Dining Out: Jack’s burgers for fresh flavours
Jack’s Burger Shack in St. Albert keeps it simple, fresh at great price
In an age when supersized gimmickry and wacky combinations have turned the humble burger into an extravaganza of sloppy toppings, it is refreshing to find a burger joint that celebrates fresh, uncomplicated ingredients.
Jack’s Burger Shack, a little hamburger spot that set up shop in St. Albert almost a year ago, is just such a place, focusing its attention on making a great burger, with great success.
Its beef is ground fresh every day by the local butcher, D’Arcy’s Meat Market; the buns are baked just for them by the St. Albert Safeway. And while the burgers come in a range of inspired variations (like The Quebecer, with fries, gravy and cheese curds; The Inferno, with jalapenos, cheese and banana pepper marmalade and The Hangover, a burger sandwiched between two grilled cheeses) they are anything but overdone.
Because at their heart, these cute combinations are all about one thing — a delicious, fresh patty on a delicious, fresh bun.
While I wouldn’t call myself a burger connoisseur, I was savvy enough to dine at Jack’s with two of the best: my teen and preteen sons, who between them, have consumed a veritable herd of burgers from Vancouver to Halifax, covered in brisket, onion rings, corned beef, potato chips, jalapenos, and every sauce imaginable.
They proclaimed the burgers at Jack’s to be the best, period.
If you’re at all familiar with males of this age, or have ever been one yourself, you’ll know they tend more toward monosyllabic than effusive. Yet after a couple of bites of The Hangover, my older son said, “That’s just straight up amazing. This is a fabulous burger, I’m just sayin’.”
The grilled cheese sandwiches surrounding the burger were perfectly round and compact; the simple toppings of ketchup, mustard and pickle allowed the burger and cheese to take centre stage.
The younger one agreed, as he inhaled his Quebecer right down to the last cheese curd without pausing for breath. “It’s the best burger I’ve ever had, definitely.”
I did manage to wrestle a bite from each of their lunches before digging into my own sandwich, cleverly named The Brontosaurus. If you’re thinking all Fred Flintstone, you’re imagining an enormous, beef or bison burger, right? Instead, think of what the brontosaurus — a giant herbivore — might himself have eaten.
The Brontosaurus is the lone vegetarian option on the menu, a perfectly decent, homemade chick pea patty on the same yummy bun, with Jack’s signature, mayonnaise-based sauce. But in all honesty, I wished I’d ordered one of those awesome burgers.
They’re each a healthy size on buns to match, without being obscenely large. They come in eight varieties plus one special burger of the day, served without sides, for a reasonable $7 to $9 each. A bowl of hand-cut fries served with fabulous, homemade malt aioli costs $4.
Despite the small menu, Jack’s is accommodating of all diets. For the beef-averse, they’ll substitute a chicken breast. For the carb-averse, they’ll substitute a lettuce wrap for the bun. For the gluten-averse, they have glutenfree buns.
This place even makes a great, simple salad — two in fact — a classic wedge of iceberg with bacon, tomato, onion and blue cheese, or a Caesar wedge. I ordered the classic version, and my kids devoured it before I’d snagged more than a couple of forkfuls.
That pretty much covers the whole menu, except for the milkshakes. They too are a bargain: $5 for a 16-oz cup — again, generous without being too big, in playful flavours like Darth Vader (vanilla mixed with Coke), Cap’n Crunch and Creamsicle. I particularly liked the Italian Stallion, a vanilla shake mixed with coffee and garnished with crushed amaretti cookies.
The music is a pleasantly retro mix of upbeat ’80s and ’90s fare. Service is bustling and efficient, with customers ordering at the counter, where they can watch coowners and brothers Ninh and Tu Le work their magic on the flat top. According to the website, the pair first opened Jack’s in Slave Lake in 2012, then moved to St. Albert last August.
The small shop has only a handful of tables inside; another half-dozen or so are available outside on a pleasant little patio set back from Perron Street, the main drag of St. Albert’s pretty downtown.
Jack’s is open for lunch from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and for dinner from 4 to 8 p.m. The place is usually hopping, and has been known to sell out of burgers; show up late and you may be disappointed.
If you live in Edmonton, or Sherwood Park, or even Leduc, it’s worth the drive, especially on a summer evening. If you live in St. Albert, well, lucky you.