Burger Bulletin

On my birthday this summer I was lucky enough to go Mum's at the Golf Course. It had a very different atmosphere from their other location, which has a diner feel. I had previously been told by a friend that there was a burger I needed to try here: the 40 Creek Double!

It comes with lettuce, tomato (I gave mine to Kristin), strips of bacon, two types of cheese, 40 Creek BBQ sauce, condiments and two patties of your choice, either 6 oz. handmade or 4 oz. sirloin (or angus, I can't remember which).
I chose the handmade patties and, man, did I chose right. Amazing beef! It was cooked through and seasoned well.
Put all together it is quite tall. I had difficulty biting from top to bottom, but the burger is so good that you don't really care. You just shove your face into it to get another amazing bite, regardless of the quickly accumulating mess.
This is the best burger I've had eating out in Brandon and suggest everyone try it, but make sure to bring a hearty appetite.

In a more recent burger development, A&W has expanded their burger offerings beyond the Burger Family to their close personal friends: Four Buddy Burgers are now on the menu.

The Little Buddy Burger

They are smaller, snack oriented burgers and are available as a single or double, with or without cheese. Starting at $1.75 with the Little Buddy Burger, A&W's value burgers are more expensive than the McDouble and some don't even have cheese.
I'm personally fine with cheeseless burgers, so the only issue to settle is whether or not the Buddy Burgers are worth the extra money.
I tried the Little Buddy Burger. It's composed of a fluffy, seedless bun, tantalizingly seasoned patty, Teen sauce (aka mayo, which I declined), ketchup, mustard and fried onions. They come in a pap--
FRIED ONIONS?! No fast food place offers fried onions on a value, snack burger. My mind has already been blown and I haven't even tried it yet.
It is a very good little burger. The onions complement A&W's secret seasoning very well. There is a generous squirting of both ketchup and mustard, plus the bun looks, feels and tastes like a real bun. I bought two buddies since we were driving through supper to visit family. I'd devoured one before I'd even finished filling up on gas. It's a burger I never want to stop eating.
Thinking of going back to a McDouble now feels like thinking about eating doll-house food. The extra 36¢ (plus more for upgraded Buddies) is worth it every time! Better quality + Fried onions = New snack of choice. If I subtract will power from that equation then the result would be: EAT EVERY DAY!!!

Buddy Burger picture courtesy of http://s3-media4.ak.yelpcdn.com/bphoto/L_TgQpUfhjeRgpgWeZeCQw/l.jpg

Cream Corn Soup

In the broadest sense of the word soup encompasses a very wide range of textures and thicknesses from consommé and miso to bisque and chowder. My personal soup spectrum is not broad. I have strict limitations as to what makes an edible soup, namely,

• clear broth without bits
• clear broth with tasty bits
• tomato soup without bits
• crumbled crackers are an acceptable addition to any soup.

I have shied away from thick soups as a rule. (Tomato soup overloaded with crackers is the only notable exception.) I'm afraid of the texture. Also, the thick soups that I've usually been exposed to are either mushroom or seafood based and those are at the top of my never-ever-never-never list.

Two weeks ago I had the chance to expand my soup experience. We visited friends for supper and had cream corn and home-made tomato soups. I am missing the gene that enables a person to say no to tomato soup. I had to pick it. The cream corn soup was thick and intimidating, but I made a point of trying it and not just sticking with what I know.

It was much more than I had been expecting. There was the corn, of course, which is always welcome, but there was also cheese and smoky ham! What could be better? I'm still not used to the thick soup texture. It kind of feels like it gets stuck in my mouth. That being said, having the co-mingled flavours of corn, cheese and ham in my mouth, for any length of time, is highly desirable.

It is soups like this that will put thick soups back on my menu.

VERDICT: Make