Tag Archives: burger

Le Camion Qui Fume, Paris

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We searched far and wide for Le Camion Qui Fume, for one reason; many call them the best burgers in Paris, a statement I don’t take lightly. And so at lunchtime on a freezing February lunchtime in France we got on the train to Port Maillot, an area of Paris I’ve never ventured to before.

Le Camion Qui Fume is a clear sign that the French are beginning to take the hamburger seriously… not just a novelty on the menu anymore but an important part of the dishes on offer. Many sneered when I set out to discover the best burger on my last trip to Paris, but this time it seemed to be a more acceptable challenge.

And it is all thanks to Kristin Frederick, a Californian who studied at the French culinary school Ferrandi, and now takes her food truck, Le Camion Qui Fume, around the Paris curbs. Flicking through her lovely burger-orientated cookbook whilst in line, it is clear she is an authority on the topic. Her recipes are innovative and exciting, great flavour combinations and interesting ingredient choices. I’d seen the mouth-watering pictures but waited for the proof in the tasting.

I have queued for my fair share of burgers in London and New York so I wasn’t surprised to see a line of about 40 people already waiting for their piece of the action. Initially I had to convince my companion that it would be worth it, but after sticking it out for 40 minutes of waiting we finally reached the front of the queue… several dozen hopefuls behind us had been turned away, and so I felt very lucky to be privileged and relieved when it was finally my turn to be awarded with a Camion burger.

The crew on board the van seemed to be having a great time, tossing handmade chips and exchanging witty remarks. Bitterly cold and hungry we could do nothing but stare up at them, our fate completely in their control. I opted for the standard Classique burger. Clutching our brown paper bag we ran ready to gorge in the first place warm place we could find. This happened to be the photomaton machine in the nearby metro station… but nothing could ruin this event. It was incredible. Excellent meat – tender inside and crispy on the outside, subtly seasoned – melting cheese, fresh lettuce, tomato and crunchy white onion give extra flavour and the lightly toasted bun encases the ingredients whilst being deliciously soft and slightly sweet itself, a lick of mayo keeps the lot together. Chips are moreish and salty with the potato skin still on some of them giving a more earthy taste.

… not only the best burger I’ve tasted in Paris, but one of the best I have ever tried.

Le Camion Qui Fume
www.lecamionquifume.com
Opening times and location: @LeCamionQuiFume
Burger: 8 €; 10 € for a burger and fries

Thanks to the Paris Tourist Board, more information here.

Bleecker Street Burger Van

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I literally stumbled across this ace burger van. Finding myself wandering around Euston, freezing cold and in desperate need of food I looked up my location on my trusty Burgerapp… Bleecker Street Burger was a nearby red mark throbbing on the screen. Little did I know I would have to enter the UCL university campus to retrieve my lunch.

Bleecker Street Burger is an NYC style burger joint on wheels. They zoom around the streets of london cooking up medium-rare burgers and crispy, salty fries. Look out for the big, black burger truck, as it may be coming near you… at the start of every week the website is updated with addresses of the van’s locations, the burgers are usually on sale two or three days a week.

The Bleecker beef comes from small farms across England, the buns used are light and slightly sweet, complementing the robustness of the meat. In the cheese department they go for tasty American cheese, gooey and delicious. The burgers are relatively thin, and a double can be chosen for hungrier diners. I was a little sad to notice the absence of tomato and onion in the burger, no gherkin either. Bleecker are minimalists when it comes to their burgers accessories adding only cheese, lettuce and sauce to the meat. But what is there is very, very good: quality ground meat, lightly seasoned and a wonderfully light bun.

The fries, which they adamantly insist are NOT chips, are handmade and fried in the van. Normal fries are on offer as well as Angry fries (with red chilli powder), sweet fries (sweet potato) or mixed fries (a mix of normal and sweet potato). If I’d been feeling more adventurous I would have gone for the mixed, but I just felt like normal. They were good, but far from the best I’ve tried. Soggy with a crispy edge they became cold very quickly unfortunately, though nicely seasoned.

There was barely a queue (hurrah) despite the burgers being very popular and the service was very quick and friendly. At £4.50 a burger Bleecker are surely the cheapest and perhaps the best burger van currently on the streets of the capital.

http://bleeckerburger.co.uk/

Meat Market, Covent Garden

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Meat Market is the second outlet in the ever growing MEAT burger chain that began so momentously with the arrival of MeatLiquor in Marylebone. Yianni Papoutsis and Scott Collins’ second venture is rather smaller and even more casual than the first eatery. Located on the outskirts of Covent Garden Jubilee Market, at mezzanine level it is rather tricky to find. However the alluring smell should lead you up there if nothing else.

Once I’d found my way upstairs I was surprised by the interiors… not dark and brooding like MeatLiquor but bright and diner-like… reminiscent of a scene from Grease the Musical. High tables with stools encourage quick eating, and food is bought at the speedy counter. A neon sign reads MEAT MARKET and amusing decoration covers the walls.

The menu is a down-sized version of the one from MeatLiquor, with fewer burger options and less choice. Four varieties of burger are available: Dead Hippy, Double Bubble, Black Palace and Philly Cheesesteak and three HotDogs: Ripper, Kraut and Corndog. All the burgers are quite similar but with varying garnishes and sauces! The taste and flavour is as good as the commendable MeatLiquor burger, but we found the whole thing far too sloppy… it is impossible eat, either by hand or with cutlery as the bun just disintegrates with the excessive juices, and once the surrounding paper starts to go the whole thing just becomes too messy to handle.

On the upside the food was ready impressively fast – in just a few minutes we had our red striped trays in front of us. The rich beefy patties are thinner here, so a double cheeseburger doesn’t seem like such a ridiculous idea. With the lettuce, minced onion, pickles and mustard, it is certainly high flavour, perhaps even a little too overpowering. Fries are super thin and crunchy, not dissimilar to McDonalds in appearance, but noticeably better.

This fast food phenomenon just keeps growing. Convenient, quick and queueless, Meat Market seems to have the best of both worlds, but in diluting their exclusivity they have also diluted the product, and I’m sad to say these burgers just aren’t as good anymore.

More information here.