Winterlicious #3 @ Bymark

I went to Bymark for last year's Summerlicious, but that didn't deter me from coming back again. Why? Because I immediately noticed that the famous Bymark burger was on their Winterlicious lunch menu! There was a lot of hype around this gourmet burger, priced at a whopping $35 on their regular lunch menu! Personally, I would never pay $35 for a burger, but I didn't mind trying it for $25 when the deal included an appetizer and dessert!

They served two types of bread- ciabatta and multigrain. We munched on this while examining the menu. I wish we got seconds! 

My boyfriend ordered a fancy version of a caesar salad- Romaine hearts with honey smoked bacon, oven cured tomatoes, reggiano, and caesar vinaigrette. It was lighter than the usual caesar salad and wasn't heavily dressed.

All the girls, myself included, opted for crispy crab cakes with celery root & apple remoulade. Loved the beautiful presentation.

The crab cake was pretty tasty. Alexa wasn't impressed, but Sandy and I both thought that these were quite good. I would've liked more of that remoulade, for that artistic smear was not nearly enough for two crab cakes. I did, however, very much enjoyed that refreshing vegetable slaw. It had a great crunch and paired well with the fried crab cake.

And here, the all mighty Bymark 8 oz U.S.D.A. Prime Burger with brie de meaux and grilled king mushroom! It was definitely a sizable burger! My boyfriend was horrified that the burger was topped with brie cheese (guess he didn't read the menu too carefully). He spent a good 5 minutes scrapping all of it away.

I love it when burgers are cooked to my preference, and I had mine rare. I was so excited to cut my burger open and see that it came out perfectly rare! The quality of the beef was excellent, and the juicy patty was definitely the star of the burger. In contrast, the toppings were rather lackluster. The cheese and mushroom were nice, but they weren't enough to elevate the burger. Some people might prefer the simplicity to let the beef patty shine, but I was really craving for some sort of sweetness. Perhaps adding caramelized onions would've helped. In the end, I settled with smearing a little ketchup onto my burger, and that made it a lot better. Overall, I enjoyed this gourmet burger, but I would still never pay $35 for it. I think that there are affordable burgers out there that are comparable to the quality of this one.

All the burgers came with fries.I didn't eat much of this as I couldn't even finish my burger. Gotta save room for dessert!

Sandy was the rebel of the table and ordered the pasta instead- pappardelle and braised rabbit with winter vegetables, tossed in a grainy mustard sauce. I took a few bites from her pasta and I thought that the mustard sauce was delicious. The sweetness of the sauce certainly worked well with the rabbit and the pappardelle. As well, the rabbit was quite tender. This dish would've been a great alternative had I not set my eyes on the burger. Alexa, on the other hand, thought the pasta tasted Asian.

For dessert, Sandy and Alexa both opted for the apple crostata with caramel crunch ice cream. The crostata was like a free-form apple pie, so naturally, it was an immediate hit. The general complaint was that the pastry on the outside was overly dry and thick, but other than that, we all enjoyed the dessert. I was also disappointed that the caramel crunch wasn't integrated into the ice cream. Instead, there was a single caramel chip on top of what tasted like normal vanilla ice cream.

My boyfriend opted for an orange Nanaimo brownie with toasted meringue. The two bites that I stole were really, really good! Normally, I don't like pairing citrus with chocolate (I hate chocolate oranges), but here, the two components worked strangely well together. I would order this brownie again for myself if I see it on their menu in the future.

I picked the homiest dessert of all- gingerbread cake with sweet potato mousse and maple walnut fudge. Gingerbread, sweet potato, maple, and walnut are all favours that I adore, so it was an obvious choice for me. The cake was very moist and tasted delicious with the creamy mousse, but I couldn't really taste the sweet potato in the mousse. The cubes of maple walnut fudge were adorable, and their tiny size was perfect for such a rich concoction. Overall, I enjoyed my dessert, but I wish all the flavours were more intense- especially the gingerbread and sweet potato mousse. 

On the whole, I enjoyed my lunch at Bymark more than my first experience here. The burger was good, though perhaps not the best burger I've ever had. Nevertheless, it was definitely a good deal for Winterlicious.

Of course, dining with great company makes everything more delicious! Thanks to my lovely girls (and Jeremy) for sharing this wonderful meal with me!