Burgers are one of my ultimate guilty pleasures. I don’t eat them often, but when I do I want juicy, well-seasoned meaty meat, a soft tasty bun, gooey melted cheese, and good quality ‘extra’ toppings. I don’t want a dry, overcooked patty, I don’t want verging-on-stale bread, I don’t want limp lettuce leaves and fridge-cold cheese.
With my ‘burger pickiness’ it makes trying out a new place rather difficult. I’ve gone off Bryon after finding my last few burgers completely overwhelming (and an issue where they simply removed a slice of tomato rather than cooking me a fresh burger put me off completely!). I find GBK can give me a little bit of a ‘delicate’ stomach, though it’s currently my favourite, and the ailment may be entirely down to the amount I eat…
A fair few weeks back on our visit to Deal, me and W earmarked Burger Brothers as our lunch venue of choice. It had a lot to live up to, with some fabulous reviews, and although I agree the service was questionable, the burgers were pretty damn good…
W ordered the Cheese’n’Jam (Beef patty, choice of Kentish Blue, Swiss, Cheddar or Jack with a dollop of bacon jam), and I have to admit it looked amazing. Plenty of cheese, a good salty-sweetness from the bacon jam, this disappeared rather quickly! We were a little disappointed with the Mac’n’Cheese though – a little dry and lacking in flavour, though improved considerably with a good dosing of black pepper (I also dipped mine in mustard).
I was crafty with my order, and went for something W wouldn’t touch – no sharing for me! The Mushroom Swiss (Beef patty, sautéd Shitake, Chestnut & Oyster mushrooms, mushroom salt, mushroom ketchup and melted Swiss cheese) was filled to the brim with mushroom-y goodness, and as such repelled a usually greedy fiancé. I did notice a lack of ketchup on my burger (possibly due to it containing tomatoes?!) however I didn’t really miss it. The beef patty was well seasoned, the mushrooms tender but still with a bit of bite, the cheese glorious. An unusual combination, perhaps, but one that really worked. I’m of the thinking that it could have been improved with bacon, but then what can’t?! My bun was a little burnt, and this seemed to be a common problem on the day – seeing as the smoke alarms went off twice during our visit.
Again, my side was a little disappointing; although crisp the sweet potato fries were horrifically underseasoned and served a little on the cool side.
The biggest disappointment though? Neither of our burgers, nor any we saw coming out to other tables, were cooked the advertised medium. Now, I don’t mind a ‘well-done’ burger as long as it remains juicy (and my pinafore bore evidence to the fact that these were definitely juicy). But I do mind not getting a medium burger when the menu prides itself on serving them. I reckon just a little less firmness in my patty (and a non-burnt bun) would have made mine perfect!
We didn’t stay for desert, though the ice-cream sundaes were certainly tempting…and I’m pretty sure I will be back. The French Dip burger (Beef patty, sliced rib of beef, American cheese and horseradish cream served with a side pot of beef dipping jus) has my name on it! And how could you resist eating what was a pretty good burger with a view like this?! Beats substandard fish’n’chips any day!
Are you a burger fan? Where do you recommend this burger fanatic to try next?!
