I found myself in Brooklyn for food again recently – apparently, the way to get me to go to Brooklyn is proffer a Groupon; so Corner Burger was the destination. The lure? POUTINE. TWELVE DIFFERENT WAYS.
My dining companion ordered a burger topped with pickled jalapenos, roasted red peppers, chipotle sauce and pepperjack cheese.
But to start, we went with fried pickles. Piping hot when they arrived, once they’d cooled down a bit, had a great crunch to them. The breading was a little weak, but I found these pleasant enough to munch on and dip in the accompanying ranch sauce.
We also chose onion rings, which were super weak. Personal preference: I don’t like this type of coating, the slick, smooth exterior. This was no different, very greasy and not particularly tasty in my opinion. I’ll definitely get something else next time…
As for the star of the show, the reason we’d gone: after a brief debate, we chose to go with the poutine cochon, pulled pork on top of frites, with cheese curds and BBQ sauce. The meatiness was really nice, and the pork was super tender. The fries were crisp in the beginning, but obviously sogged up with sauce after a while – nature of the dish. The weak link in this dish, unfortunately, though, was the BBQ sauce. Overly sweet, and tasting faintly of ketchup, I could have done without the BBQ sauce and been really happy. Or less of it. Just… too much brown sugar. I definitely want to try the regular poutine next time!
And as for my burger, well, bacon cheeseburger it was, with mayo on the side cuz yes, like a true Canuck, I like mayo on my burgers.
Super juicy, super tasty, I actually really enjoyed my burger and its accoutrements. It was cooked perfectly to my specification of medium rare, and everything worked together to make my mouth happy. I especially enjoyed the bread not being obtrusive; instead it just played its part as vehicle to the other ingredients. Perfect meat-to-bun ratio. I will say the burger was the slightest bit too big for my tastes – I tend to like my burgers sliiiiiightly smaller – but it was still very tasty.
Yvo says: I enjoyed my meal very much, and were it closer to me, I’d enjoy it even more. Tempting as they are, Chip Shop is directly next door, and I really want to go back there, too! What’s a Queens girl to do with so much good food in Brooklyn? C’est la vie… I will be back though, to try the other poutine types and maybe a milk shake – I had my eye on one this time, but couldn’t justify the extra calories! Yum!
recommended
TT says
a true FBM meal!
i want poutine. were any of the other “flavors” unique/outrageous?
half chewed burger shot? that is just gross and i can’t believe you would show that to your readers. 😉
Feisty Foodie says
Yeah, they had regular poutine and then a bunch of different kinds based on different cultures… the only one I remember was Italienne which had marinara and something else. They’re all on the website:
http://www.cornerburger.com/files/CB_2011_menu_all.pdf
I was intrigued by dessert poutine but since I don’t like sweets that much, meh.
KimHo says
Got to ask: were the cheese curds squeaky (as they suggest in their menu) or did it feel like mozzarella pieces when bitten into it?
IMO, after having my share of poutine (though, oddly enough, not in Quebec itself but, hey, this is Canada!), my thoughts are don’t go fancy and stick with the original version. Probably the galvaude if you want some “greens” (ha!), but, otherwise, it is a case of you don’t necessarily make it better by adding more. 🙂
Feisty Foodie says
Agreed – the other styles are more novelty than anything (well, the “American” style is pretty standard diner fare here in NYC – disco fries, we call ’em). I do want to go back and try their regular poutine. And yes, they were squeaky! Not mozzarella (I’ve had cheese curds in a few different dishes so I knew what to look for, or else I’d not know what you were talking about, haha).
TT says
i was watching Unique Eats/Best Thing Ever shows and they talked about a famous place in Montreal that has 25 or so varieties of poutine. They described the cheese curds as almost a combination of mozzarella and feta. Two of my favorites cheeses!
kcijones001 says
i want frites not…
kcijones001 says
now, not not..NOW!
Feisty Foodie says
el oh el, KC. EL OH EL.
Goats says
That burger looks legit. I have to head out there…
Feisty Foodie says
It was pretty good, I liked it!
BeerBoor says
Is that pesto mayo? It looks awfully non-white (no racist) from here.
This place is pretty good, but it’s small and it gets packed with locals. Also, as it’s right next door to Chip Shop (same owners, after all), I wonder how much kitchen they share. Next time, it’s time for the ‘classic’ poutine!
Feisty Foodie says
Yes, I definitely want to try the classic poutine. I don’t know, I asked for three different sauces – pesto mayo, mayo and garlic aioli… no complaint from the guy giving it to me! But none of them were particular standouts else I’d have mentioned
Hungry says
Do I hear a Brooklyn food crawl brewing?
Feisty Foodie says
We have a ton of food crawls to plan, don’t we? I’m not sure this is near a train station, I’ve driven every single time I’ve gone – but there are a load of bars in the area too so we can bar crawl and eat as well.
T.C. says
I’m down for this. Let’s go! Please assemble the FBM crew so we can polish off a few types of poutine. I’d also like to try their burger with a fried egg.
Perhaps Chip Shop after for more goodies. 😛