Pink Bicycle Gourmet Burger Joint
1008 Blanshard Street
Victoria, BC
(250) 384-1008

Imagine my surprise when I heard about Pink Bicycle‘s weekly special, a poutine bison burger, on Facebook. I have to tip my hat to Darryl LeCraw for this news.

I immediately messaged my buddy Don from the Victoria Burger Blog and said we have to check this out. I called up James, and he had to work …
“Well, it’s your loss but our weight-gain.” I said and today, Don and I met for lunch.

Dining on gourmet style burgers is pricey, and it’s not something I’d do regularly. But after this kind of news, it’s time to bend the rules. And with locally grown bison from up island tasting better than what I had before, I thought this meal wasn’t too bad. It wasn’t perfect either since true Bovidae really needs huge fields to graze in than to be confined in such a space like Vancouver Island.

At least Island Bison is improving. What I tried before wasn’t all that good, and it’s only fair to keep on trying until the company gets it right. That holds true for Pink Bicycle too. I normally think of this place as over-rated and after today, I think they’re taking a step in the right direction by offering truffle fries as a regular menu item.

The flavour is all in the oil, and if the fries weren’t burnt, I’d say they’re a step above the norm. Hours later, the aftertaste I’m left burping with is great!

As for the burger itself, the taste is in all in the warm swarthy gravy they used. It was slathered over the noodle-like fries. These fine strips were nicely done and the light crisp works over the soft patty that I nibbled on.

The bison itself did taste a bit on the dry side and I wished it was bigger. For what Pink charges (including tip, I paid $20), one would hope they don’t skimp on the size of those patties, but they do. I was left wondering where the rest of the bison meat roamed off to. They certainly weren’t grazing outside, and what I had left were a few bite-size pieces of bun with traces of gravy.

At least the quality of the bread was top-notch. It was nicely toasted to sandwich my meat. Curiously, they didn’t give me a slice of tomato. Don got the all the luck and I snagged that sliver he set aside and placed it onto my burger. While he doesn’t like tomato on his burgers, I savour them.

But when it was forgotten for my serving, to err is human. For any hamburger, I feel the staples (red onion, lettuce and tomato) must be there there to bind it all together. I was expecting an artery clogging meal, and it barely made a dent. Well, maybe in my waist-line but that’s nothing a good trek through the Western Nebraska Great Plains won’t cure. Maybe I’ll find some real wild bison to satisfy my meat cravings with.

Don should report his findings in the next day or so, so please stay tuned for part deux of this blogger bash.

3 Blokes out of 5