Restaurant Review: Jack's Burger Shack

JACK'S BURGER SHACK 15 Perron Street, St. Albert | jacksburgershack.ca Instagram: @jacksburgershack | Twitter: @JacksBS Co-Diners: The E.A.T Crew

I'm always down for trying a new great burger. Who isn't? Open since 2013, Jack's Burger Shack (it's hardly a "shack") quickly rose to fame as one of the best burger joints in St. Albert. (Which is pretty much a suburb of Edmonton.) They have since opened a second location right downtown in Edmonton, but you know me, I'm all about the OGs. VUE Weekly named Jack's #1 Worth the Trip: St. Albert 2018 and CBC Edmonton's Best Restaurants 2019 called them the Best Restaurant Outside City Limits. I drove out to St. Albert on a Saturday evening and made my way to the Perron District, which is a very cute part of town. Jack's Burger Shack can be found in a fairly low-key strip mall type of area, surrounded by other restaurants. They have a courtyard area (which is also shared with the other restaurants) and they all seem to be vying for patio real estate. Various sections of the outdoor seating is roped off from one another in an attempt to claim their own space. However, the outdoor seating is key because there is almost nowhere to sit inside. There are a few seats by the windows but nothing beyond that. The inside of the restaurant offers almost nothing in terms of decor and is more or less a take-out counter. There is a chalk board menu that lists all of the extensive choices and I took some time to make the perfect selections. There are ten different burgers to choose from, all using the highest quality beef which is ground fresh daily, freshly baked buns, and house made sauces. I was really into the idea of the BBQ Crunch (anything with chips on it) and the All Shook Up (anything with peanut butter on it) but had to narrow things down to the two burgers that I thought were the most unique. The natural choice for me had to be the Quebecer ($11.50). I needed to see how well they could execute this admittedly excellent idea.

Standard with fries, gravy, cheese curds & ranch.

If you can jam a poutine into something, I'm here for it. The burgers at Jack's are made in the popular "smashburger" style where the beef is "smashed" onto an extremely hot and flat cooking surface. This gives the meat a crispy and caramelized exterior and is meant to sear in the juices. The Quebecer is large and full of stuff! The soft, fresh bun was certainly a highlight for me and I liked the quality of their hand cut fries. This burger was messy but did a decent job of capturing a poutine (in burger form). I didn't really get the gravy and there could have been more cheese curds, but I did like the addition of ranch. Overall, this was my preferred burger of the meal. Our second burger was the Hangover ($11.00) because maybe I just like the idea of grilled cheese sandwiches as a bun? It's not a new concept. I've seen it done before, namely at The Burger's Priest, but it gets me every time.

Beef patty, pickle, ketchup & mustard, between two grill'd cheese.

The grilled cheese bun delivered. Melty and cheesy on the inside, these were pretty good as far as grilled cheese sandwiches go. The rest of the burger was a bit more lackluster for me, mostly because of the meat. So let's talk about the beef patties because both of the burgers suffered from the same issue. Despite the loaded toppings on the burgers, I found the patties themselves to be quite dry and uninspired. They lacked seasoning and although they were cooked as smashburgers, were missing the desired caramelization. I really wanted to love them but was sadly underwhelmed. If you're looking for the best smashburger in town, I suggest Flat Boy Burgers. The menu also includes a Sides section which features various types of fries and also some salads. They have a Wedgie Salad which especially caught my eye because a wedge salad is one of my favourite salads. However, I went for the Jack'd Up Fries ($8.00) because this seemed more like their "thing."

Fries, cheese slice, jack sauce & onion.

At first I loved these but they're definitely not something that you can eat too much of! Absolutely smothered in jack sauce (which I think is mostly hot sauce mixed into mayonnaise?), I liked the crispy and golden fries. The bits of cheese were a welcome delight. The sauce was a lot. But it tasted really good. But it was a lot. The shakes are another big deal at Jack's and I had to try one. All of the nine flavours sounded really good and many of them were quite unique. Think Cap'n Crunch or Cinnamon Toast Crunch. They've got a Black & White milkshake, which is another thing that The Burger's Priest does. And the Italian Stallion (which I really want to try) that is made with coffee, vanilla and amaretti. I selected the Darth Vader Shake ($7.00) because it sounded very fun.

Coke & vanilla.

This shake sounded like a coke float, except in milkshake form. I liked that idea! And I loved this shake! This was probably the best part of the whole meal. Deliciously creamy, I loved how well the coke and vanilla flavour was captured and it really did taste like a coke float. Super happy with this! We got one last thing, a Pineapple Dole Whip ($6.00) which seemed like a special item that isn't usually on the menu.

Made famous by Disney, everyone seems to be crazy about Dole whip these days. This dessert was very cold! Somehow colder than a normal ice cream. It was nice and very packed with tart pineapple flavour. I think I wanted it to be creamier because this seemed more like a sorbet. Refreshing and nice for the summer. Jack's Burger Shack was hit and miss. I'm not sure if it's worth the drive to St. Albert. However, I'd be willing to give them another shot because there are several other items on the menu that I would really like to try. I hope that when I return the meat will be on a whole other level. Maybe it was just a bad day? I like their fun ideas and I really want to be impressed when I give them another chance.