Tongue 'n Cheek, Belly Connection Burger: 7.25/10

• So Nose-to-Tail style burgers are a thing. It's not necessarily going to be everybody's thing, but it is a thing. And Tongue 'n Cheek, an Italian inspired street food vendor, are well-known on the London scene for their 'heartbreaker' patties, made of 50% ox heart and 50% dry aged beef. Having been raised to eat whatever I was given, a part-offal burger sounded un-scary and intriguing - and now having tried it, I can confirm there's nothing to be afraid of, mainly because it tastes pretty much like a normal gourmet patty!!

• Catching Tongue 'n Cheek at the KERB street food market at Kings Cross, you can choose from a range of 'heartbreaker' burgers with some innovative non-standard ingredients, including chimichurri sauce, watercress, Njuda spicy salami, and Japanese Kewpie mayo. Loving this originality, plus not having a brioche bun in sight!!

 

• As a massive Food Perve, I could have watched this dude grilling patties all day long.....but I had a Belly Connection burger to review: a chunky mound consisting of a 'heartbreaker' patty, pork belly, melted gorgonzola, pimiento mayo, pickled red onions and gem lettuce.

• A solid eating experience, there was nothing not to like and I had no trouble polishing off this bad boy. However, despite the exotic offal-mixed patty, the Belly Connection didn't leave much of a memorable impression. Same with the Rosemary Fries, in fact:

• Completely inoffensive, enjoyably filling, but again, lacking the wow factor.
• If you run into Tongue 'n Cheek, it's not a bad option for fresh, quality burger & chips with a twist, plus you get to support a small independent food producers - and hopefully that'll leave a good taste in your mouth!

BIRD: The Original Waffle Burger, 8/10

• I am a *sucker* for fried chicken. I can also convince myself that it's a healthier alternative to beef (or would have been before it hit the deep-fat fryer...pfffft details). So naturally, I 'needed' to review the infamous Waffle Burger on the menu of BIRD, the self-proclaimed free-range fried chicken specialists, to ensure you meat bun lovers had some lower-fat options around London town. Selfless, I know ;)

• Of course, my proposition of a 'light' burger is challenged by the fact that this is basically a double-serving, but again let's not get bogged down by semantics. Made up of two boneless chicken thighs, bacon, American cheese, hot sauce, and Canadian maple syrup, it's the fresh griddled waffles sandwiching your white meat that tastes most unlike a burger:

• But then again, what truly IS a burger.....is what some pretentious philsophy student pondered. I on the other hand, happily chomped through my plateful, as well as a spicy side of Cheesy Korean fries which overjoyed me to see combined my favourite Asian condiments (kewpie mayo and gochujang) with my favourite Western ingredient (fromage). Rare successful fusion:

• The Waffle Burger isn't for everyone. In fact I can already see purists complaining about misrepresentation. However, forget about a burger benchmark: if you woke up one day with a craving for some US-styled poultry soul food, BIRD has got what you need.

Shake Shack: 'Shroom Burger (VEGGIE), 9.5/10

• By popular demand and in homage to certain non-meat-eating individuals (you know who you are!), here is Burgerite's very first Veggie Burger review! Cult US-brand Shake Shack seemed a good place to start, as word on the street tipped it's 'Shroom Burger as best in class. And to be honest, it's hard to see how to surpass a deep-fried crunchy breadcrumbed roasted portbello mushroom stuffed to the brim with golden melted muenster and cheddar cheeses.....the bar has definitely been set, bring on the challengers!!

• Cheese fries are heavily crinkle-cut, so if you like your potato jagged you're in for a treat. They do look and taste mass-produced, and the opaque, viscous yellow topping doesn't diminish that sensation. Definitely not memorable, but not a bad filler:

• Strong selection of milkshakes too, based on their range of tasty Frozen Custards (ice cream, basically).

• The 'Shroom is a satisfying, moreish burger in it's own right whether you eat meat or not - so more choice for everyone!

BOOM Burger: Signature Boom Burger, 9.75/10

• Gourmet British-made burgers with one seriously vibrant, sizzling Caribbean twist! If fruity, tangy, spiced flavour explosions are your thing, BOOM Burger is ready to give your tastebuds an addictive, meaty bite of Jamaica from it's cosy urban corner of Ladbroke Grove, tucked into the concrete of Westway flyover. It's a refreshing experience, no airs and graces, just good ol' soul food, tropical cocktails, bright colours, loud music and fun times!

• The Boom Burger is the house speciality, and it is stunning: a tender beef patty smothered in rich, velvety cheese, topped with thick, punchy BACON JAM, fresh, crunchy red onion, lettuce and tomato dressed in creamy, zingy jerk mayo, with the perfect brioche bun. Faultless combination of ingredients, beautiful execution:

• The plantain fries are a JOY - sweet, chewy, crispy, these are the ultimate companion for any mouth-watering main you choose:

• For great food and a great vibe it doesn't get better than BOOM - sunshine in a burger!

MEATliquor SINgapore, Red Chili Burger&Dead Hippie: 9.25/10

• Headline: after a soul-destroyingly bad trip to MEATmission in London last November, MEATliquor SIN has come to the rescue, restoring my faith in the franchise with a storming Red Chili burger, quality Dead Hippie, and hard-hitting Shambal fries!! Cannot believe how well Singapore is WINNING at the US-style burger market, although it does come at a price, SGD 24/22 in this case. Thankfully you can get buy 1 free 1 mains with the Entertainer App throughout 2016, hence my quadruple burger order!!

Burger Jenga! Yes, I like to play with my food, so sue me already

De Burg Singapore, The Warrior's Snack: 9.5/10

• Created by Singaporean Andrew Sim who returned to the island after living in New York wanting to satisfy his US-style burger cravings, De Burg has not only filled this gap, but completely SMASHED it!! This is a *world-class* product, and if you're local you need to get yourself to Kallang Bahru to experience this, pronto!
• The menu spoils you for choice, but the 600g triple-patty signature 'stacked' burger, The Warrior's Snack, is a stand-out option: a meaty monster with blackpepper sauce, portbello mushroom gravy, and cheese layered between each beautifully cooked almost-half-pounder, this showcase of prime Australian beef is an absolute knockout.
• Moreish french fries both come with your burger, and ARE UNLIMITED (we tried it) - talk about icing on the cake!
• De Burg is a carnivore's dream - you'd be hard pushed to find a much better burger anywhere in the world, so head out to this dive bar for an unforgettable meat hit.

Fatboy's The Burger Bar, Fat Basterd: 7.25/10

• As you'd expect, burgers are indeed popular around the world, and Singapore is no exception! The Fatboy's concept was born out of a desire by two brothers to fill a gap in the market for casual, authentic, old school comfort food. Judging by their success in rolling Fatboy's out across Singapore, Malaysia, China and Cambodia I'd say they've succeeded!

• Variety is the name of the menu game, amply catering to the range of carnivores and vegetarians who make up Singapore's multi-cultural diners: beef, lamb, pork, chicken, mushroom, the choice of patty is truly yours.

• My Fat Basterd burger was swiftly delivered, and MASSIVE! The only double-patty offering on the menu, I hadn't expected this towering feast:

Probably stands a good 5 inches high!!

• Moreover, this is quality AND quantity (if a little on the sweet side - easy on the ketchup!). The succulent texture and robust meatiness of my beef chuck patties layered with juicy ribbons of bacon, gloriously smothering blankets of melted cheddar cheese, and a fried, oozy-yolked egg partition was truly comfort food in a squishy sesame bun:

• At SGD19.80 for the flagship Fat Basterd, it was a relief that fries are included with all burgers, and even better to discover how good they are! Exactly the kind of slim, crispy french fries that perfectly accompanies a hearty burger:

• Fatboy's truly exceeded my expectations, successfully delivering an eating experience on-par with many top London burger joints, AND at an equivalently better price - what more could you ask for!

Chosen Bun, The Shoveman: 7.75/10

• A homegrown British venture, Chosen Bun launched their gourmet burger delivery service in 2013, an apparent world first. From their Fulham Broadway outpost, a fleet of branded mopeds serve a 2 mile catchment with inventive, gastronomic burgers, sides and milkshakes, ordered online. High-end takeaway for the lazy digital foodie!

• The tongue-in-cheek personalisation of the menu conveys a real authenticity and social provenance, rather than a corporate lab with teams of food scientists. For example, The Shoveman bacon cheeseburger is a portmanteau homage to the founders Andy Shovel and Pete Sharman, with similar stories littered across the menu.

• The end result is a range of thoughtfully crafted products, brimming with attention to detail, complete with customisation options (menu). You can get extras of anything on anything (individually priced), including additional patties - a gamut of choice!

• My burger, sides and milkshake were delivered to my door 25mins from ordering, arriving perfectly warm and cold as required. With fresh, tastefully chosen ingredients (no pun intended) the bacon cheeseburger was appetising, but ate like a sum of it's parts rather than a holistic sensory overload:

Beef patty, caramelised red onion and garlic chutney, lettuce, cheddar cheese, shoveman sauce, smoked streaky bacon and nicks pickles.

• Thankfully however, the fried mac and cheese bites are DIVINE!! With crunchy panko breadcrumb coating, rich and creamy sauce, fresh herbs and a light chew of pasta, Chosen Bun have *nailed* this:

Quite possibly the best side dish in London, I defy you NOT to love these!

• The triple-cooked chips paled in comparison given the exceptional competition, but objectively are highly edible - basically a roast potato in chip form:

• Good milkshakes too! All in all, a solid burger startup worthy of your money in a crowded market should you find yourself in West London!

Big Fernand, Le Bartholomé: 9.5/10

• Originating in Paris, the Big Fernand concept took traditional US-style burgers and gave them a big ol' French twist. Not content with continental success, the brand's expansion to London means we can now enjoy the Gallic interpretation of an American fast-food burger. A touch confusing, but forget it's provenance - this eats like a refined, European dirty burger, and it's GREAT!

• With five house burgers including chicken, lamb, veal and veggie options, as well as five cooking options from blue to well done, you're really spoilt for choice here (menu).

• Le Bartholomé, the bacon cheeseburger equivalent, is a glorious feast of rich, savoury flavours that meld together to create bite after bite of meaty gratification:

Dry-aged beef, Raclette cheese, smoked streaky bacon, carmelised onion,
chives and cocktail sauce = HEAVEN

• With an unusually flat and wide structure, each mouthful is noticeably soft and juicy, with bursts of tender beefiness, pungent cheese, sticky onion jam, salty bacon, tangy sauce and fresh herbs, sandwiched between a traditional white seeded bun (no brioche, surprisingly!):

• French chips are the only side offered ('La Salade' does not count in any country). Ironically neither French nor American in style, these are basically English chips with a heavy dousing of 'homemade' seasoning. Nothing to write home about, unless you similarly harbour a penchant for creamy dips - the house mayo is truly *unctuous*:

• If you want high-quality burger gastronomy but without super-fancy ambience or prices, Big Fernand is made for you!

Happy Customer!

Flat Iron, Béarnaise Burger: 9.85/10

• This previous pop-up steakhouse may be best known for it's flagship £10 flat iron steak & salad, but it regularly offers specials based on what fresh meat is in. The Béarnaise Burger special is SENSATIONAL, currently my top ranked gourmet burger in London!

• The meat: made from a beer-fed Dexter Cow, the single patty has a coarsely ground texture dotted with succulent pearls of fat. The is deep-friend in beef fat, producing a charred, crispy dark external crust, but leave the inside perfectly medium-rare, tender and juicy:

Ominously dark and foreboding at first

• The rest: simply accompanied by a glistening cascade of classic béarnaise sauce and diced shallots to showcase the outstanding meat. Ultra-creamy, lusciously rich and golden, the buttery texture, aromatic flecks of tarragon with subtle tang of vinegar makes the sauce sublime on it's own, and exceptional with the patty:

Sliced open to reveal the moist, pink meat morcels

• Only minor complaint: the St. John bakery bun is crusty and seeded with fresh brioche taste, if not perhaps a slight dry texture. Whilst sturdy, the volume of top bun is noticeably excessive - you may need to trim off break filling to achieve the optimum bun:patty ratio!

• Chips: dripping-cooked, acceptable but underwhelming. Disappointedly reminiscent of a poorer relation to McDonald french fries:

Meh

• If you like steak, béarnaise sauce and brioche then congratulations, you've just found your perfect burger!!

Burger Craft, The Juicy Bastard: 7.5/10

Happy Days :)

• A relatively new burger brand pop-up available in four permanent locations at time of writing, the Burger Craft proposition is cheeky pub grub to accompany beer & Sky Sports, but with a nod to the gourmet movement. So we're talking 28 day dry-aged Wiltshire beef, brioche buns, duck eggs, stilton and lamb lettuce, but completely free of edgy hipster pretentiousness.

• Their signature offering, the Juicy Bastard, with it's double pattied, double cheesed (that's FOUR slices), lettuced, tomatoed and smokey BBQ sauced composition, definitely qualifies as a dirty burger:

Sloppy enough for ya?!

• As someone who can't enjoy meat if it's not medium-rare, the default Burger Craft cooking of pink (medium) did, unfortunately, compromise my experience. The quality of ingredients however, and the sheer quantity of condiments did go some way to compensate. Do note though that the bottom bun *will* bail half-way through your meal from total sauce saturation!

• Special mention re. sides: your burger automatically comes with either fries or HASH BROWNS (London doesn't need any more rosemary chips):

Hallelujah!! A viable alternative to chips
& onion rings

• The hand-cut fries themselves are fairly non-descript, however these can be jazzed up to become 'Hot & Dirty fries', through choice additions of fiery chipotle, jalapeños, blue cheese, and even pulled pork flavoured with cider hot sauce.

• If you come across Burger Craft, give it a go - a range of thoughtfully designed eats for a satisfying feed down the pub.

Kua 'Aina, Avocado and Bacon Hamburger: 7/10

Originating in Hawaii's North Shore in 1975, this burger and sandwich joint promotes it's hot lava rock grills, a cooking method which produces a flavourful, clean meat. If there was a 'healthy' end of the burger scale, this would be it. The real differentiator however, is the strong retro branding, a summery, tropical surfer vibe which runs throughout the shack-themed menu and décor. Oh, and it's Obama's favourite restaurant when he's back in his native Hawaii - may or may not appeal! 

Good enough for the President

• Plumping for the larger half-pound patty vs 1/3lb cooked medium-rare topped with avocado and bacon, all Kua 'Aina burgers come with tomato, lettuce, grilled onion, mayo on a white-seeded burger bun: 

And a random carrot

• The hyped-up lava-grilled patty is a 100% premium cut grass-fed West Country beef burger. You can taste the quality, but it lacks the depth of flavour that you'd get from multi-day aged-beef (which features in several previous reviews - maybe Burgerite is just spoiled now!!). Moreover, the low-fat, low-smoke result that the lava-grill is known for certainly makes for a healthier burger, but feels somewhat self-defeating. After all, what is a burger without grease and charring?! 

• Good news on the sides, Kua 'Aina serve excellent sweet potato fries! Slim-cut, deliciously caramelised in flavour with the optimal crisp bite with a slight inner chew, these were delectably moreish.

• Don't go to Kua 'Aina for an indulgent burger treat; you will feel cheated. But check it out for its exotic island ambience, because you're curious about Obama's food tastes, or you're a burger fiend on a diet!!