The classic diner burger, as A&W Canada still makes it. One seasoned patty, real cheddar, and bacon, under every topping a diner offers: lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, ketchup, mustard, and Teen sauce, a tangy, slightly sweet, savoury mayonnaise spread with mustard, sugar, and spices. The seasoning is what makes it taste like a Teen: Lawry’s Seasoned Salt, not plain salt.
Picks
Savoury and smoky, with everything on it.
- Forming burger patties: One regular patty, 85 g (3 oz)
- Seasoning burgers: Lawry’s Seasoned Salt, on the griddle
- Cooking patties: Griddled, flipped two or three times, cheddar on after the last flip
- Assembling burgers: Real cheddar, bacon, lettuce, tomato, a slice of onion, and pickles, on a toasted sesame seed bun
- Sauces and condiments: Teen sauce, with ketchup and mustard
Where it comes from
The Teen is one of the Burger Family, a line of burgers A&W introduced in the U.S. in the early 1960s and named after its 1963 mascots: Baby, Mama, Teen, and Papa. A&W came to Canada in 1956, with its first restaurant in Winnipeg, and the Canadian chain split from the American one in 1972. The U.S. chain mostly dropped the Burger Family in the 1980s; A&W Canada brought it back in the late 1990s, as part of a retro, 1950s-style revival aimed at baby boomers, and still sells it. The Teen is the Mama burger plus bacon, lettuce, tomato, and cheese. (A&W (Canada) and The Burger Family, Wikipedia.)
| Constraint | Pick it explains |
|---|---|
| A family of burgers built from one patty | The same 85 g patty as the Mama and Papa; the Teen adds the toppings |
| A drive-in griddle and fast service | A thin patty, seasoned on the griddle |
| One house spread across the whole line | Teen sauce on every Burger Family burger |
Why these picks
- Seasoned salt. Lawry’s brings paprika, garlic, onion, and a little sugar along with the salt, so a plain patty tastes seasoned all the way through the bite.
- Real cheddar. Sharper than American cheese, so it holds its own against the bacon.
- Teen sauce and the condiments. Teen sauce is mayonnaise (soybean oil, egg yolk, and vinegar) seasoned with mustard, sugar, and spices. With ketchup and mustard alongside, it gives the burger the full sweet, tangy, sharp range of a diner burger.
- Everything on it. Lettuce, tomato, onion, and pickles keep a bacon cheeseburger from getting heavy.
How it fails
- Too salty: seasoned salt and bacon both bring salt. Go light on the seasoning.
- Heavy: the cold toppings were skimped.
Variations
- Double Teen: two patties.
- Mama burger: the Teen without the bacon, lettuce, tomato, and cheese.