Big Wheel Burger
341 Cook St.
Cook Street Village
Victoria, BC
(250) 381-0050

J: My latest adventure with my roly poly compadre, Ed, brought me to the gentle little community of Cook Street Village. The area is known for Beacon Hill Park and for the tidy little shops that dot the Cook Street scenery. I managed to come away from this excursion with a bottle of Old Tyme pancake syrup (a product I used with frequency in the 1980’s) from Oxford Foods.

I also obtained fresh produce from Cook Street Market (established 1986) and I would’ve rented a British comedy DVD or two from Pic-A-Flic but I lacked the credentials.

E: We wound up in this area at the suggestion of Erin, who posted on our blog, suggesting we should review Big Wheel Burgers.

Upon entering, I was given the impression that this diner will no doubt introduce many customers to the 100 mile diet. And in what I ate does show that kind of commitment. We had the daily special, a blue-cheese bacon burger, and while it was certainly delicious, I saw James wondering where the blue cheese was and I simply thought, waitaminute: in a higher class restaurant, they would put the blue cheese in the center of the burger patty like a molten core than make it up as a salad dressing.

J: It did take me a few bites to find the blue cheese sauce that was used but boy was it delicious. It mixed well with the bacon. I could tell the burger was freshly made. I couldn’t have cooked up a better burger at home. But the fries were something different.

E: I wasn’t as overwhelmed by the burger as James was. Yes, the tastiness of the condiments were great, but the burger itself could’ve been better. Can you imagine eating a lop-sided burger? I thought the patty shape was not well-formed and it was a touch on the thin side. The weight wasn’t the issue, but for a satisfying burger, I’d do two patties next time.

The bun seems very bare bones; I imagine it’s a potato bun that they use.The fries tasted far better in contrast. It was a fresh cut and the way the texture went with it shows. I liked the potatoes that they use here. I found myself wading in the heaping bowl of it first than the burger.

J: Big Wheel is confusing. It may look like a fast food restaurant (should fast food and restaurant really exist in the same line) but it’s better fare then many of the big names out there. They even have a mascot. A line-drawn boyish face named Big Wheel; he’s a rather likable chap and should Big Wheel franchise out, he could appeal to a younger audience or a big kid like me.

3 Blokes out of 5