Vancouver’s Old-School Diners _ Montecristo Magazine
Vancouver’s Old-School Diners _ Montecristo Magazine
Moderne Burger
Heading west along Broadway, dodging the puddles and rain clouds, a bright light can be seen in the distance: a yellow and green palm tree. This is Moderne Burger, also known as Kitsilano’s favourite spot for all things hamburgers, fries, and milkshakes.
“We just do burgers,” says Peter Kokinis kindly, explaining how 17 years ago, he was motivated to make a 1940s diner after he couldn’t find a classic burger in the city. “I was the undisputed barbecue king [at home],” he muses. “The recipes come from my father-in-law. He used to be in the business in the 1950s. He taught me how to form a hamburger patty, and we’ve been using that recipe ever since.” The secret, says Kokinis, is keeping it simple. “We add nothing to it; we don’t even add salt,” he says. “We use local beef. It’s fresh, it’s hormone- and antibiotic-free. It’s grass-fed, it’s also black Angus and AAA. We hand-press the patties every morning, and we cook them each for every order.”
All burgers are served on a freshly-baked sourdough bun, and customers can also enjoy the works with a wild salmon fillet, or a spiced ground turkey, steak, or vegetarian patty. “The special thing that we do that very few places do is that we cut the fries to order,” says Kokinis. Everything is prepared in the mornings, with his son mostly working the grill. The shakes and floats are dreamy, and their flavours are sure to take many adults back to childhood.
Kokinis grew up just blocks away from the diner and was inspired by his youth hangouts to create something fun and enjoyable for all. “Everything is built the same as it would have been,” he says, pointing to the booth he sits in, explaining how he had them all made and designed with the exact dimensions of what they were in the 1940s. He sends his gaze over to the back of the diner, where there are beautiful train doors with blue and green glass picked up by a friend in Ontario; as for the palm tree signage outside, it was hand-riveted and hand-fabricated. All decor here falls under the art moderne theme, which is indeed where the restaurant gets its name. Beautiful art deco light fixtures, and even original pin-up paintings by a local 90-year-old artist are on display. “It’s all original artwork,” boasts Kokinis. “He paints one every couple of years for us.”
Moderne Burger is unique in that the spacious and comfortable design of the restaurant means it is quiet—that is, aside from the faint sound of Duke Ellington coming from the jukebox.
