syrup as I don’t like artificial banana), with real banana. It was great. Watch out, as they are very filling, and you probably have a large burger coming.
We saw a tower of onion rings with dipping sauces that looked great. Two of us opted for the side dish upgrade to onion rings (+$3.56), one got fries and the other the spicy chips, made fresh. The chips aren’t too spicy. You get a bit of a kick at the end.
Our friend’s kid chose a traditional poutine and finished every bite.
The burgers with sides range from $10.98 to $13.96. They include everything from the usual toppings (on a Plain Jane) to pear, peanut butter, Brie, tiger shrimp, Montreal smoked meat, and so on.
The Works Gourmet Burger Bistro in Pickering offers specials, too. This night they had a turkey dinner burger on special which featured stuffing, gravy and cranberry sauce.
I had the Porkgasm which had field mushrooms, smokey BBQ, cheddar and double-smoked bacon. The burger was well-done, but with the juice from the mushrooms and BBQ sauce, it exploded juice out the sides and up my arm to my elbow at first bite!
Expecting it was over, I tried again. My next bite sent juice onto my other arm and onto my table-mate. After a number of apologies and some extra napkins (and a warning to ‘bite carefully’ from the kid at the table), I nibbled the edges and had no more accidents but remained the subject of teasing sexy jokes throughout the evening.
Joe had the Dead Ringer, loaded with beef brisket, BBQ sauce, jack cheese and an onion ring. He loved it, but the stacked meat on meat was too much for me.
Heads up: the burgers are huge. I could barely finish mine and probably shouldn’t have. Think I’ll split one with Joe next time or skip the shake.
Here’s how the menu works:
- Pick your patty: beef, turkey, veggie, Portobello mushroom or chicken breast. Elk is +$3.39.
- Topping combo: 60 choices! Sections include Faves, Born to be Wild, Gettin Saucy, Cuz we Like it Hot, Carnivore’s Corner, Veg Out, World Tour.
- Choose a side: fries, broccoli, celery, cucumbers, weeds, sweet potato fries, spicy chips, mashed, slaw.
- Select your bun: white, wheat, gluten-free.
- Add-ons (crispy dills, Kraft Dinner, etc.).
Location note:
At night, The Works Gourmet Burger Bistro in Pickering, across from the mall (next to Loblaw’s), is a bit hard to see as they’re not listed on the sign tower. It’s a separate building in the middle of the parking lot and while there are signs, they’re not lit well.
Here are some other places to try in Ajax. And here are some other places in Pickering.
Enjoyed October, 2013.
The Works
1794 Liverpool Road, Pickering, ON L1V 4G7
+1 (905) 831-7747
