#4-2770 2770 32 Avenue NE
So in Calgary, there seems to be a proclivity lately in the culinary world towards burger joints - both high end (Clive Burger, Lounge Burger, Tommy Burger) and low (Fatburger, 5 Guys Burgers & Fries, Smashburger). Being open to both ends of the spectrum meant a visit Sunday to one of the list, Smashburger. We'd heard everything from it being amazing to amazingly salty, so it deserved a visit.
The place in itself isn't in the best location - it's in a strip mall in the NE, with no drive through or anything fancy. It's not standalone, and if I'd not been following someone, I'd not necessarily have spotted the place. As we entered, we noticed quite the line - but one that was moving pretty rapidly and efficiently. One of their good ideas was to place a large stack of menus at the front of the line, so people had a good idea of what they wanted as they got up to the cashier.
This was a bit of a throwback, since once you order, they give you cups for your drinks, and a number for your table should you be sitting down. Much like several of the restaurants in Winnipeg, the server would then run around with your tray looking for the number of the order. During our short wait, I wandered up to what was the fountain pop area, and to my surprise, they had an iced tea bar. For those of you who don't know me well, iced tea is one of my weaknesses - especially southern-style sun-sweetened/unsweetened tea. They had 3 choices today, pomegranate red tea, passionfruit green tea, and an unsweetened black tea. Perfect! They even had lemon wedges beside the area. If it weren't for them only serving burgers, I think I'd be back just for that... multiple times.
Anyways, on with the actual food. Being the crazies that we are, my brother, sister and I ordered 4 larger burgers to share between the 3 of us. Just so we could get a good taste and feel of the place, of course. (all in the name of good reviews, honest!) Apparently it turns out that each state/location has a specialty burger, and in our case, it would be the Calgary burger. The menu description: Canadian seasoned grilled onions, pepper jack cheese, applewood smoked bacon, lettuce, tomato and Dijon-mayonnaise on a kaiser roll. I could go without the dijon mayo, but I'm willing to try it (again, for you readers' sakes, of course!) We'd also gone with the Spicy Baja burger (Pepper jack cheese, guacamole, lettuce, tomato, onion, spicy chipotle mayo and fresh jalapeños on a spicy chipotle bun), the Mushroom Swiss (Garlic sautéed mushrooms, Swiss cheese and mayo on an egg bun), and the grilled Calgary Chicken burger, which was the same as the regular but with a grilled chicken breast.
We added a few sides, including the Smashfries, both regular and sweet potato editions, along with something called Veggies Frites. Of note, they also serve fried pickles but none of us were in the mood at the time. First things first, we dug into the sides, and found a couple things. The fries, sweet and non, and the veggies frites (Flash-fried carrot sticks and green beans) were quite oily, but tasty. The regular fries were a bit overdone, as well, and salty, but the sweet potato fries were excellent. The carrots were surprisingly good, but the beans were definitely over-seasoned. I'd also have to note that for the price ($2.50 a side) the portions were quite small, at least in comparison to places like Peters or 5 Guys. 
On to the burgers: First off, when you first learn to cook a burger, at least, with home made ones, if not store bought, you do NOT mush the burgers flat. It lets juices run out of the burger, instead of creating a nice crust then having the juices sit inside. Oddly enough, this is the namesake of the chain, where they take that beef, smash it down with a weight, right as they begin cooking it. It did make for a nice crust of the beef, but I`m not sure I'm sold on the thickness of it when it's done.
The mushroom swiss to all of us felt a bit heavy/greasy. Tasty, but wasn't a big fan of the bun either. The Calgary burger had a nice balance, but the bun was a little dry, and as mentioned, not sure the dijon did anything for the burger at all. Kinda wish they had the Colorado burger here, from what I saw on the online menu. Finally, the Spicy Baja, which had a nice kick, between both the chipotle mayo, and the chipotle bun. I'd have liked it more personally without the guacamole, but I'm sure anyone who enjoys some heat and avocado will find this to their liking.
In the end, I'd go back - if only for the iced tea bar. The prices are decent, given that you're not getting the sides, and the burgers aren't overly salty like some reports, but I'd definitely be inclined to build my own the next visit.
Taste: 7.5 - I'm not a huge burger fan, so I'd defer more to my family's rating. So far, this place ranks fairly high on their list for good fast food burgers. Sides are too small/oily though.
Presentation: 7.0 - The food comes in shiny silver baskets, but really, it's burgers and fries. The salad bowls look big though. (Who eats salads in a burger bar anyways?)
Ambiance: 4.5 - location, location, location... noisy too!
Prices: $6-8 for a burger, $2.50 for a drink, $2.50 for a side of fries
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