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Toronto has a Detroit-style burger. What does that mean?

A Detroiter investigates.

You may have read about a Detroit Style burger in a BlogTO article (a blog that highlights all things Toronto) about Gold Standard. I did and as a Detroit-native, I had a question. What is a Detroit-style burger?

The hunt for answers

Clue 1 – The Description

Here’s how the BlogTO article describes the burger:

“The Telway Burger is so named because it’s a direct imitation of an American style of burger that can be found legendary spots such as White Manna in New Jersey and the nominal Telway in Detroit.

Key elements are a mustard-grilled patty pressed flat festooned with a handful of thinly sliced onions.

The patty is flipped onion-side down on the grill and then stacked with two halves of a Martin’s potato roll, cheese and pickles and steamed.”

I have never been to The Telway, but I have driven by one of its locations many times. Since I don’t have any direct experience eating at The Telway, this BlogTO description only helps me understand how to cook the burger. It didn’t help me in my quest for understanding what a Detroit-style burger is. I went to my next best sources.

Clue 2 – Parent’s Intuition

I read the description of the Gold Standard Telway Burger to my parents when I was back visiting and asked if they have ever eaten at The Telway. Neither had, but my dad knew some of its history and my mom said “That’s like a White Castle.”

This simple statement led me to believe a Detroit-style burger is something I know as a slider.

Clue 3 – Other Detroit Slider Institutions

With the description of how the burgers are cooked and the White Castle clue from my mom, I did some research into other Detroit dining institutions similar to The Telway and found two.

Copyright All rights reserved by Urban Gurl via Flickr

Motz’s Burgers - A former White Castle, this restaurant has been operating for more than 90 years.

Bates Burgers - Operating since 1959, Bates Burgers has been serving sliders the same way ever since.

After watching the videos about Motz’s Burgers and Bates Burgers, it finally clicked. I know what a Detroit-style burger is!

But I’m not familiar with these institutions. My reference is a legendary spot in my hometown of St. Clair Shores, Michigan.  

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Clue 4 – The Travis Burger

Slinging sliders since 1968, Travis Coffee Shop is best known for its burgers. In fact, Thrillist rated it as:

The 85th best burger in the United States

 A Top 21 Diner in America

The 2nd Best Burger in Detroit (The Telway, Motz’s Burger and Bates Burgers also made the list)

Even Uncle Joey from Full House is a fan (he grew up in and has a house in my hometown):

"Travis Coffee Shop on 9 mile and Mack, if you want to have one of the BEST BURGERS you have to go there..." – Dave Coulier

Despite driving past this institution more times than I can count, I never ate there much growing up. To me, it was a known hidden gem. I became more familiar with the space when I moved back to Michigan after graduate school. I spent a few late nights eating Travis Burgers after the bar and in those moments, I never tasted anything so delicious. Everyone needs to experience the Travis Burger, especially after a few beers.

The verdict

I never knew the sliders I grew up with were a specific burger style. The description from the BlogTO article sounds pretty accurate to the Travis Burgers I know and love.

I have not visited Gold Standard (mostly because I life on the opposite end of the city), but now I want to make a trip to see how they hold up to a Travis Burger. If you visit Gold Standard and order the Detroit-style burger, let me know what you think.

I do have some advice – If Gold Standard really wants to serve a Detroit-style burger, they should switch to be a 24-hour restaurant like the legit Detroit-style burger places mentioned in this post. They will do well, especially at 2 a.m.

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Let’s get political

A discussion between an American Moderate Democrat/Canadian Liberal and an American Left-Wing Democrat/Canadian NDP in California before Super Tuesday.

If you’re paying attention to the news, two topics are dominating – the corona virus/COVID-19 and the Democratic primaries. Both are very important topics, especially for me as a health communicator and an avid voter from a swing state.

I am one of the people who actually moved to Canada when Trump was elected (for personal reasons as discussed in my previous blog post, but I don’t mind the political statement it made either). Even though I follow politics, I don’t enjoy discussing or debating. But when I found myself in California during Super Tuesday (March 2, 2020), political discussions were inescapable during the pivotal primary election.

The main reason I was in California was to watch the Maple Leafs play the Sharks. My husband (left) and his friend (right) got over their debate to enjoy the game, even though the Leafs lost.

The great debate

California is traditionally liberal. So are Canadians – even the conservatives in Canada could be considered moderate in America. But it seems like the differences between the two front-running candidates for the Democratic nomination are more staggering than ever before. This became glaringly obvious to me after spending 9 hours in a car with a supporter of each candidate the Sunday before Super Tuesday.

My husband (Feel the Bern) and our friend we were visiting (Ridin’ with Biden) cannot actually vote in the U.S. election, but both have strong opinions. As I enjoyed the stunning views of the mountains and Pacific Ocean along Highway 1, I listened to their debate. Here’s are the highlights I remember:

Point 1 – Taxes

Ridin’ with Biden: Bernie’s policies will always make the middle class pay for programs through taxes because it’s almost impossible to make the rich pay for anything. There are always loopholes. Plus, his policies will have a direct impact on me

Feel the Bern: I am middle class and I don’t mind paying the taxes if it means more services that help more people. You have to create a system where the tax always doesn’t impact the middle class

Ridin’ with Biden: it’s impossible to create that system

Feel the Bern: it’s not impossible. You have to at least try to create that framework

Point 2 – Disruptor or Realistic

Feel the Bern: Bernie is a disruptor. He scares people because he talks about a system that is completely different than the one we currently have

Ridin’ with Biden: Bernie will never have the support of Congress to get anything passed. His policies are too out there. Biden’s policies will be more moderate, Obama-style policies and have a better chance of being passed

Point 3 – Compromising Versus Aggressive

Feel the Bern: Bernie is an aggressive politician and is uncompromising in his views. His goal is to create a new system that is described as democratic socialism. How the policies are passed are unimportant as long as they are passed. This is not the traditional way of doing politics.

Ridin’ with Biden: Biden has spent a majority of his life in congress working across party lines to create bipartisan policies that benefit the majority of Americans. He knows how to be compromising to get things through the system even though they might be less encompassing then some would hope.

Feel the Bern: Trump has spent 4 years doing what people have said was also not possible but has forced the Republican Party to be almost unwavering in their support even in the face of criticism of more moderate Republican constituents

Ridin’ with Biden: Biden will keep the status quo within the political system based on traditional frameworks. He is also a traditional Democrat while Bernie is in the Senate as an independent senator

Needless to say, it was a “fun” 9 hours in the car with this conversation on repeat.

Enough politics. Enjoy a nice picture from Pebble Beach, California.

The takeaway – VOTE!

It was interesting to hear how two people from the same Canadian town could have very different opinions of liberal candidates. No matter who the Democratic nominee is or if you support Trump, you must vote. It’s your duty and an honor and privilege to vote. I vote in every election while living abroad. You have no excuse.

If you or someone you know is an American citizen living abroad, you still have the right to vote. To find out how or for more information, visit www.fvap.gov.

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How I became a permanent resident in Canada

What if the person you loved lived four hours away? Simple – you meet halfway or one person moves closer to the other. Four hours isn’t that far to move, right?

What if that four-hour drive included crossing two different rivers via a mile-plus long tunnel or bridge and crossing an international border? That makes the situation a bit more complicated and what I endured between 2011 and 2016.

The map between my hometown and Toronto.

The meeting

You’re probably wondering how I got myself into a long-distance relationship with someone in a different country. Blame my friend Jen. She and my now husband Lance used to work for the same logistics company. Jen worked in a Michigan office and Lance was in the Toronto office (neither are employed at the company anymore).

I had just moved back to Detroit from graduate school in Boston when I first learned about Lance’s existence. Jen looped me in on emails with Lance to entertain me during unemployment. At the end of October, Jen invited Lance to visit her office and stay for the weekend to attend a Michigan State football game. She told me about “the Canadians” visiting and said I should meet up with them in East Lansing for the game.

Two other friends and I drove to Michigan State to tailgate and hang out with our new friends from north of the border (or south since we are from Detroit?). Lance and I hit it off and exchanged numbers. We texted and emailed for about a month before I made the first of many trips to Toronto and Lance came to visit me (and my family) in Metro Detroit. On December 9, 2011, we made it official and decided we were dating.

A friend who was at the game framed the ticket from the day we met.

Love is a long (flat) road

For five years, Lance and I drove the four hours after work each Friday night and four hours back Sunday night. The Canadian highways 401 and402 became as familiar to us as our reflections. We got to know each other, our friends and our families. We traveled together and sacrificed time and events with our own friends and family to be together for the short weekend.

“Distance is not for the fearful, it’s for the bold. It’s for those who are willing to spend a lot of time alone in exchange for a little time with the one they love. It’s for those who know a good thing when they see it, even if they don’t see it nearly enough.” - Meghan Daum

One weekend a little over three years into our relationship at lunch on a patio after participating in a fundraiser volleyball tournament I said we either needed to get married or break up…Lance and I legally married on July 23, 2015 and had our “real” wedding a year later on August 13, 2016.

A picture from our “real” wedding in 2016. 

Landing in Canada

After working with an immigration lawyer for about a year, we finally filed all of the paperwork in June 2016. (Side note: if you are trying to immigrate to Canada, I recommend a lawyer. A form changed while we were in the process of applying and we would have never known if we did it on our own. She was also able to pull our passport records, which I think helped speed the approval process). By September, I was approved to move to Canada.

My Facebook post after I was approved to move to Canada.

I officially landed in Canada December 18, 2016.

First stop after landing in Canada – Tim Horton’s.

The happy ending

Since 2016, Lance and I have lived in a studio and two-bedroom apartment, started new jobs and changed jobs. We adopted a dog in December 2018 and in February 2020, Lance and I officially bought our first house in Toronto. All of these moments have made me forget about the many hours and miles driving back and forth at the beginning of the relationship and makes me excited for our future.

Our rescue dog, Lexie.