Darrell’s Restaurant - Peanut Butter Burger (3 stars)

5576 Fenwick Street
Halifax, Nova Scotia Canada B3H 1P8
Phone:  (902) 492-2344
Website:  http://www.darrellsrestaurant.com

Single location

Time of Visit:  June 15, 2015 at 11:45 am

My Order:  Peanut Butter Burger

                     Darrell Fries
                     Iced Tea

 

I was on a cruise that was going to stop in Halifax and had already visited the city and had seen many of its sights, so I just went for a walk and decided to stop for what has been repeatedly voted one of the best burgers in Halifax.

Burger Rating = 3.3 (***)

Presentation, Overall Rating 4

The food came out on a regular, diner style plate with the burger open.  Alongside it on the plate were the Darrell fries, a small cup of ketchup, and a piece of pickle.  It was a nice, well-presented meal, a 4.

Meat, Overall Rating 3

Darrell’s burgers are made from fresh Certified Angus Beef, grilled to order.  Mine burger was cooked all the way through with no pink.  It wasn’t very juicy but it wasn’t too dry either.  However, mine didn’t have that great, freshly made texture that, so I can only give the meat a 3.

Bun, Overall Rating 3

They use nicely-sized, soft buns for their burgers, but for some reason don’t toast them.  There is nothing wrong with the buns, but they don’t do the little extras that raise it from average to good, so only a 3.

Toppings, Overall Rating 3.3

Bacon:  The bacon was really crispy, just the way I like it and was distributed across the burger well.  I would have liked just a little more, but it was quite good, a 4.
Cheddar cheese:  The cheese was well melted over the patty and provided a nice, but Cheddar bite to the taste.  I wouldn’t mind a bit more for a little more cheese flavor, but this cheese was really done well, a 4.
Lettuce:  What can I say?  It was your typical lettuce on a burger.  It didn’t detract but also didn’t really add much, a 3.
Tomato:  The tomato had a good juiciness and held up well.  However, the single slice was only about 1/3 the size of the burger, so a lot of bites didn’t get any tomato, so no more than a 3.
Mayo:  Pretty regular mayo, a 3.
Mustard:  Regular yellow mustard, a 3.
Ketchup:  Pretty standard, but it blended well with the other toppings, a 3.
Relish:  Just a small amount was present, but that kept it from being overwhelming, a 3.
Peanut Butter:  This turned out to be a really nice addition to the burger and provided a different flavor, a 4.

Balance/Taste, Overall Rating 3

The burger maintained its integrity all the way to the end and everything seemed well distributed.  The flavors all blended together really well and provided a great taste combination.  However, there was too much in the amount of condiments and the burger was a bit sloppy.  I’ll admit that I’m a little disappointed, since this was an award winning burger, but it wasn’t a bad burger, so I’m going to give this a strong 3.

 

Other Notes:

Location and Access

This place was not easy to find without directions, but once you get to the right street, it’s easy to spot.    Between the street and the shared parking lot, there is plenty of parking.  An important consideration for my visit was that it was within walking distance of the cruise ship terminal, mostly through semi-residential areas without much traffic.

Facilities

This building has been here for a while, but is in pretty good shape.  I ate in the Sports Café, but there is a dining area upstairs.  There were several tables, including a nice patio area.  I didn’t visit the restroom while I was there, so I can’t comment on their condition, except to say that I didn’t notice there location.

Staff and Service

They have full, sit down service and the staff was very prompt and helpful.  The wait wasn’t too long for cooked to order food.  The waitress was very helpful when I was confronted with the hand-held credit card machine and couldn’t figure it out.  Only a few people were there when I arrived, but the place filled up pretty quickly for lunch, yet service was still good, including watching my drink and giving me refills as needed.

Sides

Darrell Fries:  These were more like small potato wedges and I normally like the thin, shoestring fries.  But, these fries were tasty, seasoned well and fried enough to give a crispy exterior, yet leaving a warm fluffy center.  If you ever visit this place, get these fries.
Pickle:  This was a bit of a joke.  They didn’t give you a whole pickle or even a spear.  What you received was a piece of pickle that amounted to about two bites.
Iced Tea:  I don’t normally like lemon in my tea, but there was a good amount in this tea and it was sweetened nicely, so that the drink was refreshing and not overwhelming with lemon or sweetness.

Value

The price seemed a little high for me.  I ended up spending about 20 Canadian dollars for my meal.  Maybe that’s normal in Halifax, but it’s more than I want to spend for lunch.  It’s okay for an occasional meal, but not as a regular thing.