It's an interesting little world, the world of burger makers. Some try hard to achieve greatness; others don't try at all. And then there's EPIC, the Northern Quest sports restaurant (take note: not a bar). They do try. They try hard. Very hard. Too hard.
EPIC's big claim to fame in the burger world is their Surf & Turf Burger. Subjectively, I find this to be a less than stellar name, mostly because it reminds me of the «surf and turd» scene in Meet the Parents, but that is probably just me…
Anyway, the burger!
There is a lot going on here, and I can't help but think the surf part is sorta pointless. The shrimp aren't on the burger, they're skewered through it. What the point of them is, I don't know. Are we supposed to eat them alongside the burger? Or are we supposed to put them on it?
I tried it both ways, and can't say I would recommend either. A shrimp is pretty hopeless to work with if it's not fresh, and these were anything but. That flavorless stringy feeling? It was here, every bit as bad as one would fear.
Worse still was the patty's doneness. I can gladly live with being served a medium burger, even when ordered medium-rare. Really, how picky can one be? I can not gladly live with it being well-done, however, and that was how EPIC served it.
Too bad, as there were hints in there of something quite tasty.
The ciabatta bun fared better -- more bread-like than a typical bun -- and baby greens are in general a lot easier to eat than one big leaf of lettuce. Good points for both of those.
Yet, just when things were improving, the white truffle aioli came trampling in, almost overpowering the patty itself. There might have been more of a balance there, had the burger come properly to order, but…
Maybe it's just me, but I expect more than this from a $15 burger. Yes. That's fifteen dollars, which makes it the most expensive burger in this great chase so far.
I would have been a lot more forgiving had it clocked in closer to $10.
Flaws aside, this was overall a smidgen better than Post St's offering. EPIC was not a horrible experience, just an expensive average one.
- Manito Tap House
- Wisconsinburger
- Saranac
- Waddell’s
- Churchill’s
- Northern Quest EPIC
- Post St Ale House
Photo courtesy of the Great Burger Chase’s official photography studio, Erick Doxey Photography.