Review: Daly Burger on Pembina

The life lesson here is always listen to people in giant hotdog costumes in the median!

The biggest moment at Daly Burger happened before I even got there – days before. I had to try a burger because DHB, what Curve 94.3 calls him, Dancing Hotdog Boy, caught my attention while dancing in the median at 1151 Pembina Highway outside the store. He’s in a giant hotdog outfit, and he increases business 35 to 40 per cent ever since he started at the beginning of October, says the manager.

The smell of deep-frying and chili fill the store as mostly adults, 25 and over, eat. Marilyn Monroe and old Coca-Cola posters are fixed on the wall. The atmosphere is fun and bright with the neon signs in the window of this non-licensed restaurant. The cook calls out order numbers over the oldies music, and this Saturday night suddenly feels like the 1950s.

The most popular burger, the deluxe cheeseburger ($5.25), is folded up so the wrapper makes a little pyramid over the burger. It takes under five minutes to make and comes with mayo,mustard, pickle spears, tomato, onion, 100 per cent real Canadian cheese, lettuce, and medium-spicy chili on a fresh bun. If you’re fine with making a small mess, it’s the best burger in the city because of its freshness and good portions of ingredients. It has a good sauce to burger balance – one that isn’t swimming but that’s far from dry. It was a far better quality burger thanMcDonald’s and a little better than Junior’s because it was fresher and less processed. Burgers ranged $2.59 to $6.65 from a little hamburger to a double deluxe cheeseburger.

Have no fear if you’re a vegetarian either because Daly Burger’s veggie burger ($4.95) was so juicy it tasted like a real beef burger. And it was almost the same size as a deluxe cheeseburger.

After the friendly manager, Michael Paterson, joked around with some customers, I ordered fries ($3.55 to $6.30) that were medium thickness with soft insides, cut New York style – the potato skins left on.They come regular, with chili, with gravy, in poutine, or with chili and cheese. You will love the fries if you like any type of homestyle fry. And if you upgrade to the onion rings ($5.65) you are in for a treat. The onion rings were very good, and I don’t even like onions. They were deep-fried the right amount, and the onions weren’t slimy inside.Don’t tell anyone, but the manager said the onion rings are from McCain’s, and the secret is in how much and how long they are deep-fried.

To end off the meal, they have vanilla ice cream cones and Flavour Burst cones ($2.49 to $2.99). The Flavour Burst cones are vanilla ice cream with flavouring swirled around the outside in either chocolate, strawberry, blue goo, or bubble gum. They also have Twisters that are basically a standard type of Blizzard or McFlurry ($3.99 to $4.99). It wasn’t as creamy as Dairy Queen, but it did the job.

Feel free to take your date because the bathroom is one of the cleanest restaurant bathrooms I’ve ever been in. They’re open everyday from 11am to 10pm.

Dancing Hotdog Boy brings you in, but the burgers will bring you back.

Check out their full menu and locations at http://www.dalyburgers.com/