The Beef Whisperer

Date and Restaurant Info: Same as the last post.

Short Review: A burger probably best tried well-done. Extremely Rich,Oily, and Decadent. Not for the average burger-goer or faint of stomach!

The Meal

Meat Type: House-ground Wagyu Beef

Patty Weight: 9oz

Cheese Type: None

Bun: Plain White, Toasted

Toppings: Foie Gras

Garnishes: Ketchup, Mayo, Mustard

Sides: Fries, Baby Pickles

Drink: Rum and Soda

Service: Top-Notch

Presentation: Simple but pleasing

The Ratings

Burger  6.4

Sides     9.0

Service 9.5

Atmosphere      9.0

Overall  7.0

The Long Story:

This was my “main course” burger for my birthday dinner, and I want to put a qualifier on this particular burger review: the main reason this burger didn’t get a higher rating could be considered my own fault in the ordering. The moral of this story is burgers -  even Wagyu beef burgers, which are made from the same breed of cow as Kobe beef  – aren’t steaks, and shouldn’t be ordered as such. I suspect this burger might have been much tastier if I had ordered it medium-well instead of medium-rare.

Previous to this I had thought it was prohibited in Ontario to cook burgers less than medium-well, but apparently there is an exception for establishments that grind their own meat in-house. So I learned something new with my birthday dinner.

I won’t repeat too much detail about Nota Bene as a restaurant, which I already covered in my previous, first, Beef Whisper post – great fine dining atmosphere, pricey but delicious, and top-notch service. Our server was actually the guy who sold me on trying the Wagyu burger. I noticed it on the menu and asked him about it when ordering.

“What’s the 9-oz Wagyu Beef Burger with Foie Gras like?”

He rubbed his stomach and literally got a far-off gaze for a second. “Decadent. You might need a knife and fork. It’s so rich it’s actually hard to finish.”

“This,” I thought, “”I have to try.” So I went for it.

Burger Blog Beef Whisperer Review - Wagyu Beef Burger with Foie Gras, Nota Bene

The Wagyu beef patty – oily as one would expect from such a fatty meat – arrived on a plain white bun that also glistened with juice from the patty as well as from the thick slice of foie gras, the only topping, which draped the burger like a slice of extremely rich cheese. Like the other Nota Bene burger, it came with 3 condiment plates for self-garnishing of mayo, ketchup, and mustard, as well as the crispy french fries. The sides were as delicious as they were last time.

This paragraph is for the Beef Nerds. A few details about the meat: the patty was made of coarsely-ground, loosely packed, Wagyu beef. I did not detect any spices or seasoning, so you get to really taste the meat. The outer cooked part of the burger had a nice lumpy homemade consistency, and by itself tasted flavourful and juicy.

Overall though, the burger was an unusual taste, and in the end I didn’t love it. I had no problem with the Wagyu beef in itself; I am definitely a fan of fattier types of beef in burgers. I also liked the blend of flavour that came from the addition of the foie gras to the beef and bun. Even though many people might find the idea of foie gras on a burger freaky, I’m all for unusual toppings as long as they taste good, and this mix worked for me. My problem was the cooking of the beef – again, probably my fault, as I ordered my burger medium-rare and got exactly what I asked for. Medium-rare steak lovers, you know when you get to the centre of your steak and you get to the red part? That extreme flavour, combined with the rubbery, buttery, chewy texture is a delicious experience, right? Well, if you ask me, it does not translate over well to ground beef. The outside of this burger tasted pretty great, but the rare center of ground-up meat tendrils had a texture akin to lumpy, chewy pudding: not what I look for in a burger.

Again, to be fair I suspect this burger, when well-cooked, might be a damn tasty. Although it’s kind of my fault for ordering it that way, Nota Bene should make a point of recommending people get this burger medium-well or better. My feeling with this meal was that although it was kind of an interesting gastronomic experience, it was not a great burger experience, and certainly not worth the price tag. Maybe I’ll change my mind if I do a second review sometime in order to try this burger more well-cooked. But then, at $40+ for this particular plate, it might be a while before I get around to it.