Thursday, 23 September 2010

Burger Bar Baptisms - Berry's Baltic Burger

It's not often I let a burger chain such as the famous farmer's sneak on to these pages, but on this occasion I've allowed it. Tim Berry; raconteur, songwriter and Baltic adventurer, writes in following an arduous yet extremely enjoyable trip around several Baltic states. Here are his findings...


(click on photo to zoom)

"Finding a burger in the Baltic region of Dalmatia, Croatia, was not easy. The city of Split, being as it is centred around a harbour, has more of a market for seafood; it’s the Croatian equivalent to Grimsby if you will, only with better scenery and not a Greggs bakery in sight. Nonetheless, a brief stop in a service station in Dubrovnik provided me with the perfect opportunity to contribute to your burger bar, albeit in a McDonalds (note the Croatian signage on the wall behind me, should you wish to check the authenticity of the location - click on photo to zoom).

Now, this “Big Mac”, as they appear to call it in Croatia, was by no means the finest burger I have ever had in my life. A bit soggy, if I’m absolutely honest, and not particularly true to its name, as you can see by the paltry hand-to-burger ratio in the photo. Verdict? Tako-Tako. (“Što znači 'tako-tako' na Engleskom?” I hear you non-Croatian speakers ask… well, it means ‘so-so’, which I think is a generous evaluation, given that it would be unfair to judge the burger-making skills of any country by the food they serve in their McDonalds). I should add, however, that the staff in Dubrovnik were much friendlier than their UK counterparts and this, if nothing else, was applaudable."

We applaud you Tim Berry...

Friday, 3 September 2010

Burger Bar Baptisms - Bistro BT bap misfire

Lap up this effort from our correspondent, AlanH, on the Emerald Isle. Great map, good looking patty with melted cheese, it does look like a slightly uninspiring bap though...

"I have a new entry for you, we went out to Bistro BT in Bettystown for lunch yesterday and I had to try the burger, I'll give it about a 7 out of 10, the bread was a little too doughy, however it did the trick!"


(click picture to zoom in!)

Thursday, 5 August 2010

Burger Bar Baptisms - EuroBurger2008

Plucked from the seemingly endless TBBB archive for it's powerful culinary prowess and then displayed here for your pleasure... it's what our French cousins might call the 'Euroburger'.



Back in Dec 08 Network went on an end-of-year outing to happy Paris. The Eurostar was our primary mode of transport for this excursion. What do the Gallic have to offer in terms of burgers when moving at high speeds between different EU countries? A pre-cooked effort that goes from 'zero-ludicrously tasty' in 40 seconds... (See packet for details!)

Rob White took one look at the plastic wrapper (splattered from the inside) and recoiled in horror.



Dave (Smiffy) took one look at it and took a bite, plus a few more bites...



...so did Izzie.



Bon appetit...

Tuesday, 6 July 2010

Burger Bar Baptisms - Hard Rock's calling...

...and my number's up.

Jonny
C returns for more burger-related shenanigans - going VIP at Hard Rock Calling in Hyde Park. We had a few Coronas, then took a pew inside the VIP area with the promise of some hardcore burger sampling in the pipeline.

Kicking things off with a couple of 'starters' we had the pulled pork sandwich and a rack of ribs (both with chips, BBQ beans and coleslaw). Portion sizes were what you'd expect from any Rock establishment - generous. Mr C kindly donated half a rack of ribs to my cause. I reciprocated with some pulled pork...

I ordered the 'legendary haggis burger' to follow. Two waitresses appeared with the order.

Waitress 2: 'who's ordered the haggis burger?'
Waitress 1: 'it's for him' (points to me)
Waitress 2: 'oh my gosh! Do you realise what's in this thing???'
Me: 'well, yeah - haggis'
Waitress 2: 'and you've just eaten that!' (points to my now empty plate with evidence of ribs, etc.)
Me: 'mmm, yes...'
Waitress 2: 'I look forward to seeing you eat that thing' (referring to haggis burger)
Me: 'OK. Thanks, there's nothing to see here!' (waving them away) Oh, can we have two more Coronas please!'

At this point I lifted the bap on that sucker to get a glance of what was on top of my 10oz beef pattie - a think, glowing slab of haggis. 'It should look messier than that!' I thought to myself. My stomach began to feel very... hot(!). I glanced down and could see and sense a pumping/beating motion in my abdominal area. Most things in life are come down to one's mental approach. In my case, rarely is my mind so affected by my body as it was now. My gut was apprehensive. There was definitely some physical contemplation going on - pre-haggis burger, post ribs, etc.

I did manage it. Mr C managed more than a few bites of his burger damage. Still, I guess that how one should roll at the Hard Rock...



Rubik's cube-style photo montage key:
1 pulled pork sandwich and bbq ribs
2 JonnyC looking suave with steak knife
3 Hark Rock 'VIP' menu
4 haggis burger, as served with sides
5 'glowing' haggis atop a 10oz pattie
6 severed haggis burger in my hand...
7 waitress poses with the ever-handsome JonnyC
8 pulled pork remains, with used stack of ribs...
9 JonnyC looking very 'rock n roll' on the VIP bar

Monday, 28 June 2010

Burger Bar Baptisms - Basu's Burger in Balham

Hot off the grill, from RB in Balham...

"Burger Bar Baptisms has developed a cult following in my office. I flicked it on to one of our developers called Andy who after spending 5 minutes looking at it marveling at various creations on there said 'you've basically just killed my day - I'll be on here for the rest of the day'.

The attached photo was taken a few minutes ago of the Cheese & Bacon BBQ Burger at The Regent in Balham."

- RB (28.6.10, 13:22.29)