The Quarterway Pub doesn't do anything drastically different to the classic bacon cheeseburger, it just does dials each ingredient up to 11. (Alex Rawnsley/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

CLASSIC BC BURGER

Signature Dish: The Quarterway Burger

Mar 4, 2021 | 10:59 AM

NANAIMO — A burger and the pub go hand in hand and it’s a marriage The Quarterway Pub has perfected.

Done poorly, a burger can turn off clientele from trying anything else on the menu. Done well and a simple cheeseburger can speak to the care and attention a restaurant puts on its food.

The Quarterway Pub is the latter, a place with over 140 years of history showcasing a bacon cheeseburger with a handmade patty, quality and fresh ingredients and served in a modern style.

“Burgers are quite a staple on any menu but each element melds together into what makes each burger special,” Tom King, chef at The Quarterway Pub, said. “I think is important for a burger to not just be a frozen patty, it’s got some love to it.”

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There’s nothing exceptional on The Quarterway Burger in terms of luxurious or unique ingredients, but every item between the two halves of a potato bun work together.

Fresh B.C. beef is formed into a hand-made patty, topped with a generous amount of bacon, onions, mushrooms, lettuce and tomato with a mustard finishing sauce.

“Since coming onto the team, I felt it was important to break down some of the more traditional and classic elements of the menu and then revamping or tweaking them as needed or leaving them entirely and changing presentation here and there,” King said.

Served with crispy, battered fries, it’s the perfect accompaniment to gathering with friends or watching the game on one of The Quarterway Pub’s big screens.

The classics compliment a changing and evolving menu which take on the same strategy deployed on the bacon cheeseburger…putting a small tweak on a menu staple and having each element shine.

“A good seller was taking a Philly steak sandwich and instead of just putting in a sub bun, we did a grilled cheese with steak on top of that with sauted onions, mushrooms and our house-made gravy,” King said.

The Quarterway Pub is family owned and operated, with Marty Morelli and his family owning it for the last 30+ years. They’ve seen it through countless updates.

“Keeping everything looking clean, fresh. We’ve done quite a few renovations over the years, changes to our menu a couple of times a year,” Morelli said. “We’ve had a lot of people been drinking here since before I was here, they’re still coming in daily and they like the changes we’ve made.”

A new 24-seat patio debuted in 2020 which complimented a 120-seat dining area.

Numbers were reduced through the COVID-19 pandemic to accommodate public health orders.

“We’re quite lucky, our room is setup so we can put in barriers so that it still looks quite normal. We’ve got partitions in place, we’re at about 82 seats now. We’re getting back to normal and it feels like the old pub it used to be.”

The Quarterway Pub is located at 1431 Bowen Rd. and is open between 10:30 a.m. and 11 p.m. Monday through Thursday.

On Friday, Saturday and Sunday the pub opens 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.

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