Vancouver's Moderne Burger Reopens After Fire Yesterday we called for retaliation against Canada in the Bigger-Burger War. Today we're making an effort at detente by highlighting Moderne Burger in Vancouver, British Columbia. Moderne came to our attention in the same way Japan's MOS Burger did: through our Flickr photo strip at left. A photo of '50s-style stools (right) caught our attention while looking at the AHT main page. We clicked through and saw that the photographer, Roland Tanglao, had posted a set of photos from Moderne, excited that his favorite burger joint had reopened on Tuesday after a fire there on February 21.
As we clicked through Mr. Tanglao's photos, his enthusiasm for the place proved catching. Apparently, he's not the only one who's wild for it. Other Moderne fans placed signs somewhere near the joint, pleading for it to reopen:
Customers' notes made the paper:
Even Roland and his wife, who we gather have a baby Tanglao, got in on the signage action, writing a note on a banner outside the restaurant. Looks like the baby's old enough to eat solid food and mom and dad want to make him a moderne (little) man:
But what makes Moderne so good? Mr. Tanglao explains:
All burgers are fresh and hand-made. No mass produced burgers. Just pure honest to goodness beef. The fries are cut when you order And the shakes are beautiful and thick. About their only other concession to the 21st century is the inclusion of veggie, turkey, salmon and chicken burgers. The rest of the menu is pretty much standard diner fare: burgers, shakes, cherry cokes, vanilla cokes, etc....
The food is first rate: the burgers are juicy and good and the shakes refreshing. And the ambiance is just right. Cool vintage style paired with vintage 50s and 40s big band music. If you close your eyes, it's easy to imagine you are back in the 40s and 50s.
Sounds good, and the burger (above) looks crisp-juicy, just the way we like 'em. We'd be eager to hear whether Baby Tanglao ever got that first burger his parents promised him.
MODERNE BURGER Location: 2507 W. Broadway, Vancouver, BC (b/n Trafalgar and Larch) Phone: 604-739-0005 Website:Moderne Burger
I wouldn't fill that gas tank just yet if you're willing to trek all the way to Vancouver to try Moderne's burger. I've been there twice already and the first visit shall be called 'horrendous' and the other will be named 'subpar'. The first visit could quite possibly be one of the worst meals I've ever had in my life. There was no encounter of poor service or hate towards the owners, it simply was horrible. It seemed impossible they could serve such a tasteless, dry, plain burger that I had to make a second visit to give them another chance after seeing the signed banner crying for a reopening. The second visit was alot better but nothing to write home about let alone worthy of posting on any blog. Save yourself the trip. This highly overrated burger restaurant was better off resting in peace.
Mr. Tanglao has been pushing this well below average burger joint for quite some time and I couldn't understand why. After eating at some of his selections for 'Top 5 Vancouver Lunches' would explain his glowing review of Moderne. Those are just as bad. It appears he writes for non-profit so his opinion is welcome but I feel his selections are some of the worst this great city of Vancouver has to offer.
And to set the record straight, I don't write for a non profit. I write for myself. I pay for my own food and VanEats is a labour of love; nobody pays me to do it.
I wish you had the discuss feature on Vaneats enabled again so more people could chime in at your site.
As I stated earlier, you write for non-profit meaning you do not make money and I understand you do it because you love food and want to share the riches of Vancouver with others. I applaud you on that and thank you for your honest recommendations but still disagree with many of them.
Quite frankly, I don't think it would be a stretch to throw a rock and hit a better burger restaurant than Moderne anywhere in Vancouver. That doesn't mean I have a powerful arm or an over abundance of burger joints. The places I would recommend are no secret and also not great enough to mention if some readers are willing to drive across borders just to eat at.
The discuss feature is still on. It simply requires you to register and no longer allows anonymous comments. I regretfully turned off anonymous comments after I started getting over a 100 anonymous spam comments per day. I encourage you to register and join in the discussion and/or start your own blog.
We'll have to agree to disagree about Moderne and that's cool. I only wish that you would name some places in Vancouver or if the ones in Vancouver don't meet your standards that you name some outside of Vancouver because I'd love to try them!
All of the people I have talked to who have eaten at Moderne have acknowledged that it's a high quality place with high quality food even it wasn't one of their all time favourites.
The problem with burgers in Vancouver and all of Canada for that matter, is that the Canadian government says all burgers must be well done. You can only get a dry, overly well done burger in Vancouver. Vera's burger shack? Please, they're just a gimmicky place where you can get all the toppings you want on your burger. The meat has no flavor, all you can taste are the toppings. Vancouver desperately needs a great burger joint like In n Out.
I disagree with what tdeane has to say. Obviously as the owner of Vera's Burger shack I am biased, but our burgers are cooked pink (we prob get more complaints about a burger being under-cooked when in fact it is cooked properly). We also quite a bit of fat in our burgers, and a spice pack that contains 8 spices. One of the commetns we get is that despite the 35 different flavour shots that we have, you can still taste the burger itself.
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Yesterday we called for retaliation against Canada in the Bigger-Burger War. Today we're making an effort at detente by highlighting Moderne Burger in Vancouver, British Columbia. Moderne came to our attention in the same way Japan's MOS Burger did: through our Flickr photo strip at left. A photo of '50s-style stools (right) caught our attention while looking at the AHT main page. We clicked through and saw that the photographer, Roland Tanglao, had posted a set of photos from Moderne, excited that his favorite burger joint had reopened on Tuesday after a fire there on February 21.
10 Comments:
Wow. What a loyal (fanatical?) client base! I'll have to check them out on my next trip up to Vancouver.
Hamburger megwoo at 3:24PM on 07/01/05
Since you mentioned MOS Burger, if you are ever in Japan, try Freshness Burger. It is the best burger of any chain you will ever have.
Hamburger David at 10:52PM on 07/01/05
I wouldn't fill that gas tank just yet if you're willing to trek all the way to Vancouver to try Moderne's burger. I've been there twice already and the first visit shall be called 'horrendous' and the other will be named 'subpar'. The first visit could quite possibly be one of the worst meals I've ever had in my life. There was no encounter of poor service or hate towards the owners, it simply was horrible. It seemed impossible they could serve such a tasteless, dry, plain burger that I had to make a second visit to give them another chance after seeing the signed banner crying for a reopening. The second visit was alot better but nothing to write home about let alone worthy of posting on any blog. Save yourself the trip. This highly overrated burger restaurant was better off resting in peace.
Mr. Tanglao has been pushing this well below average burger joint for quite some time and I couldn't understand why. After eating at some of his selections for 'Top 5 Vancouver Lunches' would explain his glowing review of Moderne. Those are just as bad. It appears he writes for non-profit so his opinion is welcome but I feel his selections are some of the worst this great city of Vancouver has to offer.
Hamburger shouzou at 12:24AM on 07/13/05
Shouzou:
I have no problem criticizing my reviews and my top 5 2004 lunches. As the cliché goes, "your mileage may vary". I'd be interested in where you would recommend for burgers and lunch because I am always looking for great places to try.
And to set the record straight, I don't write for a non profit. I write for myself. I pay for my own food and VanEats is a labour of love; nobody pays me to do it.
Cheers!
...Roland
Hamburger Roland Tanglao at 1:56AM on 07/14/05
Roland,
I wish you had the discuss feature on Vaneats enabled again so more people could chime in at your site.
As I stated earlier, you write for non-profit meaning you do not make money and I understand you do it because you love food and want to share the riches of Vancouver with others. I applaud you on that and thank you for your honest recommendations but still disagree with many of them.
Quite frankly, I don't think it would be a stretch to throw a rock and hit a better burger restaurant than Moderne anywhere in Vancouver. That doesn't mean I have a powerful arm or an over abundance of burger joints. The places I would recommend are no secret and also not great enough to mention if some readers are willing to drive across borders just to eat at.
Hamburger Shouzou at 10:04PM on 07/14/05
Shouzou:
The discuss feature is still on. It simply requires you to register and no longer allows anonymous comments. I regretfully turned off anonymous comments after I started getting over a 100 anonymous spam comments per day. I encourage you to register and join in the discussion and/or start your own blog.
We'll have to agree to disagree about Moderne and that's cool. I only wish that you would name some places in Vancouver or if the ones in Vancouver don't meet your standards that you name some outside of Vancouver because I'd love to try them!
All of the people I have talked to who have eaten at Moderne have acknowledged that it's a high quality place with high quality food even it wasn't one of their all time favourites.
Hamburger Roland Tanglao at 9:51PM on 07/15/05
Recently, I have been eating at Vera's burger shack, imo they have the best burgers on this side of the border
Hamburger dave sapungis at 6:48AM on 10/20/06
I am fortunate to live near a Vera's Burger shack and yes it is true "You can't beat Vera's meat"
Hamburger Gary at 8:05PM on 05/14/07
The problem with burgers in Vancouver and all of Canada for that matter, is that the Canadian government says all burgers must be well done. You can only get a dry, overly well done burger in Vancouver. Vera's burger shack? Please, they're just a gimmicky place where you can get all the toppings you want on your burger. The meat has no flavor, all you can taste are the toppings. Vancouver desperately needs a great burger joint like In n Out.
tdeane at 10:10AM on 09/10/08
I disagree with what tdeane has to say. Obviously as the owner of Vera's Burger shack I am biased, but our burgers are cooked pink (we prob get more complaints about a burger being under-cooked when in fact it is cooked properly). We also quite a bit of fat in our burgers, and a spice pack that contains 8 spices. One of the commetns we get is that despite the 35 different flavour shots that we have, you can still taste the burger itself.
gerald tritt at 12:42PM on 10/20/08