Manitoba Club - Buffalo Bistro: 4.4/5

Club Burger

Platter: $13.00

Score: 4.2

The Manitoba Club makes a great burger; 5-star according to Burger Club's professional reviewers. If you're not already a member though, it'll cost you $3,000 to sample the fare.

We sat in the less formal Buffalo Bistro. It's an attractive room with wood paneling and our alcove had one long bench covered in faux cow along the wall. The setting was with ceramic plates, silverware and stemware (as expected) and cloth napkins (a rarity). There were even little paper doilies between the plate and the side dish so it didn’t clink and slide around. It was the first time in the Manitoba Club for many of us, so we took a little tour afterwards and I admired the grand wooden pillared staircase and the beautiful billiards room with its 6 x 12 tables. There was plenty of stained glass and history lining the walls. All in all, we were treated quite well and it was a pleasurable experience. Karen commented “Everybody was so nicely dressed and very well behaved. The room was perfect for conversation.”

There were no prices on the menu, but when asked, the waitress told us the platter was $13. Several restaurants we’ve dined at were more expensive. One beef burger was listed, but the topping and side choices were only limited to your imagination. When asked if the burger was good, out server described it as “legendary”. Ordering took a very long time because every time a diner thought of a new topping or side, the previous orderers had to change theirs. Our waitress was *very* patient. It took about an hour for our food to come out, but it all came out at once. I think there was only one mistake. Our attendant was great and checked repeatedly if everyone was happy with their meals and brought out drink refills.

The beef patty was soft, perhaps a little crumbly, very thick and juicy. Russ described it as a “wonderfully juicy burger - thick and full of onions.” Several other Burger Clubbers echoed that it was an extremely good tasting burger. The plentiful, tasty mushrooms were great. Strangely, I didn't notice the bacon and nobody else mentioned it either. The lettuce and tomato were fairly ripe.

The delicious sesame seed bun was nicely glazed, slightly toasted and held up through the entire eat. It kept all the ingredients in place. It was thin and there was a high burger to bun ratio.

The Buffalo Bistro is licensed (of course) and Russ commented that “it was nice to have a beer with the burger.”

As to the side dishes, comments were: “Greek salad was really good.” “Lobster bisque, also good.” “The raspberry vinaigrette dressing for my salad was awesome.” “The coleslaw was good too.”