I have lived in Vancouver for over 37 years. That almost, but not quite, makes me a unicorn (we call people who are born and raised in Vancouver unicorns – because nobody’s totally sure if they exist, they’re so rare!). However, my younger brother is a unicorn and so is Food Husband Sean so I do know they’re not a myth!
When you’ve lived in Vancouver that long, you don’t call it Van (it’s not Van down by the Fraser River) or Vancity (it’s not Vancity – that’s the name of a BANK).
You also know that some of the city’s best hidden gems to eat in are actually outside of the city limits. Like my last post on Pho Tan. And like Burger Heaven.
Burger Heaven is located about a block away from New West Skytrain station, in… you guessed it… New Westminster. A few months ago a local newspaper restaurant reviewer wrote about the developments in the food scene in New West and said that, while Vancouverites would have to take the Skytrain there, it would make for a nice day trip. (it’s a 20 minute trip on rapid transit… O. M. G. Pack a lunch and a change of clothes and notify your next of kin!). My guess is, she’s probably not a unicorn.
The food is fresh, made from scratch in the kitchen and the quality is stellar. You won’t get an $8 burger here but, you will get one of the freshest, tastiest burgers in the lower mainland and, if you go in for lunch, you likely won’t need dinner.
So whether or not travelling a few minutes out of the city limits to New West scares or intrigues you, Burger Heaven is worth it. They make one of my favourite burgers in Metro Vancouver – hands down: The BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger.
So here it is:
5 Reasons Why I Love Burger Heaven
- the BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger: solid homemade beef patty that fits perfectly into your choice of white or whole wheat bun smothered in tangy BBQ sauce, mayo, cheddar, thick slices of perfectly cooked bacon, fresh lettuce, tomato and purple onion. Only thing missing, in my opinion, is a dill pickle.
- A bun that’s up to the job (why do so many burger restaurants get this part wrong???)
- the gravy for your fries comes in a little warmer so you have hot gravy all through your meal – and it’s delicious
- the great photo collages on the wall that take you back in time with Burger Heaven patrons.
- More exotic burger fare for the adventurous, including Yak, Buffalo and Elk, as well as a whole range of specialty burgers like the Baja Chicken Burgers, the Instanity Burger and the Thai Beef Burger (to name just a few). Finish the Ernie’s Mile High Burger and get posted on their Wall of Fame
Shooting Restaurant Food With a Smart Phone
This entire post was photographed with a smart phone. It’s my first food post shot entirely with a mobile device. About a year ago, I moved to the Blackberry Z10 (no comments please – I hear enough of them already). Whatever your thoughts on Blackberries, the camera on this device is excellent. Good colour saturation, pretty sharp images, even the ability to focus with some depth of field and it does remarkably well in low light without a flash.
I’ve had pretty decent success using it for food photos on instagram and facebook so I thought I’d give it a try and shoot a whole post with one. The light in Burger Heaven was very dim but I was facing the window (although not right next to it). The first four photos turned out well. The fifth is not properly focused.
But, here’s the thing: on my phone, they all looked great – sharp and free of noise. When I got them off the phone and onto my Mac, I was shocked by how much digital noise there was. Definitely not good enough for a blog post. All the images here were run through Adobe Lightroom for some noise cleanup. And even so, there is still too much. Cleaning them up any more would have degraded the clarity and sharpness of the food.
So my verdict is, it will do in a pinch, and probably do very well in excellent light. But for the most part, I think I’ll stick to using it just for instagram and facebook!
What’s your verdict or tips for mobile food photography?
My view is that if the food looks enticing – i.e makes you want to snatch it from the screen and dig in – the picture is doing its job. And these look great. A smartphone is much less intrusive at a restaurant too so I’d rather enjoy the whole occasion and have pics with a bit of noise than make the whole meal into a photoshoot (unless that’s the reason you are there of course). One of my most popular posts uses pics taken on an iphone (and Foodgawker etc accepted it!) – tomato soup.
I went to this place over the weekend and have to say I have never received such horrible service! The burger was overcooked and dry!!
Oh dear! I’m sorry to hear that. Admittedly, this post was written over a year ago and I haven’t been in recent months but I’ve always had a great experience there. I hope they haven’t changed management or anything. I’ll have to check it out again next time I’m in New West.
They haven’t changed management, but the kitchen staff is a bit short right now. I’ve been going here 25+ years and have had very few quality issues.
Too bad Kendra is gone, she had that place humming.