Kel's Chip Pit & More - Cheeseburger and Poutine

After some discussion on a food message board about the best chip trucks in Toronto, a recommendation was given for Kel's Chip Pit & More in Pickering (778 Kingston Rd West, at the intersection of Kigston Rd and Notion Rd in the Moodie's Motor Inn parking lot).

On the menuu for today was a cheeseburger ($4.50) and a small poutine ($4.75) taxes included.

The burger was griddle cooked and weighed in at around 6 ounces, a respectable portion. I had mine dressed as usual: mayo, mustard, lettuce, onion, pickle. At first glance you can see Kel's uses a coarser ground beef, you can see the texture of the grind before you bite into it. There is little to no filler in the hand-formed patty, biting into it reveals nothing but the texture of the beef. Excellent.

My only peeve about the burger itself is that 1) Kel needs to lighten up on the cooking time, the patty was well done to the verge of being dry. I like my burgers cooked through (medium well, with a slight hint of pink at the very least) so this isn't a huge deal, but, there's cooked through and then cooked to death..... My other peeve is that 2) the meat needs some seasoning, it's nice to let the meat speak for itself, but even the best cuts of meat need a little salt and pepper.

The bun was a D'Italiano style cornmeal topped bun you can purchase at most supermarkets. It was nothing special, but, in my opinion the bun is just the delivery vehicle for the meat, so this was perfectly acceptable.

The poutine was very well done. Kel's only gives their chips a single fry. This results in a crisp outer layer with a fairly stiff internal texture. I am a fan of the double fry method but these fries are very capable. They use real cheddar curds and a fairly standard beef gravy. It's not the biggest order I've seen for the price, but, in terms of quality it's right up there with some of the better poutines I've had.

Update: Kel's had been closed for  two years because she moved out of town. Apparently, while it was closed, someone stole the truck from the parking lot. She only found out it was missing when she decided she was going to sell it. Aren't people nice? Pics can be found on her Facebook page.