Rudy's: 3.9/5

Bacon Burger (Max Cheese)
Platter: $13.95
Score: 4.0

Mushroom Burger
Platter: $11.90
Score: 4.6

Cheese Burger
Platter: $11.90
Score: 2.8

The service was great. We were greeted and seated comfortably. Our orders taken quickly and the drinks - including water which came without having to be asked - were brought out fast. It didn't feel too long to me before our burgers started coming out, but others pointed out it was about 45 minutes. Multiple wait staff came by several times during our meal, topping up waters, taking away dishes and making sure everyone was happy.

The very pleasant patio at Rudy's has a small park between it and the street so you're not overwhelmed with noise and smells, and at a distance from some of the characters walking by. It's overshadowed by a 40' high canopy that kept us out of the direct sun, but was still open and breezy. The patio furniture is new and quite comfortable. I should mention I’m a little tardy on posting this blog - we visited Rudy’s on a hot, sunny day in August.

Rudy's told us that all the ingredients they can make fresh, are made fresh, including smoking their own bacon and curing their own beef. Rudy's even prepares their own beverages - including the water that they're so proud of and - soda! I had a cherry soda which was the perfect accompaniment to my burger on the patio while listening to beach tunes over the speakers. The soda's were served over ice in tall glasses and made colourful displays on our two tables.

I went for the "Max Cheese" burger - how could I not? The patty was a ball of beef in between two regulation sized grilled cheeses. It came nowhere near to the edges - which in some ways was good because it was easy to leave half the bread on the plate. There was a beautiful bone handled knife stuck through the burger - the effect being a top heavy grilled cheese platform balanced on top of a round ball of beef. I had a bobble burger! The top of my burger actually bobbled lazily back and forth just like the Ozzie Osborne action figure I have at home. There was a long cocktail stick - with a little Rudy's flag - keeping the tall assembly in check. I opted to use the knife to cut my burger in half and that made handling it a lot easier. As I looked around at the rest of the burger crew during lunch there was a lot of serviette action going on.

April lamented “It was tasty for a heart attack on a plate. I could not eat the whole thing.” Sandy also had the Max Cheese and said “Wow. I didn't know what to expect … this was, well, oddly delicious. The patty was juicy and well flavoured. The egg bursting when I cut the sandwich was the perfect binding agent. The bacon was crisp and the grilled cheese was not over grilled.” Tazz mused “The sandwich I had was obviously created by a death row inmate asked what he wanted for his last meal.”I want a hamburger, some grilled cheese sandwiches and, oh yeah, an egg & bacon."”

The grilled cheeses were two full sized sandwiches. Very fun. They were lightly buttered and lightly grilled with a thin slice of very light motza cheese. I thought I might get a very rich, heavy burger with the grilled cheeses, but it wasn't. There was a *lot* of bread - but not a lot of flavour from the grilled cheeses. I modified the design though by asking for the egg to be left off - others said the runny egg worked well with the grilled cheese. Mike wrote “The egg blends well with the crisp of the GCS, the patty & mayo.”

The meat was a nice grind - not too fine and not too coarse. The patty hadn't been overworked and was quite tender (not soft and fall-aparty) and juicy (not fatty). It was very mildly seasoned though. Not much flavour to the patty at all - except authentic beef taste. The flavour in this burger came from the zingy special sauce, the generous coarsely chopped grilled onions and the leathery bacon. There were even fresh refrigerator pickles on the burger.

The "Forest Mushroom Soup" was absolutely delicious. It was dark and full of fresh mushrooms in a rich creamy broth. I loved it.

I tried Stephanie's French fries. They were shoestring dimensions but tasted like little curly fries that had been straightened. There was lots of seasoning and they were a nice accompaniment to the burger.

When I made the reservation I was told they would add the gratuity to our bills. I requested they not do that, and when it came time to pay our bills, we were allowed to decide what tip to give. I never understand the automatic gratuity - but I probably don’t appreciate the restaurant business in Winnipeg. If it's added onto your bill automatically then it's not a tip, it's just a surcharge. The intent of a tip is to reward good service. I would think that servers would come away with a bigger tip if left up to the diners than the automatic 15% added to the bill.

April observed “The bathrooms were very fancy, so fancy in fact that they are hard to find and blend into the wall. State of the art, but I had trouble making things work.” Christie backed her up: “I do admit that the washroom set-up both puzzled and delighted me.”