The Don: 3.9/5

Bacon Burger
Platter: $9.25
Score: 3.9

Fat Boy
Platter: $9.95
Score: 3.1

Cheese Burger
Platter: $9.25
Score: 3.9

The Don has great service and makes a good burger! They don’t take reservations, but when I made a reconnaissance a couple of weeks ago they told me to give them an hour’s notice and they’d put some tables together for our group. I did and they did! The restaurant has an unusual layout; there’s a front half and back half connected by a long, winding hallway. The fifteen of us were comfortably seated in a brightly lit alcove along the window in the back. Or maybe it was the front – I’m not sure. Some of our group recognized our waitress from another restaurant across town because of her “Wow Bouffant Service!” Nelson noted “There was a delicious blend of 80s and 90s popular music selections playing on the house speakers, which added to the overall enjoyable dining experience.”

Our orders were taken quickly and the burgers came out fast. For once the reviews were fairly consistent across the group. There were no rants or raves. The patty was soft and well cooked – leaning towards dry.  It was handmade with nice ragged edges. The sautéed mushrooms were delicious and the crisp bacon had good flavour. There was a slice of real cheddar but I couldn't taste it. This is typical of pretty much every restaurant we’ve been too – it takes a pretty thick slab of cheddar to compete with all the other flavours in a burger. You can usually taste a slice of processed cheese though – that’s good or bad depending who you ask. The dollop of Bulls Eye BBQ sauce added some nice zing and didn’t overwhelm the flavour balance of the burger. A couple of diners thought the overall burger was a bit dry and could’ve used more sauce.

Most everyone made the same comment about the bun – they thought it tasted great, but was too big for the burger patty. It was nice and soft though, and did a good job containing the toppings. I think the patty could’ve been a little bigger, so maybe the bun was the right size.

Like the Oakwood and Seine River Cafés, the ingredients were top quality and the soups almost stole the show. I had the split pea and it was delicious and homemade – as good as any I’ve had. The borscht received similarly good reviews. When ordering drinks our waitress was describing the lemonade and April blurted “I want fresh squeezed!”

Today’s entertainment was provided by Liz. As she was leaving a couple of us asked what her stuffed toy was. She grabbed it and exclaimed “MukMuk!” It was funny. You probably had to be there :)