Al Douglas and friends pose in front of the Burger Bus during Burger Love 2016

Burger Love Magic Bus

  • April 1, 2017

An epic experience for those that get a seat on Al Douglas’ Burger Bus

What better way to spend a day in early spring than on a bus touring around Prince Edward Island eating all the bounty Burger Love has to offer.

Al Douglas hosts an independent tour called Al’s Burger Bus. The idea was his and the good people at the PEI Brewing Co. are generous enough to provide the bus. The tour is an all day affair and takes place on March 31, launch day for this year’s Burger Love. There is a small cost per seat which supports the price of the tour with the rest going to charity.

We spoke to Douglas, trendsetter, Island ambassador, and marketing events manager and photographer for Murphy Hospitality Group, on what this yearly tour involves.

This is the seventh annual year for PEI’s Burger Love. How many years have you been hosting Al’s Burger Bus?

Seven years, eh? Time flies when you’re eating burgers. This’ll be the third year for Al’s Burger Bus.

Who joins you?

There are only 20 seats on the bus so I hand pick about 50% of the special guests – I look for people that have great social media followings or that are doing cool stuff in the community. The rest of the seats get picked through social media contests.

Do the restaurants do anything different for the bus folk?

Aside from potentially assisting us in cutting the burgers to share, nope! We want the authentic burger experience from each joint – that way if anyone is following along online, they know what to expect when they get to try the burgers for themselves.

How many restaurants have you visited in one day? How many do you plan to visit in 2017?

We made it to 14 restaurants in year two. I can’t confirm just yet, but we’ll be visiting at least that many for 2017.

What was your favourite moment so far?

2016. Sarah Bennetto O’Brien and Emily Miller from Scapes restaurant were guests on the bus and they arrived dressed as yours truly – plaid shirts, tight jeans, Blundstones, thick-rimmed glasses. It was perfect.

Favourite burger(s)?

On the Burger Bus? Brickhouse’s winning burger for 2016.

In general? I still dream of Cy’s Grill. RIP. Honorable mention currently goes to Chef Ilona’s newest creation at Upstreet.

Any changes to the itinerary for this year?
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

This year’s burgers, participating restaurants, and all the other beefy details for PEI Burger Love 2017 will be revealed on Friday, March 31 at approximately 10am.

To be considered for a seat on Al’s Burger Bus check out his Twitter @aldouglas, his Instagram @alexgdouglas and his Facebook page www.facebook.com/aldouglas for contest details.

Al Douglas posing with the Burger Bus

Submitted photo

About Rod Weatherbie

Rod Weatherbie is a writer working in the hospitality industry. He spent a number of years in Toronto as a member of the financial press before returning to PEI. Rod has published one piece of short fiction, one book of poetry, and has had work published in Red Shift, the Antigonish Review, Mitre, and the Toronto Quarterly. He has also recently co-produced, co-directed, and acted in a stage production of old television shows.

He also likes writing about food. Go figure.

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