THE WORKS - Waterloo

The Works has finally come to Waterloo! It's only been the first week and the place is already packed every night! We got their at around 6:30, and we had to wait 40 minutes for an 8 person table. J and I went back on a Friday night at around 7:30 and had to wait 25 minutes. We noticed it started to slow down around 9 so we will try coming around that time next time!

THE WORKS (Waterloo)
Where: 92 King Street South
Waterloo, ON
N2J 4V1
Price: $$ (One burger combo came to $17 tax and tip included)

First off - their menu is INSANE. They have over 70 varieties of burgers (with the choice of elk meat too! ELK! Who does that !?)

Over 70 different varieties of toppings to choose from

They are all customized for the KW region with names such as The 'Don't Step on The Hawk', the Grand River burger, Mackenzie King and others. Fun to know that these burgers will only be available here : )

The interior is interesting in terms of decor - suited the theme :) The decor was also quite unique and fun

The Works' cups!

Their S+P shakers

They even have a separate private dining section (called "The Boiler Room) that you can book out for private functions.

ON TO THE FOOD :)

We started off with an Oreo-Mocha Milkshake:

8 oz. Oreo-Mocha Milkshake ($3.49)

Came in an adorable miniature sized measuring cup to follow the theme!

We noticed that everyone around were getting either milkshakes or floats (the floats are HUGE - 16 oz. to be exact. They were very generous with ice cream!) so we decided we had to try one of them as well. They have a very extensive list of milkshakes ranging from the typical vanilla, strawberry, chocolate to flavours like strawberry kiwi, butterscotch banana and pina colada! It was so creamy, frothy and thick in the best way possible. So delicious and they were quite generous with the oreo!

Sum Yung Guy ($12.81 + $2.96 poutine upgrade)
(Cream cheese, caramelized onion, gouda & bacon strip)

The Sum Yung Guy was the winner of the night (although I cannot say the same for the poutine). The cream cheese with the caramelized onions was to die for. Such a perfect match, I cannot even begin to explain. The poutine on the other hand was mediocre, there was really nothing that spectacular about it..

Sum Yung Guy
(Cream cheese, caramelized onion, gouda & bacon strip)

Three Ring Binder with Sweet Potato Strings ($13.96) 

The sweet potato fries were perfect - crispy, salty and sweet! The Works is also one of the few places I know that doesn't charge extra for changing regular fries to sweet potato!

Three Ring Binder
(Sauteed mushrooms, chipotle mayo,
gouda cheese and 3 onion rings)

Was excited to try this one (I'm a sucker for onion rings in burgers!), but after Sum Yung Guy, this simply did not compare. It was good, but SYG seriously took the cake.

Belgian Frites ($8.16)
(Trio platter of fresh cut factory fries, crispy breaded onion rings and sweet potato strings)

The Belgian Frites also came with three homemade dipping sauces: Chipotle Ketchup, Sweet 'n Spicy and Smokey BBQ. Their onion rings are breaded not battered! so the entire onion actually stays intact when you eat it. Since they're breaded, it also makes them enormous!

One thing we noticed was that the Tower-O-Rings ($9.69) was a very popular choice but didn't seem to be worth it in comparison to Belgian Frites. The Tower-O-Rings is (quite literally) a tower of perhaps 10 onion rings or so. My friend noted that her combo already included close to 10 onion rings BUT also included fries and was a dollar cheaper!

Andrean with Spicy Die Cut Chips ($ 12.97)
(Black pepper crust, gouda cheese & crispy bacon)

Look at the size of that patty! Nearly the same size as the bowl..!

My friend substituted the regular beef patty for a turkey patty which was really good - so moist! But the pepper crust was way too strong. It completely overpowered anything else in that burger :( The chips were really good though, super thin and fried to perfection!

Rambo with Spicy Die-Cut Chips ($13.94)
(Mushrooms, Smokey BBQ, Cheddar & double smoked bacon)

Rambo was really good - the bbq sauce realy gave an extra kick in this burger. Although we did note that there was nothing really too special about it since this is something you could easily make yourself...

SK8R Boy with Fresh Cut Factory Fries ($12.78)
(Peanut butter, Jack Cheese & Strip Bacon)

Interesting combo, the peanut butter contrasted very nicely with the beef, surprisingly! It is a bit of an odd combination though so I do warn for only the brave to try!!

Overall, great great restaurant to open in a university-town. Good food and great atmosphere! Only issue would be the wait (You have to wait to get a table.. then wait another 20 minutes for them to make your burgers - to ensure freshness and quality). Other than that, this place is a fantastic burger joint. Must try!