It's the humble one, taken for granted, yet a staple of the North American diet for almost a century.

Woe the humble hamburger?

Nope. It's alive and well and thriving. Today, the word "gourmet" is often attached to the ground beef squeezed inside a bun, a trend that started more than a decade ago in the United States and has spread to Canada.

It's a trend that arrived in London about two years ago when The Bungalow opened at the corner of Waterloo and Cheapside streets, a full menu restaurant and bar that gave the hamburger a major focus on its menu and now a clear favourite with customers.

"It always has been popular in North America. People love their burgers," said Scott Crawford, co-owner of The Bungalow with his wife Rosemary and Karl and Pam Lansdowne.

"It seems counterintuitive, but it's really not an unhealthy food and it's a fun food. And we're trying to keep our prices reasonable at the same time and you can do that with a burger."

Today The Bungalow has an established reputation for serving one of the best burgers in London.

Urbanspoon, the online restaurant review for consumers, ranks The Bungalow as home of the second-best burger in the province with The Morrissey House on Dundas Street and Dandy's Charbroiled on Wellington Road South ranked fifth and ninth respectively.

As Londoners' taste for better burgers increases, other speciality diners have surfaced.

They include: Relish in Wortley Village, followed by Union Burger, a new Ontario chain, on Fanshawe Park Road West and, in May, The Works Gourmet Burger Bistro on King Street across from Covent Garden Market, another chain that started in Ottawa a decade ago.

It's a solid trend according to the experts.

"The burger is a perennial favourite that is fun," says Garth White, president and chief executive of the Canadian Restaurant and Food Services Association.

"It's a comfort food and people want that and restaurants are going back to home cooking.

"People have more discerning tastes today. And people certainly watch their pocketbook and they're looking for high-quality food at reasonable prices. That's the challenge. Burgers are very versatile. You can have any kind of topping you want, from pineapple to peanut butter and the more you dress them up, the more you can charge."

"It is about marketing, but the best measure is a satisfied customer who returns for one burger made especially for them," Whyte said.

Whyte said the public will overlook the more expensive gourmet burger's price, upwards of $27 with a side dish and taxes (not including tip) for the three-patty Fat Bastard at Relish.

"You have to feel you're getting good value, so when you go out it is special," said Whyte, who also dismissed concerns about burgers being unhealthy.

"Healthy eating can mean safe eating but also a balanced diet and a burger can adapt to that," Whyte said.

Amy Snider-Whitson, president of The Test Kitchen in Maple, Ont., a boutique consultancy firm that specializes in recipe development and food writing, agrees the gourmet burger trend has taken hold in Canada.

She said it's interesting how a pound of hamburger could last two days at home but "people don't think twice about eating a half-pound burger" at one meal.

Snider-Whitson said people should focus on portions and leaner meats if they are concerned about healthy eating.

"It's a comfort food, that indulgence. But it's also a very humble food that can be done very well and it tastes good," Snider-Whitson said.

"That's where the momentum is coming from."

Adam Green, co-owner of Relish, with wife Kendra Gordon-Green of the Little Red Roaster, said he noted gourmet burgers as main menu items in some New York City restaurants several years aso.

"In every city, there's always hidden gems that withstand the test of time and that's what we're trying to create here," Green said, adding Wortley Village is a perfect location with a local population of about 20,000 plus visitors from across the city.

"You're talking about comfort food. The world can be going to hell and a really great burger can make you feel great."

Of course the appeal of burgers is not new - the bread and butter of eateries, fast and slow for decades.

London's noteworthy restaurants include Dandy's (some describe it as a "London institution") or Prince Albert's Diner on Richmond.

There are also great hamburgers served at many casual dining restaurants and roadhouses. Think Eastside Bar and Grill, Winks, Joe Kool's, Jack Astor's, Tiger Jack's.

The list is exhaustive. And they are not limited to beef with the growing popularity of veggie and turkey burgers.

Even the major burger chains appear to be tapping into the gourmet burger with offerings such as Harvey's Great Canadian mushroom melt with swiss cheese and button and portobellow mushrooms, McDonald's Angus Bacon Cheese with swiss cheese and mushrooms and Burger King's Steakhouse XT, an extra thick burger with steak sauce. Burger King is also in the process of revamping its menu and one of the items being tested is a new homestyle burger on a brioche bun with thick-cut bacon, romaine lettuce and a spicy pepper grill sauce.

So what defines the gourmet burger?

Generally, it's the variety of the meat and extreme toppings.

Start with the meat. Buffalo? Wild boar? Elk? Chicken? Organic beef? Sirloin? Angus beef? Tuna? Salmon? Lamb? Turkey? Portobella mushrooms? Why not?

The cheeses: Blue cheese? Chevre? Feta? Oka? Havarti? Swiss? Goat cheese? Brie? Monterey jalapeno? Smoked Gouda? What the heck!

The toppings and sauces: Arugula? Spinach? Alfalfa sprouts? Eggplant? Avocado? Purple beets and pineapple? How about peanut butter? Chilli? Olive tepanada? Smoked chorizo sausage? Guacamole? Cranberry dijon mustard? Fried egg? Aioli? Gourmet relish?

Yes, a dictionary can help when trying to order.

The buns? Almost anything made of bread that is fresh -- sesame kaiser, ciabatta, herb focaccia, whole wheat, plain but egg-washed -- or how about a couple leaves of lettuce?

The possibilities for toppings and sauces are endless, limited only by the imaginations of the maker or eater.

If you find the choices overwhelming, eateries such as Relish and The Works have named specialty burgers, Try Relish's Tucker and Taz, named after the radio personalities or The Works' Smokin' Joe in honour of Mayor Joe Fontana. The Wortley Garden Patch and Straight to the LHSC are also on the Relish menu.

Key to all the great gourmet burgers is the quality of the meat and how they are prepared and cooked. They use fresh and, where possible, local ingredients, including toppings and Canadian beef with a high fat content of 15% or more that is slow cooked on a grill or flat plate. The burgers are big, usually half a pound, and cooked like steaks (turned once and not poked or prodded) and can take upwards of 20-30 minutes to cook.

Andy O'Brien, president and CEO of The Works, has been in the marketing end of the food industry for more than 20 years and agrees people want comfort foods.

"And they want to explore new flavours," said O'Brien. "People are willing to try anything on a hamburger,"

O'Brien said the gourmet burger trend is similar to the coffee business: Where there were once "standardized" coffees sold there is now Starbucks and the wide variety of selections.

O'Brien said studies show 82% of males and 78% of females eat at least one burger each month, Decor is important too, say the burger barons who recognize the importance of what you eat and where you eat.

The Works and Relish put an emphasis on decor and atmosphere. Relish maintains a European flare but in a comfortable, casual setting.

As a chain, The Works eschews the "cookie-cutter" style of most chains, leaving franchisees with room to put their own local stamp on decor.

"We don't want to be in a shopping mall," O'Brien said. "We want to be on streetscapes close to where the action is (such as King Street West in downtown London). We want it to be like a bistro. There's no television in here. It's a place where you can talk to each other. There is great music (classic rock and blues.) and we close at 10 p.m."

E-mail joe.belanger@sunmedia.ca, or follow JoeBatLFPress on Twitter.