Review of The Patty Shack – New Burger and Wings joint in Oshawa

So my friend Joey calls me up and he wants to buy me lunch. Who am I to say no?

Joe suggests that he wants to try a new burger joint that his sister told him about here in Oshawa saying that they have more topping combination’s than anyone else around.

So off to The Patty Shack we go. Located at 24 King Street East just east of Simcoe Street it is central downtown great for walk-in traffic and street parking is plentiful.

Dave Hannah is the Manager and they opened up shop a few weeks back.

Joey placing his order at The Patty Shack in Oshawa

We both decided on 6 oz. burgers, mine had some great tasting Canadian Back Bacon topping it off. The meat patty was well formed and done to perfection with just the slightest hint of pink in the center. With all of the toppings I chose, the burger was a bit messy to eat but really tasty.

I upgraded the fries to a poutine which is a Canadian thing most popular in Quebec but the last few years has taken off in Ontario too. Poutine is a plate of French Fries topped with cheese curds and then smothered in brown gravy. The Patty Shack uses very thin Fries which seems to work well for their poutine.

After our meal was complete we spent a few minutes getting to know Dave, and I found him to be interesting and he was more than happy to talk shop.

Once he knew that I like to review restaurants he wanted Joe and I to also sample his Wings so he put together  four freebie wings coated in his 7 pepper sauce which packed some heat with a taste that was not overpowering but gave a great kick. the Wings themselves were cooked perfectly, juicy and easy to eat off the bone.

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The Patty Shack’s signage was well thought out and caught my attention. The restaurant was very clean and inviting, if there was anything that concerned me it was the ramp from the doorway which you have to stay aware of while walking around inside as a couple of times I almost lost my balance because of the un-even floor.

I really enjoyed my visit to The Patty Shack, Great food with fresh ingredients and so many choices and combinations  (51 items if I counted correctly) that means that every visit I can have a burger but yet each one will taste so different. When was the last time you had the choice of having any of these items on a burger?

There are other items on the menu that sounds like they will be wonderful such as the Turkey Burgers, Meatless Burgers and Sweet Potato Fries, but those will have to wait for my next visit.

The staff were friendly and did not skimp on the toppings. I will be sure to make another trip to The Patty Shack and make it one of my regular places to eat at for a nice lunch or dinner.

Edit…. September 15th 2011

Since I posted this review The Patty Shack has embraced Social Media and has been very successful in using both their facebook page and twitter (@ThePattyShack ) to bring their messages to the public.

One of their great ideas was the introduction of  Twoupons  which are tweets on twitter that advertise specials that are only for their twitter followers to take advantage of  things like 3 for 1 wings, or reduced prices on combos with free extras etc. etc.

These Twoupon specials are only valid on the day they are tweeted.

Another great tool from Social Networking has to be Foursquare and when you visit the Patty Shack and sign into the site you get  2-4-1 Patty Poutine the first time you check in. Patty Shack’s food is already reason enough to visit but with deals like this it is a huge bonus!

The Patty Shack is located right downtown Oshawa which the last few years has seen a lot of local shops closing and sitting vacant due to an economy that….. well I do not have to explain that since the same story is told in every city in North America. Oshawa had a tough time when the car industry went through what they did. GM has most of their Canadian automobile manufacturing plants in Oshawa.

However with the very popular new Camaro’s being made here and other markets starting a resurgence it looks as if we are starting to see more businesses coming back to life.