Brass Pub

The Brass is another 'Hub' establishment and caters to the student crowd that is too old and too lazy for either of its sibling establishments, Ale House and Stages. The Brass is first and foremost a bar and isn't particularly known for its food, except maybe Tuesday wings and weekend breakfast. However, as luck would have it, Wednesday night was burger night, and so we went.


This was a surprisingly good little burger. Clocking in at 4 oz (a quarter pound), the homemade patty was perfectly grilled, compact, and not at all greasy. The bun was a rather plain sesame seed bun that held up well, through there wasn't any cheese or tomato to get it soggy. The fries were properly cooked dark-style fries.

The best part of all this was the price: $1.75 for the burger, $2.50 with fries. Ya.

The rest of the week the Brass offers burgers off its regular menu which I imagine to be of similar quality, though slightly bigger. Selections include a Western Burger with bbq sauce, onion rings, bacon and cheese, and a Bacon Mushroom Swiss Burger. Prices range from $7.75-8.95 and include fries.

And then there is the O-line Burger. The Brass has a habit of hiring the Queen's football team as bouncers which is probably where the idea, and the name, came from. The O-line Burger, a double patty burger with bacon, substitutes two grilled cheese sandwiches for the bun.


And yes, we ate it. It took four of us. No regrets.

3 out of 5 Pickles

Grizzly Grill

For those of you who may not be aware, The Grizzly Grill is part of the 'Hub' group, which includes The Brass, Ale House, Stages, Gustos/Legendz/Elysium, the Pizza Pizza building, and the building that used to house Jumbo video. The Hub used to be a family business, but after the unfortunate events at Ale House (then AJs) a few years back, the parts were sold off to the various managers, though there continues to be much cooperation between them.

I somehow manage to forget how big the Grizzly Grill is and marvel at its size every time I go in there (admittedly, not very often). I am also suitably impressed with their menu, which is both large and diverse, though they only one burger, the creatively named "Grizzly Burger". Unfortunately, this is a beef burger, and not bear meat. I would pay good money for a bear burger.

The patty was clearly homemade, evidenced by its 'abstract' shape, but was very juicy and had a pleasant crispy exterior. The veg were fine, and the bun, though a tad dry, was unremarkable. This burger seemed very much like something you'd find at a back yard bbq - a solid, beefy burger; tasty, and yet you eat it without paying much attention.

The fries were, once again, the dark style chip-truck fries. I don't know who is hawking these things to all the Kingston restaurants, but they're having quite a lot of success. The fries at the Griz, however, were properly cooked and didn't have the burnt flavour I found at other places.

3 out of 5 pickles

Iron Duke on Wellington

The Iron Duke, while it may seem like an old-style pub, is actually brand spanking new, at least by Kingston standards. Opened in 2008 by a former Toucan bartender, the Duke is named after Arthur Wellesley, 1s Duke of Wellington and hero of the Napoleonic Wars. The Duke may look like your typical english pub, but the menu goes way beyond fish & chips and club sandwiches, including items like Red Curry Mussels, Falafel Wrap, and arguably the best nachos in town.

But this is not about nachos (although maybe my next blog will be). This is about burgers. 'The Duke' is an 8 oz. burger with white cheddar and the usual vegetables on a sesame seed bun, with fries, for $12.29.
I would like to point out that the burger usually comes with more fries than this, but I really wanted the soup du jour. I kinda regret that decision, cause the fries were awesome.

The Duke burger was pretty good. The patty was huge, held together well, but didn't taste too much of anything (except char, because mine happened to be kinda burnt on this occasion). The mustard-mayo was very mild, but the cheese, which I suspect came from Cookes around the corner, was sharp and delicious. The bun was soft and pleasantly toasted, but was a bit too big for the patty.

The fries were truly excellent though.

I should also add that the Duke has recently added a Bison Burger to their menu with sweet pepper relish, crispy onions, and stilton aioli. If I still like burgers at the end of all this, I'll be heading back to give this one a try.

3 out of 5 Pickles

Kingston Brewing Company

The Kingston Brewing Company is better known around town as The Brew Pub. Founded in 1986, the Brew Pub really does brew its own beer on premises and is, without question, the most interestingly decorated establishment in Kingston. Or possibly anywhere.

The menu at the Brew Pub is pretty standard for a pub-restaurant, but with little twists on many of their items, like the UN Chicken Sandwich with swiss cheese and alfalfa sprouts, or the High Roller Special - a pound of chicken wings, accompanied by a bottle of Dom Perignon. There are 3 burger options - beef, buffalo, or lamb.

I had the Buffalo Burger, which the entertaining menu told me came from Pykeview Farms on Wolfe Island. The burger was juicy and very meaty-flavoured. Apparently buffalo has to be cooked rare or medium rare or it gets too dry, so despite my concerns of food poisoning, I ordered mine rareish, and the pink interior was a bit chewy, but not too much.

The bun was whole wheat, which I am not a fan of (clearly, if I'm ordering a bacon cheeseburger, I'm not looking to score the extra healthy point with the whole wheat bun) but it was thin enough and didn't taste too much of cardboard. The homemade dijon mustard was excellent.

I also had a taste of the lamb burger, which in this case happened to be smothered in blue cheese which was all I could taste. I can report that the lamb is very tender, and that my husband liked it very much.

Overall, this was a pretty good burger, but wasn't anything spectacular. Prices $9.65-$10.90, with toppings $0.75 extra.

3 out of 5 pickles.

Stooley's Cafe

The first stop on this little adventure is Stooley's Cafe at Johnson & Division. Ever since the demise of JJ's a block to the west, Stooley's is the only off-campus eatery located within the student ghetto. While students are not the only ones who eat there, they are the target clientele and they keep the place busy.

Stooley's offers nine variations of the same beef burger, plus a salmon burger and veggie patty substitutes. All beef patties are 1/3 lb - or 5.333 oz for those of us imperial unit-challenged - which makes it kinda on the small size. Additionally, it comes on a bun that's too big and on an enormous plate that really dwarfs the whole meal. But, I waddled out of there so there must have been some optical trickery at work.


The burgers are quite good. Even the plain 'Cafe Burger' is seasoned with some kind of dry-rub marinade and everything was well cooked. The cheese was processed, which I didn't mind, and the kaiser-style bun was fluffy and held together well.

I had the Cheddar Burger, while my DH had the house favourite Western Burger, which it seems has little to do with the omelet and more to do with the geographical location. The Western Burger is topped with BBQ sauce, cheddar, bacon, and several onion rings. I'll admit, I am neither a fan of BBQ sauce nor onion rings, but this was a tasty burger.

But those of you who have been to Stooley's know that the real reason you go to Stooley's is for the fries. The thick, waffle-cut, crispy-fluffy fries, seasoned with what can best be described as chicken soup mix. Each burger is served with a small mountain of them, and if you can't finish them yourself (unlikely), the other people at your table will be happy to help.

Other burger offerings include the Italian Burger (tomato sauce and mozza), the T-U-Wanna Burger (salsa, cheddar & jalepenos), the Cajun Burger (a spicier dry-rub), the Bacon Mushroom, and the Double Western Wammy. Prices range from $7.99 to $10.99 with extra toppings for $1.25. Wednesday nights burgers are all $6.99 with the purchase of a pitcher of Steam Whistle.

3 out of 5 pickles.