Tag Archives: burger

Dirty Burger, Highgate

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The coolest places are always the hardest to find… I paced up and down Highgate Road for ten minutes before plucking up the courage to ask at a nearby pub, “Where exactly is Dirty Burger?” It had been under my nose all the time, round the back of the glowing Pizza East restaurant.

The tin shack is tiny with just enough space to hold twenty hungry burger fans. The menu is short and simple with the crew concentrating on doing what they do best and not fussing with alternatives. It is a quick process, order a cheeseburger at the bar, make the difficult choice between onion rings and crinkle chips and take a seat on one of the communal benches.

Pre-empting the greasy feast at Dirty Burger, I was careful to not eat much before my visit, ensuring a starving state. On entry to the shack, the irresistible smells tickled my taste buds – I was extremely excited about finally trying a famous ‘dirty burger’.

The burgers here are of the sloppy kind, though they don’t drip unnecessarily. The ground beef is cleverly coated in a floury layer to add a delicious crispy edge. As I often say, a burger is only as good its bun, and here at DB they get it just right with a super soft sweet bread sandwiching the contents. Crunchy lettuce, sliced tomato and melted cheese completes the beast. It is so good all thoughts of calories go out the window, instead I began thinking, “Could I manage a second?”.

Luckily I tried both the chips and onion rings and on reflection would recommend you order both, as they are equally tasty and quite frankly unmissable if you want the complete burger experience. The onion rings are blissfully light, with an extra peppery thin batter encasing the soft loops of onion. Chips are old school crinkly and though I was sceptical at first, taste insanely good, especially after a decent dunking in mayonnaise.

Milkshakes are also available: thick, sweet and indulgent, just like the ones served in American diners. I opted for a refreshingly cold diet coke from the help-yourself fridge.

This secret shack stands strong as a leader in the London burger revolution, and after trying their juicy recipe I’m hooked on this Highgate hangout. The dirtier the burger, the better!

More information here.

http://www.eatdirtyburger.com/

Boutique Burgers at Bar Boulud, Knightsbridge

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I had one of the best meals of my life at Dinner by Heston, the resident fine restaurant at the London Mandarin Oriental. So when the time came to visit Bar Boulud, the more relaxed bistro in the grand hotel, I was very excited.

The restaurant was created by chef Daniel Boulud who has also opened two restaurants in New York: Bar Boulud’s sister restaurant and the prestigious three Michelin star eatery, Daniel. London’s Boulud is an attractive place to spend time with plush burgundy leather seating and oak tabletops. Taking inspiration from casual French eateries, the food and service has a Parisian twist and there is a feeling of intimacy and comfort while eating… Bar Boulud is for people who love food.

The burgers sit amongst an array of tempting dishes in the menu… not that I really bothered looking at those options, I was here to try one thing only, although a dilemma arose when we realised there was not one but four burgers listed. Glistening flutes of chilled champagne arrived to aid our decision making – a few sips of the delicious French bubbles and we suddenly had the confidence and bravery to try not two but three burgers between us, stalling only to debate if we should opt for all four.

Burgers at Boulud cost around £12.50 each and chips need to be ordered separately… so you can imagine that an evening out here can become a costly affair. Here are the options:

NY Grilled Beef Burgers

Yankee: With iceberg lettuce, tomato, pickle, sweet onion, sesame bun and optional cheddar cheese supplement

Frenchie: With Confit pork belly, rocket, dijon tomato compote, Morbier cheese, peppered bun

Piggie: With BBQ pulled pork, green chilli mayonnaise, Bibb lettuce, red cabbage slaw, cheddar cheese bun

BB: Beef Patty, foie gras, red wine braised short ribs, truffle, frisee, horseradish mayonnaise, confit tomato, black onion seed bun

The burgers are considered to be a conservative size and our cheeky waiter encouraged us to order them all. We resisted the very rich sounding BB  but tried the Yankee, Frenchie and Piggie. I was impressed with the attention to detail: each burger has a real personality and style with a clever assortment of toppings to complement the tender flavoursome meat, it all seems very well thought through. The burgers weren’t small, but perhaps smaller than average, which is what you would expect from a posh burger outlet. The Yankee is most similar to a classic burger, simple and delicious. My favourite was the Frenchie topped with amazing Morbier cheese and carmelised pork which tasted like bacon, a kick comes from the vinegary Dijon and peppery rocket, the unique bun adds a special touch. Piggie is a boy’s burger with sweet pork and a cheesy bun, it is juicy and indulgent. We loved them all.

Pomme frites, an extra £4.25, are the tops, super crispy and salty and just utterly moreish. The type of chips you want to stuff in your mouth handfuls at a time.

Bar Boulud serve up the best boutique burger, so if you like your baps posh and pretty this is the place to visit.

Visit the website here for more information.

Duke of Wellington burger, Marylebone

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When a friend, a family member or even a stranger tells me they have found the ‘best burger in London’ it is not a statement I take lightly. Constantly on a quest to taste the most awesome burger on offer in our capital city, I never tire of trying new contenders.

This time I was off to the Duke of Wellington, a smart gastro-pub in Marylebone. A brief walk from Baker Street station and conveniently close to all the gorgeous boutiques, this pub is the perfect place to pop into after a tiring day shopping. The pub has a cosy feel and a relaxed atmosphere, it was immediately obvious that many of the visitors are locals who come here to drink, eat and chat most days. One chap came over to talk to us enthusiastically about his memories and experiences of this pub!

It is fine cuisine that ensures the Wellington remains a popular destination in a constantly evolving area of London. We were here to try one thing and ordered out burgers with barbecued pulled pork, cheese, coleslaw, pickles and fries immediately after sitting down. It was early evening and the place was still filling up, we had time to enjoy our wine and warm fresh bread before the main attraction arrived. There is only one burger option, and who needs more choice when the speciality is done so well.

It is a feast for the eyes as well as the stomach, a huge stacked burger was placed in front of each of us, oozing cheese and dripping luxuriously onto the plate. It was spectacular. I wasn’t quite sure how to tackle it as it fell over the moment I prodded it. The ground beef here is scrumptious, a mix of various cuts, it is tender, flavoursome and very juicy. The pulled pork is cooked in litres of fizzy lemonade to give it an extra sweet taste and tender texture, though this was an original idea I found it a little too sweet and overpowering with the rest of the burger… then again I’m not a huge fan of sweet’n’savoury. The chips were divine, super thin and crispy, think posh McDonalds fries.

The Wellington burger is one of the best I’ve tried in London, with a unique combination of toppings, prepared and presented to perfection without compromising on taste. If you can manage afters, which we did (somehow) I highly recommend the sticky toffee pudding.

The Duke of Wellington also offers a reasonable two course lunch for £14.95, the burger doesn’t feature, but a tempting looking steak is available as part of the deal.

More information here.

http://www.thedukew1.co.uk/