Burger Claim

After a predictably mediocre (that's being nice by-the-way) buffet dinner at The Loose Moose in the Great Wolf Lodge, we were not going to do that again for breakfast/lunch.  Rather, we walked across the parking lot over to Burger Claim right next to the Chevron.  I had actually put this on our itinerary since I wasn't going to pay $15.99 for a breakfast buffet.  So we slept in and ate lunch right at 11:00pm.  We could've gone earlier as they serve breaky as well, but really, for a place named Burger Claim, we had to try the burgers!

Viv decided to go for something lighter in the Grilled Salmon Burger which took longer than the rest to be prepared.  Despite the place being predominantly a beef burger joint, the salmon was actually not severely overdone.  Instead, the middle was actually moist while the outside was only slightly dry.  It was dressed with tartar sauce that was not really all-that-noticeable.  My daughter stayed with theme by selecting the kid's Fish Sandwich with a side of fries.  The decent-sized piece of fish was lightly battered and mostly crispy.  It was a bit over-seasoned bordering on salty.  Once again, the tartar sauce was too weak to be noticed.  The fries were not exactly crispy and were a bit dense probably due to the choice of potato (Idahoan russet).

My son went for the kid's Miner Cheeseburger which was a bit small in his opinion.  In hindsight, we should've ordered a full-sized burger for him instead.  He did like it though as the patty was made of fresh beef that was not overcooked.  It was a bit crumbly and still moist.  For myself, I had no other choice but to get the Shaft Burger consisting of 4 x 1/4 beef patties, lettuce, tomato, onion, cheese, pickle and miner sauce.  This 1 lb monstrosity was a chore to eat in terms of both physical and portion size.  I actually finished the darn thing because the meat was pretty tasty especially with all the cheese.  I felt the IGA bun did a pretty good job of keeping things together despite being somewhat soft.

For our sides, we got the Onion Rings and the Garlic Parmesan Fries.  Fried up super crunchy, the onion rings were pretty good.  Inside, the onion was tender and not dried out while the outside was easy on the grease.  As for the garlic parm fries, they were so garlicky, we could smell them from afar.  Also, they didn't skimp on the Parmesan.  This meant they were super flavourful on their own.  However, the already moisture-ladened fries were even more so with the toss of the garlic oil (which meant they were greasy too).  Ultimately, we needed something fast and relatively inexpensive so we could get back to the water park.  Seeing how the food at GWL was not very good, Burger Claim did the job.

The Good:
- Juicy burgers
- Okay pricing

The Bad:
- Fries could be crispier
- Greasy (but what did we expect?)

The Loose Moose (Buffet)

Alright, all the warnings were there, including web reviews and first-hand accounts by friends, but we decided to do the buffet at The Loose Moose in the Great Wolf Lodge anyways.  It was purely out of convenience as we didn't want to waste time driving somewhere and miss out on valuable water-slide action!  On second thought, a full stomach full of mediocre buffet food and dizzying water slides may not be the best combination...  Well, it was too late to reconsider!

I started things off with the Chicken Orzo Soup and it was lukewarm at best.  It did taste okay with a dominant lemon zing while easy on the sugar.  The orzo was pretty soft while the chunks of chicken were dry and chewy.  My first dish of food consisted of the Roast Pork Loin, BBQ Ribs, Corn on the Cob, Mashed Potatoes, Zucchini and Mushrooms.  Encrusted with black pepper and kosher salt, the pork loin was adequately seasoned albeit mostly dry (but to be fair, it usually is).  The ribs were fall-off-the-bone tender, yet the BBQ sauce was too sweet.  Completely obliterated, the corn was inedible.  On the other hand, the veggies were on point being barely cooked and mildly seasoned.

For my second plate, I decided to get a little bit of everything including Fried Fish, Pork Skewers, Wings, Seafood Pasta, Creamy Tortellini and Curry Shrimp.  Completely oil-drenched, the fish was actually decently moist while at that the same time mushy.  The pork skewers were probably the best thing I had all meal (relatively-speaking) since they were juicy and tender on the inside while sporting a caramelized char on the outside.  The pastas were all forgettable because they were soft and over-sauced.  To be fair, that is usually the case for any pasta sitting in a buffet chaffing tray.  Viv had almost the same items on her plate except for some things from the Asian section including Potstickers.  These were a bit hard where the filling was mushy.

One section in the buffet (other than the pizza and desserts) was dedicated to kid-friendly eats including Spaghetti and Meat Sauce, Mac n' Cheese and Chicken Strips.  Nothing interesting here and really pretty standard fare.  At least they know who their most important clients are.  Yes, the parents shell out the cash, but the kiddies are the ones that need to be impressed.  That they do well at Great Wolf Lodge since my kids were already planning the next trip without even asking if I wanted to return.  So the fact that I disliked the buffet is pretty irrelevant in the end.

The Good:
- Kid-friendly (duh)
- Decent service

The Bad:
- Food was not hot
- Food was not good