Bleecker St Burger - Double Cheeseburger

Double Cheeseburger - American cheese, onions & sauce £7.90

Burger type: Pub/Gourmet/Inbetween/Dirty

Bleecker burger. Another big name on the London burger scene and one that moves around regularly flipping burgers from their distinctive black van. My visit was preceded by two factors - 1. Bleecker are currently residing on Southbank making it convenient for a dirty lunch stopover, and 2. They have just been crowned champions of the London Burger Bash final which I had chomped through 6 burgers in an earlier round. I had high expectations then especially as the golden burger trophy was sat pride of place in the van as I ordered. Bleecker's burgers aren't particularly big so I opted for a Double Cheeseburger. It's a touch on the expensive side at £7.90 considering that you are ordering from a van. It's a straightforward American style burger with simple fillings, which is all fine and dandy, but there wasn't anything to get excited about. The meat needed to take the stage here and fortunately it does. Top quality aged beef is made into 2 coarse patties, cooked medium rare and oozing with juicy flavour. They are perfectly sized to sit in the light, slightly sweet bun, and it's a good looking burger. Worth a munch are mixed fries on the side (normal and sweet potato). Burger purists may argue that great meat in a simple and appealing package is what makes a top burger, however I just can't get excited enough about it. Sure, I'd have it again and I'd have it over many of the larger chains' offerings. But a Dead Hippie or a Dirty Burger it ain't.

Rating: 

Meat 3/3

Bun 1/2

Fillings 1/2

Package 2/2

Extra point? No

Overall 7/10

Burger King - Double Whopper

Double Whopper - double beef patty, onions, lettuce, tomato, gherkins, mayonnaise, ketchup £varies depending on location ~£5

Burger type: Pub/Gourmet/Inbetween/Dirty Processed

Here it is. I've braved a low-end establishment in order to bring you a control sample. Something that everyone knows and can use as a comparison for all the other reviews. You're bound to have subjected your digestive system to at least one in the past and there's little to say except explain the ratings. Meat gets a 0.5. The patties are thin, cooked to dryness and bland. But the flame grilling takes them marginally above those of the golden arches. The bun is so perfectly formed that it shouts processed. But it does hold everything together and has been toasted just right so 1/2 here. The fillings are hardly inspiring and distinctly budget. No points here. You can see straight away that the meat is overcooked just by looking at the burger, and it hardly gets the tastebuds drooling, but the overall package is well formed with minimal spillage so there's a package point awarded here. Overall a low score then. In fact the lowest score so far. Hardly surprising; I didn't expect my visit to be a great culinary experience. But the burger was rated fairly against all criteria and represents a baseline in order for other reviews to be compared against. The King is dead.

Rating: 

Meat 0.5/3

Bun 1/2

Fillings 0/2

Package 1/2

Extra point? Erm. No.

Overall 2.5/10

Byron - B-Rex

B-Rex - 6oz hamburger, onion ring, crispy smoked bacon, American cheese, jalapenos, pickles, onions, BBQ sauce and mayonnaise £10.25

Burger type: Pub/Gourmet/Inbetween/Dirty

Ok. So I've actually had this burger twice now. Problem was that the first time was post too-many beers, sat on the pavement in Farringdon (it was takeaway only at that time in case you find this behaviour in any way strange). I remember thinking that this was a great burger and even took a photo with the intention of reviewing. But after the foggy head cleared the next day, I decided that it would not have been a fair review, which meant that I would simply have to try it again. Byron do burgers well, and their core range represents a solid burger line-up that can be used as a benchmark for others. Their ever-changing specials often take this up a notch and are well executed. The B-Rex is definitely among the best of these. There's nothing unusual or particularly exciting about this burger. But that's not what it's about. This is about taking a bacon cheeseburger and stepping it up a notch in taste. Good quality bacon laid over oozing American cheese. Onions and pickles for crunch, onion ring for flavour, jalapenos for BITE. There's a hefty tang to this burger and it allows all the other flavours to come alive. Byron has nailed it with this one. This is what a bacon cheeseburger should be.

Rating: 

Meat 3/3

Bun 2/2

Fillings 2/2

Package 2/2

Extra point? Yes - everything just works so right about this burger

Overall 10/10

Burger Craft - Bacon BACON Bacon

Bacon BACON Bacon - beef burger, sandridge streaky bacon, crispy bacon dust, american cheese, homemade bacon jam £9.50 served with pickled baby vegetables and either hand-cut fries or mini hash browns

Burger type: Pub/Gourmet/Inbetween/Dirty

Burger Craft....hardly an inspired choice of name. But we'll forgive them this one if their burgers are up to scratch. As seems fashionable at the moment this is a mini burger chain taking residence in three pubs across London. I visited The Great Eastern pub on the Isle of Dogs and opted for the Bacon BACON Bacon burger with its triple hit of bacon in various guises. Rocking up on a pretty horrible and too big for the portion size plate was a very sticky looking burger alongside some homemade and perfectly passable chips, and pickled veg that was ok but needs work on its presentation. The burger was........overcooked! Unforgiveable. The lack of a flavoursome pink patty drops marks. The bacon fillings were good however, and each added a lot of flavour. American cheese is the right choice for this type of burger and the brioche bun did a fair job of holding everything together. It's heavy on the glazing though and squishes like a sponge so there is room for improvement here. For a pub, this is a decent enough burger and credit is due for the ideas behind the burgers here. They are definitely on the right track, but they need a little polishing to get up amongst the Byrons out there. And they need to take the patty off the heat quicker. 

Rating: 

Meat 1/3

Bun 1/2

Fillings 2/2

Package 2/2

Extra point? No

Overall 6/10

Honest Burgers - BrewBurger

BrewBurger - beef patty, Comte cheese, 5AM Saint candied bacon, Punk IPA & beef dripping onions, Paradox BBQ sauce & pickles £11.50 including rosemary chips (£15 together with a bottle of specially brewed Bourbon Baby)

Burger type: Pub/Gourmet/Inbetween/Dirty

Honest Burgers latest monthly special is in collaboration with Brewdog....well, that's one way to grab my interest. A main player in the London burger scene (restaurant no. 6 coming up soon!) together with one of the biggest names in craft beer. Hopes were set to 'high'. Brewdog have brewed a beer that they think matches the burger perfectly, called Bourbon Baby - a baby Scotch ale aged in bourbon barrels. Try it here as it's now run out at Honest Burgers, sorry folks. This comes as a deal with the burger, which is otherwise £11.50 (including damn-fine rosemary salted chips, as ever at Honest). The burger itself has been on a mini binge whilst in the kitchen, knocking back 5AM Saint into its bacon, Punk IPA into its onions, and Paradox into its BBQ Sauce. The cheeky devil. Fortunately you're top of the food chain, my friend, and you get to devour the whole shebang. So what does all this beer add to the burger? You and I both know by now that I don't need to increase wordcount talking about the patty. It's Honest Burger, and it's ruddy good. Their pickles are crisp, fresh and tangy, and a great additon to any burger. The Brewdog soaked trio of bacon, onions and BBQ sauce add a depth of flavour at a level I've not tasted many times before in a burger. Like the accompanying beer, this is deep, dark and complex. So eyes elsewhere lager boys. At face value, its a bacon and cheese burger with onions and pickles. But the beer additions make it much more than this. There's just one issue. For all its complexity, I'd probably rather those beers were slipping down my neck rather than sloshing about in the kitchen. Just.

Rating: 

Meat 2.5/3

Bun 2/2

Fillings 2/2

Package 2/2

Extra point? No

Overall 8.5/10

GBK - Camemburger

Camemburger - Camembert, hash brown, truffle mayo, onion jam, relish, brioche bun £9.75

Burger type: Pub/Gourmet/Inbetween/Dirty

Camembert eh? Definitely goes with chicken. But beef? Blue cheese is the pairing for beef, right? Right. But actually Camembert works. And better than expected. There's a really nice taste to this burger. Onion jam obviously buddies up with the Camembert perfectly, and the hash brown and truffle mayo add further depth of flavour. In fact it all goes together rather too well, and blends into a big mush of a burger. You see, that's the problem. All of the ingredients have the same soft texture. There's nothing to add crunch. And that soft, sweet brioche bun might have been the obvious choice to go with the flavours, but it doesn't help this issue. Sure, it's not the kind of burger you'd want to start sticking salad in, but a nice fat crispy onion ring could have added much needed crispiness whilst complementing the other flavours. A good burger then, but too soft to compete with the big boys.

Rating: 

Meat 2/3

Bun 1/2

Fillings 1/2

Package 2/2

Extra point? No

Overall 6/10

Christmas Burger #3 - Honest Burgers - Christmas Special

Christmas Special - Beef patty, smoked bacon, deep fried panko-crumbed Camembert, cranberry sauce & rocket (with rosemary fries) £11 including rosemary chips

Burger type: Pub/Gourmet/Inbetween/Dirty

Christmas burger round-up part 3. Usually the weak link, right? Wrong. It was the turn of Honest Burgers and I was hoping for something pretty special, save for the usual queue. Fortunately I timed my visit bang inbetween lunch and dinner and got a table straight away (despite now having 5 branches, queueing remains an issue at Honest Burgers, although they do use a text system to let you know when your table is ready - ideal for those of the pre-food pint-in-a-pub persuasion. I can only suggest that they need to open more branches still. Or idiots stop telling everyone how good their burgers are on blogs...). The burger arrived with Camembert oozing over the patty and a nice stash of bacon topped with cranberry. The beef, just like my last visit, was top notch and cooked perfectly. The fillings add a lot of flavour and plenty of moisture to the burger. This is by far the most Christmassy of the three festive burgers, and it tastes awesome. There's no scrimping on the quality of ingredients at Honest Burgers and you can tell. Well done Honest Burgers: a deserving festive addition to the 10/10 burger wall of fame. It's being served until the 5th Jan so be quick!

Rating: 

Meat 3/3

Bun 2/2

Fillings 2/2

Package 2/2

Extra point? Yes - this is Christmas is a bun

Overall 10/10

Christmas Burger #2 - Byron - Triple Cheesemas

Triple Cheesemas - Two 6oz hamburgers, American cheese, Emmenthal, Monterey Jack, onion, shredded iceberg, pickles and spicy burger sauce £11.95

Burger type: Pub/Gourmet/Inbetween/Dirty

Ok, so Byron's Christmas offering is distinctly un-festive save for the name. But just look at it! It's the stuff of cheesy burger dreams. Sure, it's not the cheapest burger around, but you get a hefty package weighing in at 12oz of beef, with three types of cheese. The pickles and spicy sauce add some crunch and kick to the burger, which is packaged in Byron's signature squishy bun (a bun up among the best). There are a lot of fillings and my burger was served up standing tall and perfectly formed. Inevitable spillage occurs once you tuck in but considering the amount of fillings, it's a very photogenic package. The patties were served perfectly medium on my visit, and 12oz of them will keep those meat cravings in check. If you've got a hangover to soak up or simply got a big appetite, this is the festive burger to get your grubby hands on.

Rating: 

Meat 2/3

Bun 2/2

Fillings 2/2

Package 2/2

Extra point? Yes - this is pretty special. I haven't stopped craving it since I had it.

Overall 9/10

Christmas Burger #1 - GBK - Bah Humburger

Bah Humburger - 6oz beef (or chicken) burger smothered with smoked cheddar cheese, crispy bacon, house mayo, shallots and crunchy red pickle £9.95 or £14.95 with fries and a drink

Burger type: Pub/Gourmet/Inbetween/Dirty

Dry, dry and dry. This burger was simply too dry. The patty was overcooked again. There seems to be an issue with the large chains (GBK/Byron I'm looking at you) that when restaurants get busy, patties get overcooked. This aside the fillings sounded appealing with the red pickle adding a Christmas touch to an otherwise pretty standard burger. But the result lacked any sort of juice/moisture - there needed to be a lot more cheese and more mayo or other sauce. And I'm not a fan of the standard sesame bun - the fillings need to have a lot of moisture to counteract the dryness of the bread in this style of bun rather than with glazed and brioche buns, which are a lot more forgiving. The pickle is a nice addition to this burger and saves it from a lower score still, but there is nothing special enough about the Bah Humburger to recommend it. Did I mention it was dry?

Rating: 

Meat 1.5/3

Bun 0/2

Fillings 1/2

Package 1/2

Extra point? No

Overall 3.5/10

GBK - Kiwiburger

Kiwiburger - Beetroot, egg, pineapple, aged Cheddar, salad, mayo & relish £9.25

Burger type: Pub/Gourmet/Inbetween/Dirty

It doesn't sound particularly appetising - egg, beetroot and pineapple in a burger. But take it from me - it works. It's not going to blow you away but it's a far cry from the stomach-churning mouthfuls you might expect it to be. As I've said before, beetroot is a top burger filling adding a nice sweetness to the patty. I think few people will argue with an egg, especially with a pleasingly runny yolk as served here. The major sticking point is probably going to be the pineapple for most people; if this is an insurmountable obstacle between plate and mouth then it can always be removed or ordered without. If you can get over this you'll find that it is a fairly subtle taste in the burger and works well with everything else. My major issue with the burger is that there is so much sloppiness that it doesn't stand a chance of holding together. Sure it turned up presented and stacked well (with the help of a stick), but once you get your knife/mouth into it things turn decidedly messier. The egg yolk breaks and runs everywhere which is to be expected, but with the relish and cheese sliming over the already slimy beetroot and pineapple, the burger ends up looking like it's just endured a giant earthquake. It tastes good, but it doesn't feel enough like a burger as half ends up on your plate. I would cook the cheese into the patty, put the egg on top so that the bun can soak up some of the yolk, and use grated beetroot in an effort to straighten this Pisa - just a suggestion GBK! Oh, and my patty was overcooked again - that lack of consistency an inherent problem with chain restaurants.

Rating: 

Meat 1.5/3

Bun 1/2

Fillings 2/2

Package 0/2

Extra point? Yes - we might not see one in this country, but well done GBK for trying to prevent the extinction of the Kiwi with donations from these burgers

Overall 5.5/10

Byron - Mo'shroom

Mo'shroom - 6oz hamburger, Portobello mushroom, Emmenthal, streaky bacon, shredded iceberg, red onion and cep aioli £9.95

Burger type: Pub/Gourmet/Inbetween/Dirty

Byron have a monthly special burger, and since 2010 during November they've supported Movember by making a donation for each of their special burgers ordered. This year that burger is the Mo'shroom with Portobello mushrooms, Emmenthal, bacon and cep aioli (blanched garlic, cep mushrooms and tarragon). The sliced mushrooms are layered over the burger underneath the cheese and add a distinct flavour without the sliminess that can plague mushrooms. The choice of Emmenthal cheese complents the mushroom, but the real winner here is the cep aioli - adding an extra punch of mushroom sauciness to the package. I really enjoyed the flavour of this burger - something a bit different to most options out there. It was only let down by somewhat lacking service on my visit, an overcooked patty that was not as pink as usual (and hence a half point docked), and a burger that was not as warm or stacked as carefully as it could have been. You've got until the end of the month to get your Mo tickled with some mushroom meatiness.

Rating: 

Meat 1.5/3

Bun 2/2

Fillings 2/2

Package 1/2

Extra point? Yes - credit for helping a good cause

Overall 7.5/10

Founders Arms - Tower 42

Tower 42 - double burger w/ bacon, monterey jack cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickles, mayo, chips and bbq relish £14

Burger type: Pub/Gourmet/Inbetween/Dirty

Served with chips and a sea of lettuce, this is a hefty burger. I never have particularly high hopes for pub burgers - their menus are generally too varied to excel at one thing in particular, so I guess this burger didn't disappoint too much. The positives are the bun which was a solid GBK/Byron standard - good choice Founders Arms. The fillings weren't bad either - nothing overly exciting but monterey jack is an upgrade from stock cheese and there's a couple of decent rashers of bacon in there. The moot point is the meat - not particularly surprising. There's certainly plenty of it, but as it is cooked well done (mine was also slightly burnt) it's dry and somewhat tasteless. The problem lies in the fact that most pubs use cheap cuts of meat in their burgers which prohibits them from cooking medium rare - and the taste seriously suffers for it. Pubs can't compete with the true burger joints, and yet the prices aren't wildly different. So in summary don't come for the burger, come for the views over the Thames and the Meantime/Camden Hells on tap (kudos to Youngs for adding these to the menial standard beers) and if you're going to have a burger whilst in residence keep those expectations in check.

Rating: 

Meat 0.5/3

Bun 2/2

Fillings 1/2

Package 1/2

Extra point? No

Overall 4.5/10

Dirty Burger - Cheeseburger

Cheeseburger - with tomato, lettuce, mustard relish and gherkin £5.50

Burger type: Pub/Gourmet/Inbetween/Dirty (of course!)

It's hidden down a side road in a small steel shack. There's a choice of 1 burger. No toilets (you can use Chicken Shop/Pizza East's which share the location). And you place your order at the till and collect it on a tray when your number gets called. This is a no-nonsense burger and it doesn't give a sh*t what you think about it. And you know what? It's bang on the money. A superbly seasoned patty: pink on the inside, smothered in cheese on the outside, sits pride of place in a steamed bun together with lettuce, tomatoes, gherkin and a strong mustard relish. It's the Ronseal of the burger world and it hits the spot right down the middle. Made even better by the price - you could have two of these for the cost of some gourmet burgers in London and you'd probably leave twice as satisfied. There's a choice of two sides - crinkle cut fries and onion fries - both are good, but they're small time compared to the big dirty reason for your visit. You can get your hit either in Kentish Town, or more recently down in Vauxhall, and both do breakfast before 11am. Camden Town Pale Ale on draught up north and BrewDog bottles down south to wash this beauty down properly.

Rating: 

Meat 3/3

Bun 2/2

Fillings 2/2

Package 2/2

Extra point? Yes - it's a bargain!

Overall 10/10

The Advisory - Cheeseburger Special

Cheeseburger w/ chorizo, jalapenos & beetroot  - plus tomato, lettuce and gherkin £7

Burger type: Pub/Gourmet/Inbetween/Dirty

Don't be alarmed, the meat isn't still mooing - it's beetroot, not blood! Burger joints are a bit thin on the ground over on the East side of town. Clearly the burger trend isn't trendy enough. But The Advisory is keeping burger cravings in check in Hackney with a range of burgers, sides and several specials on the board to choose from. This burger is one of the specials and it was pretty damn good. The patty is a nice big slab, cooked to perfection and good and tasty. Beetroot is a win in a burger, and the jalapenos give the burger a decent kick. Everything works well together in the brioche bun, but the meat is still the main event as it should be. I'm keen to try some other offerings next time I'm in the area. On the menu they instruct you to wash your burger down with a beer; not hard to adhere to when the likes of Kernal Brewery's IPA is amongst the offerings. There's cocktails as well if that's your thing. And the name? Well, the premises used to be an Asian Womens Advisory Service of course.

Rating: 

Meat 3/3

Bun 2/2

Fillings 2/2

Package 1/2

Extra point? No

Overall 8/10

London Burger Bash Round 4

Another month, another burger competition. This time held at Camden Town Brewery, there would be 24 competitors in total flipping burgers for votes over 4 rounds, each held over 2 days, unlike the 12 burgers in one night extravaganza at Borough Market last month. The winner from each round will go into a final to compete for best burger. This was serious business then. And this time I had a ticket.

In the previous 3 rounds, Fred Smith, Patty & Bun and Bleecker St Burger had conquered, knocking out the likes of Byron, Elliot's, Hawksmoor and Mother Flipper. Competition was stiff.

Armed with our full tickets (5 half burgers and 1 full burger all washed down with some top beer from Camden Town Brewery), myself and a fellow burger muncher set off to chow down some meat and cast our vote.

So in reverse order, here's my ranking of the 6 burgers from the evening:

6th Place
Ibérica - Iberica Burger Grande - secreto Iberico pork loin, rosemary manchego cheese, salsa Iberica, demi-brioche bun

Thoughts:

There's no doubting the quality of the meat and other ingredients in this offering, but for me pork burgers just can't stand against beef pattys. The meat is much drier and so doesn't pack as much flavour.

5th Place
Trific - Hamburg Hamburger - aged beef patty, smoked shallot mayo, beetroot pickles, fried quail egg, herring salsa, brioche bun

Thoughts:

So what have ze Germans from Hamburg got for us? I fairly liked the sound of this one (with the exception of the herring salsa); I think beetroot works really well in a burger and who doesn't like a fried egg? It's certainly a packed half burger with the salsa and mayo going on once cut, but there were too many flavours in this offering. Everything competes rather than working together and the quail egg was completely lost inside.

4th Place
Zoilo - Chimichurri Burger - chimichurri-infused patty, caramelised onions, grilled tomatoes, provolone cheese, roasted garlic aioli, house spicy pickle, brioche bun

Thoughts:

A nicely cooked patty here and a lot of flavoursome ingredients in this burger. It's not a bad burger by any stretch, but I found the herby flavour of the chimichurri very strong. All of the ingredients are cooked resulting in quite a mushy burger. It needs a bit of lettuce or something crunchy to add some texture.

3rd Place
Shake Shack - Smokeshack - cheeseburger, British free range Wiltshire cure smoked bacon, chopped cherry pepper, shacksauce, potato roll

Thoughts:

The only full burger of the evening (due to the modest size of the patty) and extra points for all the guys on the stand being really friendly (and giving us t-shirts) and for bringing their beer nut ice-cream to the party (yep, we managed to fit it in!). I haven't got round to visiting Shake Shack in Covent Garden yet, but from what I hear the burgers are McDonalds esq but better. This was the feeling with this burger. The patty (in part due to its thinness) can't compete with the other burgers here, but it's still a good few leagues above McDs. The bacon was good quality, the potato roll clothes the fillings well and the chopped cherry pepper is a little bit special. Both of us munched down this burger very happily.

2nd Place
Burger Bear - Black Forest Bear - aged beef patty, black cherry bacon jam, double oak smoked bacon, american cheese, black toasted bamboo charcoal bun

Thoughts:

The most unique looking burger of the night due to the black bamboo charcoal bun. And the most impressive patty of the night as well - initially the size and shape of a tennis ball before being smashed down into a patty on the grill by Tom Reaney (Burger Bear). It doesn't disappoint. A great burger with everything done right and with special touches from the black cherry bacon jam and that black bun. These guys seemed to be having the best time of all the flippers, dancing around their mirrorball to disco beats. If I was being very critical the burger is very sweet and would soon get sickly, but this is a minor complaint.

1st Place
Tongue + Cheek - Piccante Heartbreaker - ox heart & dry aged beef patty, spicy nduja, smoked provola cheese, kewpie mayo, pickled onions, gem lettuce

Thoughts:

My top burger of the night. Great patty with extra meatiness from the ox heart and cooked superbly. Nice touch with the kewpie (egg yolk only) mayo, but the killer ingredient was the nduja sausage giving just the right amount of heat to the burger to make it something really special. Top burger this where the meat is still the lead role but all the supporting ingredients give a stellar performance as well.





And the winner is: No democracy can be based on just one burger blogger's vote - over the 2 days Burger Bear collected the most votes and was a deserving winner of the Golden Patty. He joins the 3 previous champion flippers in the grand final - I hope to be there!

A few shots from the evening:

Lucky Chip vs Breaking Bad - Heisenburger & Jessy Pinkman

I've been meaning to get down to Lucky Chip for a while as I've heard a lot of rave reviews of their burgers. As well as serving up at Netil Market, they've currently got a residency at the Sebright Arms pub just off the Hackney Road. All this week they're doing a special and cooking up Breaking Bad inspired scoff in their lab:

Good as the whole periodic table looks, there were only really two options for me: the Heisenburger and the Jessy Pinkman. Keen to try both of these burgers, but not able to make a second trip whilst this special was on, the choice was clear - go Full Measure and order both.

Heisenburger - Cooked up beef patty, 98% blue cheese, smoked bacon, onion rings, methlamine hot sauce & aioli £9.50

Burger type: Pub/Gourmet/Inbetween/Dirty

This burger is to other burgers what Heisenberg is to Walter White. Oozing hot sauce and blue cheese, it truly is a filthy character. Firstly the meat: the patty is thick, coarse, cooked well (if a touch overdone) and is the main event. This is what a patty is meant to be like. It isn't dwarfed by either the bun or the fillings. The bun is top as well - in this case a glazed seeded bun is used, and it holds together well. So far so good; now for the fillings. Well.....they just pack too much punch. It's a full on assault to the tastebuds - in the blue corner the cheese is one of the most potent blue cheeses I've tasted in a burger, and in the red corner the hot sauce has a fiery snarl. Biting into this burger, you are in the middle of the ring and about to get smacked in the face by both blue and red. There's nothing wrong with the quality of the fillings - both the bacon and onion rings taste good, but having both blue cheese and hot sauce is excessive. There's too much going on in the burger and too much sauce involved - you're going to need a lot of napkins with this one. A shame because the meat and bun deserve a higher overall score.

Rating: 

Meat 3/3

Bun 2/2

Fillings 0/2

Package 1/2

Extra point? No

Overall 6/10

Jessy Pinkman - Beef patty, peanut butter, jam, bacon & chilli £8.50

Burger type: Pub/Gourmet/Inbetween/Dirty

Peanut butter and jam. In a burger. I suspected this would either flop or blow my mind......It was the latter. I've already talked about the quality of the patty and the bun in the Heisenburger review, so let's keep it simple here - they rocked. But the peanut butter, jam and bacon are f*cking outstanding. Peanut butter works so well with the beef (and a few places have noticed this and are serving it up - e.g. the Steak Louisiana at Haché), but where this might leave other burgers dry, here the jam keeps everything moist. The bacon adds extra meatiness and the whole package is burger euphoria. This is the kind of burger I want to eat every day. Pinkman - you're an absolute winner. Yeah bitch!

Rating: 

Meat 3/3

Bun 2/2

Fillings 2/2

Package 2/2

Extra point? Yes - peanut butter, jam and bacon in a burger is a masterstroke! I'm addicted after one hit.

Overall 10/10

GBK - The Taxidriver

The Taxidriver - American cheese, onion ring, Cajun relish, smoked chilli mayo, dill pickle, salad, brioche bun £9.75

Burger type: Pub/Gourmet/Inbetween/Dirty

I had fairly high hopes for the Taxidriver - it's a burger I've had prior to the blog being up and running and I remember thinking it was one of GBK's best. Almost distracted by the Smokin' Joe on the new winter menu, I stuck with the intention of scoffing down the Taxidriver. It's GBK's full on American style burger and probably the dirtiest they do (which in the grand scheme of burgers is still pretty gourmet). The flavours work well and although I've become a bit bored of the brioche bun these days finding it to be too sweet too often, it completely works for this burger. It soaks up the juices from the patty, the onion ring and the american cheese and nearly holds it all together. The onion ring is the star of the show here, adding a tasty crunch to the burger, and the fillings all work well with each other. There's a couple of problems: the onion ring and the tomato slice make the burger stand tall and it's not easy to eat without falling apart. Secondly, and again due to the volume of fillings, the meat gets a little lost in it all. Like an English villager rocking up in NYC for the first time, there is so much else going on that it gets overwhelmed and retreats deep in the middle of the burger. And let's be honest - the fillings should always play second fiddle to the meat. I couldn't help but feel a little disappointed with my visit to GBK this time. The Blue Cheese Slaw with chopped jalapenos from the new menu was tasty but I'd hoped for something mind-blowing. Their Rosemary fries (skinny fries with clumps of rosemary salt on top) are knocked out of the park by those served at Honest Burgers. Perhaps I've just been lured by the younger, sexier burger joints in town and GBK has become a little same old. I certainly don't agree with the generic GBK bashing that some people give - their burgers are reliable, the meat is tasty, fillings are good quality and their student/NHS discount and phone app bring the slightly inflated prices back into order. It's just lacking a wow factor, a little like this burger.

Rating: 

Meat 2/3

Bun 2/2

Fillings 2/2

Package 1/2

Extra point? No

Overall 7/10

London Food Fight - Burger v Burger at Borough Market

'Exclusive...One-night-only.....The best of London's burger flippers.....' the website said. It also said 'Sold Out'.....Sh*t. How could this happen? Why had I not heard about this event prior to the day before? Just how much time do you need to devote to Twitter these days to find out about London events before they sell out?

No matter the answers to these questions, I had to find a way in. Perhaps there would be tickets on the door?.....Nope, that would be too easy. Fortunately my colleague (Ms Dim Sum Sums - check out her awesomely thorough blog of all things Dim Sum here) had already clicked through to buy a ticket and managed to complete the purchase. Win. A small one anyway. We duly headed down early on the evening of the event whilst thinking over a way of me sampling at least some of the burgers (or she would be stuck eating all 12 alone). After receiving her wristband, plate and burger ticket:

she set off inside. Five minutes later she reappeared with 3 fine looking sliders for us to munch in front of a very hungry looking queue. In a scene reminscent of the parents passing their kids burgers through the school gates in a protest against Jamie Oliver's school dinners, I tried a further 2 passed out through the railings. I felt like Oliver Twist. But I'd managed to try 5 of the burgers on offer before I had to leave and Ms Dim Sum Sums managed to squeeze in a further 5 before admitting defeat. In the style of the sliders we had, here's a mini review of what we thought of each one we tried:

Elliot's Cafe - very, very aged patty, linseed bun, dill butter, ogleshield, comté, beeffat onions, pickle, ketchup, mayonnaise w/ too much mustard, vinegar, salt & sugar

Thoughts:

Neither of us managed to try this one.

Mother Flipper - Special Sauce Bacon Cheeseburger - shoestring fries, thick cut american cheese, special sauce, candy bacon

Also on offer:
Mother Flipper Cheeseburger - ketchup, mustard, diced onion, homemade pickles
The Mushroom Blue - colston bassett pattie melt, purple basil, red onion jam, pecan praline, sauteed mushrooms, aioli

Thoughts:

Bert - pretty tasty, but the sauce reminded me of McDonald's Big Tasty sauce and it was just too rich. The meat was cooked well but the sauce overpowered it.

Ms Dim Sum Sums - a glorified Big Mac. Wouldn't have it again.

Patty & Bun - The Mr Miyagi - brioche, spicy korean ketchup, aged beef patty, smoked cheese, confit old spot pig, dashi mayo & roasted jalapenos

Thoughts:

Ms Dim Sum Sums - would be perfect had the beef been rarer. Confit pig was really good and a lot of complex flavours going on in this burger that seem to pull together well.

The Thomas Cubitt - rare breed beef, guinness, ketchup, green peppercorn mayo

Thoughts:

Bert - there wasn't anything wrong with this burger, but there equally wasn't anything amazing or memorable. It was pub standard in my book.

Ms Dim Sum Sums - well cooked beef but nothing special.

Grillshack - ?pulled pork, beef patty, brioche bun, radish (they didn't have a sign!)

Thoughts:

Ms Dim Sum Sums - Nicely cooked. Really good. Bronze medal for this one from me.

Honest Burgers - Honest Slider - aged ginger pig patty, smoked bacon, mature cheddar, red onion relish, homemade pickles

Thoughts:

Ms Dim Sum Sums - Really nice beef; shame the bacon was burnt. Slice of gherkin hit the spot.

Bleecker St. Burger - ?beef patty, american cheese, raw onion, sauce

Thoughts:

Ms Dim Sum Sums - Another Big Mac, only really salty. Raw onion really packed a punch. Discarded half of it as this wasn't for me.

Red Dog Saloon - aged chuck steak, hickory smoked pork shoulder, kansas city sauce

Thoughts:

Bert - not bad at all. Red Dog Saloon have redeemed themselves somewhat from when I tried the Devastator burger - this time the pulled pork was warm and it worked. It's still not amongst the fillings I would choose but this slider tasted good. Meaty and dirty.

Ms Dim Sum Sums - Pulled pork had a good sweetness, beef nicely cooked, sauce was tasty. Bun looked squished but was actually surprisingly springy.

Brigade - ?beef patty, pulled oxtail, lettuce, red onion, tomato

Thoughts:
Ms Dim Sum Sums - Poor burger. Beef was overdone. Too sickly and half discarded again. Brioche bun was too tough.

Opera Tavern - Mini Ibérico Pork and Foie Gras Burger - with manchego, aioli, red onion marmalade & guindilla

Thoughts:

Bert - You can see from the photo that the meat was overcooked. The ingredients sound really promising, but this was a huge let-down. The worst of the 5 I tried. All the other burger vendors either offered a proper slider or a half/quarter of a full size burger. For Opera Tavern to make a slider and then cut it in half is a trifle stingy.

Ms Dim Sum Sums - Worst burger of the night. Also the smallest burger of the night. Meat didn't taste of anything.

Village East - Longhorn Beef & Bone Marrow Burger - truffled liver parfait, smoked cheddar, tomato relish, onion marmalade, mayo, gherkin

Thoughts:

Neither of us managed to try this one - sounds and looks good though.

Wenlock & Essex - The Trio Burger - ?beef patty, cheese, beetroot, coleslaw

Thoughts:

Bert - The winner of the 5 I tried. The Wenlock & Essex hadn't been on my radar before now but if thier usual offerings are anything like this then I look forward to a visit soon. I agree with Ms Dim Sum Sums that there wasn't a wow factor, and it's certainly not as dirty as a lot of the burgers I love, but it simply tasted damn good.

Ms Dim Sum Sums - Perfectly cooked beef. Acidity of the beetroot worked well with the sweetness of the bun; overall flavours are really well balanced. Pretty much a perfect burger, just lacked the wow factor of Patty & Bun. I wish I hadn't shared this one with Bert.



Final thoughts:

Bert - Not getting a ticket to this event was a disaster. But still managing to try 5 burgers (albeit in a somewhat shabby, begging manner) was great. The event looked brilliant from the outside, and despite the £36 ticket price initially seeming steep you certainly got a lot of burger for your money. My stomach is somewhat relieved I didn't get a ticket and try all 12 burgers; from what I saw this easily amounted to a good 4 normal sized burgers. Plus a beer. Here's hoping there will be another like this in the future. My burger ranking was: Wenlock & Essex, Red Dog Saloon, Mother Flipper, The Thomas Cubitt, and lastly Opera Tavern. A few places weren't on my radar before, and if they were big enough to compete here then they're big enough for a visit for a full size burger in the future. Mother Flipper won the most votes on the evening - I think they should have only had one burger on offer though. The Mushroom Blue sounds awesome though, perhaps this is what won it for them. I also think that kudos should be given to the vendors that made a proper slider with a mini patty & bun, rather than dishing out portions of full sized burgers.

Ms Dim Sum Sums - Fun night. The band was good. My beer tasted like burger, but I don't blame the brewer! I voted for Patty & Bun to win because they wowed me with their complex flavours (despite their slightly overcooked patty the uniqueness of the burger won me over), but the Wenlock & Essex came a close second with a near perfect burger.

Thanks to Carl Henderson for a few pictures which we didn't manage to get ourselves.