Bar Luca lowers the bar

It took us some time to erase the Pepper Pig experience from our burger-muscle-memories (for a full account of that horrible nightmare, click here if you dare...). So we thought it was high time to go back to a good old faithful friend of ours, the Blame Canada.

As usual, the burgers were wonderfully presented

We had mixed feelings upon our first bite. The gravy is very special. Smoky and meaty, quite delicious. 

But the burger buns had changed. They were firmer than we remember, and somewhat cold, like they had come fresh out of refrigeration.

Further bites indicated that Bar Luca has severely lowered the Bar for the Blame Canada.

The meat was dryer and less juicy than we remember. And the cooking was below average. The patty had a terrible combination of being awfully pink and overly chargrilled. The overpowering taste of chargrill dominated this burger.

There was hardly any of the maple aioli, quite different to the wonderful, sweet lavished amounts we had enjoyed on previous visits. The same can be said of the poutine. We wanted to say 'where's the cheese'?

And the maple glazed bacon? We licked the bacon several times, but there was nothing sweet about this bacon. 

This burger used to be a wonderful combination of sweet maple matched with savoury, meaty, sauciness. But not this time- the whole burger just tasted overly salted.

Today's Blame Canada was a sad rendition of this once-great burger. If you have been here before, the memories have been totally blog worthy. But now that we have experienced this poor duplicate, we want to ask Bar Luca, 'what on earth happened?'

Has the ownership changed? Has the kitchen chefs changed? With all the focus and hype about the BL outlets, has the ball been dropped in the place where it all so gloriously started?

As we left, we noted that the crowds weren't what they used to be, and the smoke that normally pours out from this place was missing. Only the black smoky stains remained as something of a remnant, a tribute to a place that once created their burgers so well. 

The word 'Luca' from 'Bar Luca' sign, was also missing, further signifying the lowering of the bar at Bar Luca.

As we walked away from this experience, the powerful aftertaste of chargrill lingered upon our taste buds for hours afterwards, forcing us to wonder what went so horribly wrong.