Q: negative

A: The workers here have grown jaded from having to deal with university students on a daily basis. We sat a a dirty table for awhile before someone came in and finally cleaned it. I ended up getting a breakfast burrito which was fairly average. It's a place to go if you don't care about lazy service and want average diner food.

Q: negative

A: Just say no. It's smoky, it's country, it's worse than Georgetown, WDC, in terms of diversity (I mean I'm used to being the Token Black Chick, but seriously, I shouldn't be the only dot of color in the place). Just say no.

Q: negative

A: I would have given Courier Cafe five stars after having had a wonderful lunch last week and having had a delightful milkshake there this evening, if not for a horrifying experience today. I came with three other new history grad students. And we were delighted, ever so delighted with the milkshakes. They were creamy and wonderful, and, thinking of how much I enjoyed my lunch (pesto chicken pita) last week, I knew I'd have a great night. We joked and laughed, and we found ourselves finally feeling at ease in our new Midwestern home. Until the owner/manager, a cranky older man walked up and said, "You need to keep down. People are complaining about your noise all throughout the restaurant." Um, WTF? We had laughed loudly, yes, but it was 9pm in a college town. It wasn't that horrible. We weren't saying anything inappropriate, and it wasn't overblown. We were given our checks--basically thrown at us--very quickly, and we were basically 'encouraged' to leave. This ruined our awesome experience. And it sucked. And we were made to feel like crap for the last few minutes since we were there. Then Jerky McAss then glared at us while we paid our bills. Thanks for treating us like crap, jerk. We really liked this place, but I guess it's not something I'm looking forward to visiting now.

Q: positive

A:
Summary: Good quality burgers and fries. Wish the burger held together a bit better and a bit pricey for the student part of town (since when could students afford a $12 for a burger combo?!) but all in all, one of the better burgers in Waterloo. The long review: This burger and bar joint opened up earlier in 2011, and I'm surprised that it hasn't been reviewed given the number of students who frequent it. The concept of Frat Burger is fresh ground beef with patties made daily, fresh cut fries, fresh fresh fresh is the key, and from what I can tell, they're doing a pretty good job of it, and students are loving it. It's not your typical student type atmosphere (which is to say, a complete dive) and when you walk in you actually feel like you're in a decent establishment, with prices to match. I'm not sure when students were able to afford $12 meals (if you're eating in, with tip you're looking at $15), I know I certainly couldn't nowadays. And silly me, here I thought the world economy was in the gutters. But the prices are what one's used to if you're looking for a decent quality burger in Toronto, and McD's is like $8 for a combo nowadays, so relatively, I guess it's not too bad. The burger: The have several options, with your regular/classic with lettuce and tomatoes starting at $5, and speciality burgers adding a bit to that. I had the California something or other, which was the burger of the day for $6, and it came with guac, salsa and texmex cheese (noteably, NO tomatoes and lettuce, much to my dismay). They say you can ask for the burger pink, right on the menu, which is nice, and I did so, 'cause there's nothing worse than an overdone burger. Burger came out, it was fresh, pink to order, and pretty darn good. My only complaints, to be nit picky, is the bun could actually be a bit bigger, because I ran into burger spillage (when the burger comes out the backside of the bun) and the burger didn't hold together that well. Whether that's the recipe, or because it was cooked pink, or because the bun was a tad too small, I'm not sure, but parts of my burger were falling apart, so I needed a fork to pick it up. Another important point, it's cooked on a flattop, which I prefer, so it had that nice crust I love and crave on my burgers. Final verdict: good burger, I think my favorite burger in Waterloo now. I'll be back next time I'm here for work! Fries: If you order fries with your burger, it's $2, sans burger, $3. Claiming they are fresh cut and double fried, I expect greatness, and for the most part, they're pretty good. A bit softer than I tend to like, I love crisp fries like the ones found @ Stockyards in TO, but that's just personal preference. Again, probably some of the better fries in Waterloo. Underseasoned, but nothing that extra salt and a bit of vinegar won't solve.