The Pink Bicycle
1008 Blanshard St.
250-384-1008
www.pinkbicycleburger.com
I am struggling to write this review, because the Pink Bicycle was once one of my fav’s, but my most recent visit leaves me with a big question mark. I’ve had some great burgers at the Pink Bicycle, and tasty sides( red onion rings and deep-fried macaroni cheese sticks to name a few). The company I’ve taken to the Pink Bicycle has always left satisfied, both stomach and tastebuds.
I went to the PB a few nights ago with my good buddy SP, because he hadn’t heard of/ or eaten there. I assured him he was in for a treat. It wasn’t a very busy night( but it’s always packed at lunch-time!), so the mood inside was pretty relaxed. A lanky employee gave us a seat, talked us up colloquially, and informed us that the beer special was a blackberry “Heifer”weizen( I don’t think he meant to pronounce it like this intentionally). We browsed the menu and came to dinner decisions quickly, and the server approached us lackadaisically. I wanted to try one of the veggie burger options, so I took the servers suggestion of the Moroccan Veggie Burger with Herbed goat cheese, and red onion rings as a side( $15). SP went for the classic Pink Bicycle cheese burger and the onion rings too( I remembered them being delicious from the last visit I had).
The food came quickly, and it smelled great. I was let down by the red onion rings right off the bat, they were obviously over-cooked, the batter was overbubbled, maybe the oil was on too high of a heat. They had good flavour, but nothing compared to what I expected from my last visit where they were crispy, but remained soft and the batter was sweet with some moisture still. SP enjoyed his burger, although it ended up being sloppy near the end sliding all over the place, part of the fun of eating a big burger! My veggie burger was made with chickpeas and dates, and the spicing of the patty was tasty. I wasn’t a huge fan of the texture though, it reminded me of mashed sweet potatoes with a crispy fried skin. The dates were probably a little heavy handed, making each bite less like a burger.
We took one of the servers up on the dessert special, hand-rolled truffles. There were an assortment, including a chocolate cheesecake truffle, oreo, and fudge. These were definitely homemade, but they were amateur at best unfortunately. The last time I had truffles for dessert was at Cafe Brio, and they were Earl Grey scented, truly exquisite. For $5 for these truffles, it was reasonable, but I wouldn’t order them again.
Overall it was a fun experience, but that was due solely to my company. Including tip, I paid $28.00 for the bill, and left feeling like I was jilted at the altar. When I went to the Pink Bicycle in the early days, I had nothing but rave reviews. Maybe it’s an issue of putting the training wheels back on the Pink Bicycle.
Going to Pink Bicycle for a veggie burger is like.. going to the Canoe Club for a Bud Lite, or to the Habit for a herbal tea. What’s the point? If you want a veggie burger go to some New Age hippie bird food bar that specializes in them. Truth be told, I don’t even think a veggie burger is a real burger. It’s just seasoned chick peak and nut mash in a bun. Take your experience as a lesson: don’t go to the best burger joint in town and order a non-burger; you’re bound to be disappointed, especially when you see your table-mate eating the real thing!
I stand by my opinion that Pink Bicycle is the best meat burger in town. My one complaint has been the odd bad batch of fries. They need to change their deep fry oil more often. I’ve never had an issue with the soup.
But the stand-alone, ala carte Blue Flame Burger – best in the city. And I’d stand on the Victoria Burger Blog’s coffee table with dirty cowboy boots and say that!
Enjoying your reviews, as usual.
If they really were the best burger place in town, they should be able to make a decent veggie burger and consistently good fried food. The onion rings I had there were terrible – exactly what this blog was reporting “over-cooked, the batter was overbubbled” – yuck! I’ll spend my caloric intake elsewhere.
My expectations were definitely high, even though I went veggie for a night. I’ve had good veggie burgers, some that were as satisfying as meat, if not more. If the Pink Bicycle, being the burger joint it is, has two veggies options, I’m expecting they should stand up to their meat neighbours on the menu.
Adding salt to the wound, my friend who had the beef burger, said he had better burgers elsewhere. Perhaps they were having an off night in the kitchen. It pangs my heart to disagree with you, because I’ve enjoyed and raved about the PB, I’m hoping it was a one-off.
Haha get your cowboy boots on, and jump on the coffee table, ” Here ye, Here ye, Burger lovers…”
Ah well, even the best burger joints can’t be the best all of the time.
There always is a risk of the sitting-on-laurels syndrome with restaurants that quickly develop a famous reputation. I guess it’s easy to let the guard down the odd night. And also consider the pressure a place like Pink Bicycle is under in maintaining that high standard all of the time.
When I get back from my trip, why don’t you and my go to Pink Bicycle and put their feet to the fire?
Deal
I’m thinking that the Blackberry “Heifer” weizen that your server referred to, was indeed, meant to be pronounced that way…Phillips new seasonal release is the Blackberry Heifer Bison….
But maybe not.
I personally haven’t heard Hefeweizen pronounced with an ‘r’, so that’s why it threw me off..I just checked the Phillips page, and I appreciate your correction,
http://phillipsbeer.com/craft-beers/current-beers
I’ve been there four times, but only managed to eat the first time. Every time since, we’ve been turned away.
The first time we were turned away I don’t remember now why. The second time was about a month ago, we showed up at about 8:00, but they had a big group and had run out of chairs, so while there was food (and tables) available, they didn’t think they’d be able to seat us before they closed.
We tried again tonight at about 7:30 only to be told we can’t be served because they have, get this, run out of buns. Friday night, a burger place, runs out of buns?
We made a special trip downtown to visit since my first time was so good, but after three tries, I think we’re done.
J\
Wow that’s a joke, sorry to hear your experience with PB. My last experience there was mediocre at best, and I haven’t been back since.