Very Expensive Steakhouse Plots Burger Joint For Mile End

QDC Burger, the hamburger restaurant affiliated with downtown steakhouse La Queue de Cheval is bringing its sexualized takes on meat to St-Viateur Street in Mile End.

The burger spot has existed on de la Montagne since 2014 at at Montreal’s Trudeau Airport since 2015. Those unfamiliar with the, uh, style of QDC Burger can probably figure it out from the company’s own description, dubbing the burgers to be the “love child of the sexiest beef known to humanity and the cast-iron fronted warehouses of SoHo”.

Anyone familiar with QDC Burger Peter Morentzos should not be surprised by that description: among other controversies, Morentzos has drawn criticism in the past for sexualizing dead flesh — specifically, for an ad comparing women to cuts of beef. (His downtown restaurant Angry Lobster has also been known to play host to the festival of female empowerment that is body sushi — sushi served from a semi-naked woman’s torso.)

The Mile End location may not be operated by Morentzos — signage on the window (currently taken down) noted that franchises are available for the burger restaurant, and Quebec’s business registry doesn’t list Morentzos as an owner for St-Viateur, although he’s fundamentally the creator of the business.

QDC Burger has made its name as a higher-end burger spot — it boasts status symbol add-ons for its burgers, such as lobster, truffles, and foie gras for its burgers. While it’s much more casual than its four-dollar-sign steakhouse sibling, it’s far from casse-croûte cheeseburger territory.

And if you needed any more indication that Mile End is changing these days, QDC Burger takes over a space previously occupied by a humble vintage store, and just a few stores along from a year-old Lululemon.

• Behold the Queue de Cheval Cult Burger Menu [EMTL]
• Which ‘High End’ Downtown Restaurant Served Sushi Off a Half-Naked Woman Last Week? [EMTL]
• Infamous Montreal Steakhouse Likens Women to Cuts of Beef [EMTL]