This weekend we celebrate Canada turning 150 years old,  she looks pretty good for her age (at least the view from Jericho does).  As we ponder how each part of the country is going to celebrate the big 1-5-0, I thought I’d chime in and give you some ideas about what to do in Vancouver…..

 Vancouver really is a beautiful city!  But…..what if you don’t like the beach, what is there to do on this Canada Day long weekend. Get outside get some vitamin D, if the beach isn’t your thing, try Granville Island.  With 100s of shops and restaurants, you are sure to find something that catches your interest.  If you have a dog, check out the Granville Island Pet Treatery   they have great healthy treats and some “Canadian” Accessories so your dog can show his/her Patriotic side.  Now that the dog is fed, its time to feed yourself, hit Edible Canada, a great array of foods that are locally sourced and Canadian influenced.  Don’t forget to hit the shop on the way out and grab a few local treats!

 Don’t like crowded islands, not a problem, hit gastown.  Lots of sights and sounds, you can see the Gastown Steam Clock, Visit the Gassy Jack Statue, and Grab a burger at Vera’s Burger Shack, voted Vancouvers Best Burgers for over a decade.

 Still not digging the Westcoast Vibe, hit the mountain… Grouse Mountain, take the tram up, the view on a weekend as beautiful as this one is going to be amazing, don’t forget to check out the bears….

  If the bears don’t inspire you maybe the fish will….head to Steveston, great walking areas, and even better fish and chips.  Hit the open seas for some whale watching, they are pretty special animals.  After you have worked up an appetite try the Seafood Platter at Blue Canoe!

Last but not least, make sure you check out Canada Place, for the Fireworks and Flyover Canada, both are pretty spectacular.

Have a Great Weekend!

Something really cool happened in the restaurant world this past week.  The Michelin Dining stars were given out in Singapore.  That is cool, but the really cool part happened at the Chinatown Complex.  It is a huge outdoor venue where you can get your eat and drink on. 

Literally if you cannot find your fix there it may not be anywhere,  anyway I digress. The really cool part is that one of the hawkers (as they are called) received a Michelin star!  Cue the sound of the record scratching to a halt,  but zis is impossible (said in my bestest snobbiest French accent). Au contraire mes amis, it happened,  it really did. 

Every morning Chan Hon Meng gets up before the light of day,  and heads into Hong Kong Soya Sauce Chicken Rice and Noodle,  as some of you may know,  I love simple names and that name says it all, the entire menu in the name. Once he gets there he goes to work making his Soya Sauce Chicken,  apparently as the name of the shop says, you can get it with rice or noodles. Now as a Michelin star “restaurant” you may ask yourself how much do I have to pay for this dish?  It is roughly $3903.00, I know what you are thinking,  WHAT,  WHO DOES THIS GUY THINK HE IS!  I’ll break it down for you,  $3000.00 for the flight to Singapore,  $900.00 for the hotel and spending money for a couple of days and 3bucks for the chicken (including tip).  As Mr. Meng says,  a fair price for the meal. It’s as awesome as it can get! 

Now to be fair I’ve never been there,  but hey,  the guy has a line up everyday from open until he runs out.  They can’t all be crazy.  

This guy does it all,  virtually by himself day in day out and he wouldn’t have it any other way. 

Now of course being the guy that I am (cheap and impatient).  I decided that I would forego the trip to Singapore this week and try to make it myself.

While I’m sure that my version was not anywhere as good as Mr. Mengs, in my opinion mine turned out pretty good, check out the pics below. 

Charlie APPROVED! 

What can I tell you,  people will drink sand when they don’t know what water tastes like.  Poor kid. 

But I still thought it was pretty good. 
Leave me a message if you want the recipe! 

 Thanks for reading,  Gerald

Don’t get me wrong…Burgers are DA BOMB! But the other day, it occurred to me that I’d really love to have a go at making some good old-fashioned Montreal Style smoked meat. You know… the kind made famous by joints like Schwartzes, Snowdon Deli and Toronto staple Caplansky’s. The results of my experiments are below. In my opinion it turned out pretty fantastic, but I’ll leave the smoked meat to the pros. 

What do you think?  Have you made your own Smoked Meat? 
Wishing You Many Marinated Moments of Barbecued Bliss,

Gerald Tritt

Gerald Tritt will make you KING or QUEEN of your grill!

In this episode of Top 4 Barbecue Blunders, Vera’s Burger Shack  Co-owner, Gerald Tritt explains barbecue blunder #4 – Overcooking.  For the sake of your burgers and reputation, please pay attention to your burgers while they are cooking! Keep that lid open so as not to burn them to a crisp,  and don’t let them cook for more than 7-8 mins total.

We want to hear how YOU do it! Share your barbecue tips in the comments below! For more information on purchasing 6-packs of Vera’s tasty fresh handmade burgers for you to grill at home, visit our website and our Facebook page.

Enjoy Vera’s fresh and tasty burgers and hot dogs on your backyard BBQ!

Gerald Tritt wants you to stop FLIPPING!

In this episode of Top 4 Barbecue Blunders, Vera’s Burger Shack  Co-owner, Gerald Tritt explains barbecue blunder #3 – Flipper the Clown: Your spatula is for turning burgers, NOT for flipping them every 20 seconds. Over-flipping will take the juice out of your burger and cause your patty to disintegrate on the grill. Don’t be “Flipper the Clown”. Share your barbecue tips in the comments below! For more information on purchasing 6-packs of Vera’s tasty fresh handmade burgers for you to grill at home, visit our website and our Facebook page.

Vera’s Burger Shack began as a beach concession at Dundarave Pier in West Vancouver in 1977 under the watchful eye of Vera and her husband Frank. Vera prided herself on serving fresh, delicious, homemade food. She had a passion for looking after the people who would come down to the beach, sometimes daily, to get one of her tasty burgers.

As Vera and Frank got older, they decided to temporarily hand over day-to-day operations to their granddaughters while Vera searched for the perfect candidate to carry on the Vera’s Burger Shack legacy into the new millennium. Enter Gerald Tritt, a family friend, and no stranger to a great hamburger.

Gerald Tritt took over concession operations in 2000 with a promise to continue to build on the legend that began with Vera and Frank. Noah Cantor, another professed burger aficionado, partnered with him a year later to craft a burger experience all about fresh, delicious, homemade food in a friendly, comfortable environment. That’s why Vera’s only serves hand-crafted burgers freshly made in-house daily and prepared to order from top tier ingredients – each one joyfully assembled by great people who love what they do and who they do it for.

On Gerald Tritt and Noah Cantor’s watch, Vera’s only uses fresh beef, and creates your burger just for you when you order it – so it may take a bit longer. Every Vera’s burger is cooked to an internal temperature of 160 degrees F, slightly pink in the middle, and delicious throughout. Our double-fried freshly cut fries, made from golden Kennebec potatoes, are more than slightly addictive. Our milkshakes are made with real ice cream from the milk of BC dairy cows and our signature Vera’s sauce is prepared fresh, in-house, and is so good, you might want to drink it straight from the cup!

Vera’s has gone from a stand-alone shack on the beach in West Vancouver to 17 locations across the Lower Mainland and one lone shack in the Nation’s capital. Vera’s dream of an exceptional burger experience has grown into a network of well-run burger shacks led by a dynamic group of franchisees committed to Vera’s single, unifying vision of burger excellence.

We hope you will love every one of your experiences at Vera’s. If you don’t like something, please let us know and we’ll fix it. That’s how we keep getting better.

We serve an honest burger. We believe it’s a big part of why we’ve consistently won “Best Burger” awards for 10 years in a row and counting. Thanks for being a part of Vera’s story so far, and for helping us live up to our cheeky slogan – “You Can’t Beat Vera’s Meat!”

Gerald Tritt says: “Spatulas are made for turning not SQUEEZING!”

In this episode of Top 4 Barbecue Blunders, Vera’s Burger Shack  Co-owner, Gerald Tritt explains #2 – The Squeeze – How pressing down on the patty dries out your burger and ruins an otherwise juicy hamburger experience. Share your barbecue tips in the comments below! For more information on purchasing 6-packs of Vera’s tasty fresh handmade burgers for you to grill at home, visit our website and our Facebook page.

Gerald Tritt can help you avoid #barbecueblunders in order to cook juicy burgers like these!

Vera’s Burger Shack began as a beach concession at Dundarave Pier in West Vancouver in 1977 under the watchful eye of Vera and her husband Frank. Vera prided herself on serving fresh, delicious, homemade food. She had a passion for looking after the people who would come down to the beach, sometimes daily, to get one of her tasty burgers.

As Vera and Frank got older, they decided to temporarily hand over day-to-day operations to their granddaughters while Vera searched for the perfect candidate to carry on the Vera’s Burger Shack legacy into the new millennium. Enter Gerald Tritt, a family friend, and no stranger to a great hamburger.

Gerald Tritt took over concession operations in 2000 with a promise to continue to build on the legend that began with Vera and Frank. Noah Cantor, another professed burger aficionado, partnered with him a year later to craft a burger experience all about fresh, delicious, homemade food in a friendly, comfortable environment. That’s why Vera’s only serves hand-crafted burgers freshly made in-house daily and prepared to order from top tier ingredients – each one joyfully assembled by great people who love what they do and who they do it for.

On Gerald Tritt and Noah Cantor’s watch, Vera’s only uses fresh beef, and creates your burger just for you when you order it – so it may take a bit longer. Every Vera’s burger is cooked to an internal temperature of 160 degrees F, slightly pink in the middle, and delicious throughout. Our double-fried freshly cut fries, made from golden Kennebec potatoes, are more than slightly addictive. Our milkshakes are made with real ice cream from the milk of BC dairy cows and our signature Vera’s sauce is prepared fresh, in-house, and is so good, you might want to drink it straight from the cup!

Vera’s has gone from a stand-alone shack on the beach in West Vancouver to 17 locations across the Lower Mainland and one lone shack in the Nation’s capital. Vera’s dream of an exceptional burger experience has grown into a network of well-run burger shacks led by a dynamic group of franchisees committed to Vera’s single, unifying vision of burger excellence.

We hope you will love every one of your experiences at Vera’s. If you don’t like something, please let us know and we’ll fix it. That’s how we keep getting better.

We serve an honest burger. We believe it’s a big part of why we’ve consistently won “Best Burger” awards for 10 years in a row and counting. Thanks for being a part of Vera’s story so far, and for helping us live up to our cheeky slogan – “You Can’t Beat Vera’s Meat!”

Gerald Tritt presents Barbecue Blunder #1:
A DIRTY GRILL

In this video, I present the first in a four part series on Barbecue Blunders aka “How to ruin a perfectly good  burger.” I hope you find this video helpful and that it helps you on your way to becoming ‘King or Queen of the Grill’.

Sending you burger love and grilled regards,

Gerald Tritt

How many of you have been on a first date? Most, if not all of you, right?  Most of us have been on our fair share.

Now, how many of you have shown up on a first date with bad breath, smelly clothes, and a look that says “I literally just rolled out of bed”?

Not too many of us, right?

Most of us view a first date as a chance to shine, to leave a great impression and perhaps even get the coveted Second Date.  Fresh clothes, a nice smile, a positive attitude, and perhaps even a little cologne and hair product to present the very best version of yourself. On that date, you were likely your most accommodating, kindest, sweetest  and most appreciative self. Basically, you treated your date like gold.   This description also pretty accurately reflects how many people show up to interview for the big job, ask for the raise or  go after that big account.

 In customer service, everyday is your first date.  Vera’s Burger Shack has 15 stores throughout the Lower Mainland of British Columbia and one in Ottawa, Ontario.  Those locations see thousands of interactions every week, both internally between staff and management and externally with our guests. Every single one of those interactions count. We aim for every single one of those interactions to be a great first date, where our guests leave feeling like they’ve got a little crush on our burgers and can’t wait to see us again.

 In the competitive world of food service, guests have countless options. Even if the food is outstanding, a poor guest experience can cost you a customer for life. If your staff show up for work looking and acting like they don’t care about their job, chances are it will detract from the guest experience.

 SO, how do you treat everyday as a first date? It comes down to that nasty four letter word – “work”.  You have to work at it.  I have a friend who literally jumps out of bed to start each day. He treats every interaction with his customers as a personal challenge to see just how great he can make them feel.  It comes easy to him now, but he had to work at it.  Like muscles, you have to exercise your attitude to make permanent changes.  You have to work at being the best you can be all the time – smile, compliment, be concerned and accommodating, just like you are on that all-important first date.  

 When you are in the customer service industry (and aren’t we all?), if you don’t make a great first impression, your precious customers will find somewhere else to take their hard earned money where they are treated and made to feel even just a little bit better than they do at your establishment.  However, if you capture their hearts and make them feel truly cared for, not only will your customers become regulars, they will become passionate fans (we call ours “Veravangelists”) that run to tell all their friends (online and off) just how great their date was and how everyone should look for a little ‘burger love’ at their nearest Vera’s Burger Shack. 

 Sending you Big Burger Love,

 Gerald Tritt