Burger Lad

Review of Filthy Cow Manchester The Italian

Website: http://www.filthyfood.co.uk/

What they say:

We change our specials on monthly basis. Pop in and check the specials board for a proper filthy treat! Mozzerella, Pepperoni & Napoli Sauce.

Price: £8.50.

Calories: Unknown.

Filthy Cow, Manchester's cheeky burger joint, has recently launched its latest special, and it's a good one!

It didn't escape my notice that it was launched on the very same day as McDonald’s Italian Classic, a coincidence I'm assured. Italy, it would seem, is the flavour of the month.

And with all the greats on there, like mozzarella, pepperoni and a Napoli sauce, how could I miss this.

Filthy Cow's The Italian...

The green of the Italian flag is provided courtesy of spinach as opposed to the more regular rocket that they've used on other specials.

At Filthy Cow, development seems to take a few cues from the likes of Apple in that the substance or taste is considered along with the aesthetics and the overall experience.

The latest special here is built around Filthy Cow's excellent beef patty which is prepared medium, although of course you can have it differently if you prefer.

Filthy Cow The Italian

It isn't fast food - it's a short wait for everything to be freshly prepared, during which I was able to enjoy an excellent beer and a chat with the effervescent owner, Jordan.

When my burger arrived, in the heavily-branded wrap, it was the smell that hit me first even before I'd opened it. The smell definitely said PIZZA while my eyes said BURGER.

That was a very inviting smell, created first and foremost by the pepperoni, with undertones of the specially-developed sauce.

Opening up the wrap here, you know you're going to see a perfectly built burger, and this was no exception. The aesthetics are important, everything is placed carefully and built up to be as pleasing on the eye as it is on other senses.

A new special - smells fantastic...

You don't need me to tell you that the pepperoni ruled the show from start to finish- it had been applied liberally and very neatly on top, juxtaposing the healthy spinach poking out in equal measures under the patty.

This is a dirty burger though, in the sense that it made a total mess of my fingers, my hands, my tray and the bottom bun. The sauce was equally as messy as it was tasty and it was a lot of fun- a bit different from the rest of the menu at FC. Although I must say it did go some considerable way to devastating the bottom bun after only a couple of bites.

That was easily remedied by turning it upside down, letting the super shiny top bun take the strain, while I got on with the business of eating.

Pepperoni is the dominant flavour...

I got into the heart of the patty where I confirmed it was indeed medium and perfectly tasty. I've said before in other FC reviews that they've got a really good blend of cuts in the patty and the taste stays with you.

At least on the other burgers, it does. On this one the savoury strength of the pepperoni runs through the meal and that's what stays past the finish line.

Mozzarella isn't a strong cheese but applied generously as it is here and melts carefully over the top of the beef, it's a lovely soft, almost spongy comforting sensation.

Plus, going back to aesthetics, the reddish hues of the pepperoni and sauce, green of the spinach and white (ish) of the geese definitely give you more than just a hint that you're looking at an Italian flag.

Bottom bun not strong enough today...

It's tremendous stuff. Being blunt, you're not going to be disappointed at Filthy Cow. Occasionally the special might not be something you like, and that's personal taste, but you'll never be disappointed.

These specials keep a relatively short menu interesting while allowing the chefs to develop their creativity and we can only look forward to more new delights in future.

But don't look forward just yet. Get in and enjoy the Italian!

Admiral Burgerbar

Principal Burger Critic

Bacon makes everything better!

https://twitter.com/AdBurgerbar

Burger King USA releasing black Halloween Whopper called HA.1. Loween Whopper

BREAKING: Burger King USA new promotional items revealed!

BLACK BUNS ARE COMING TO NORTH AMERICA!!

Burger King USA are bringing the often seen Far East black buns to North America.

Coming soon is the HA.1.LOWEEN WHOPPER pictured below.

This is made up of a Whopper Patty, Cheese Slices, pickles, A.1. Steak Sauce, Onion Slices, Tomato Slices, Lettuce and Mayonnaise.

BK HA. 1. LOWEEN WHOPPER...

Running alongside this will be the A.1. Smoky Bacon Tendercrisp and a Pumpkin Spice Oreo Shake.

Burger King A.1. Smoky Bacon Tendercrisp

BK A.1. Smoky Bacon Tendercrisp...

More information when we have it.

Burger Lad®

McDonald’s My Burger 2014 Finalist

We are the people's burger website™

Enjoy!

For more burger related news and comments follow me on Twitter:

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Review of Gusto Restaurants, Manchester - Gusto Burger

Website: http://gustorestaurants.uk.com/

What they say:

Within the classic, ornate Elliot House on Deansgate is Gusto, full of all the glamour and elegance a person needs. Gusto Burger - with melted mozzarella and fries.

Price: £12.85.

Calories: Unknown.

One thing Manchester isn't short of is high-end Italian restaurants. There are a lot, with more on the way. It's also not short of burgers, so a burger at a high-end Italian restaurant in Manchester is going to have to stand out.

One of those such restaurants is Gusto, with other branches mostly in the leafy well-heeled suburbs as well as some other cities in the northern half of Britain, so you can imagine the sort of market it's targeting. The city centre one occupies a slot which was apparently once going to be a flagship restaurant for Paul Heathcote. And as far as I understand, the company was recently part of food and drink behemoth Living Ventures, with Gusto's MD coming to some sort of buyout arrangement.

1920's elegance inside Gusto...

That's all very interesting, I'm sure, but it's not why you're reading this. You're here for the burger, and so am I.

Stepping into the large space, we were greeted by high ceilings, a classic almost 20s feel to the decor and very slick liveried staff. Shades of brown, green and gold kept the place feeling premium without being new-money tacky and I was hoping that would carry on into the burger.

At this stage, it's worth mentioning that the burger is also included on the lunch menu at £11.95 which also includes a drink so it's quite a bit of a saving on the regular price.

The burger is sparsely described as having mozzarella and fries and was offered medium. The wait time of 30 minutes seemed quite long considering we were first in and there were only a handful of other tables. I wasn't in a rush, but anyone trying to fit this into a lunch-hour would've been rightly peeved. However, the other tables were clearly people from nearby offices with a liberal approach to the lunch "hour".

Pickles didn't stay...

Anyway, my burger arrived on a large plate with a generous scattering of fries. It was these fries that I tackled first and I was quite impressed. They had some patches of potato skin remaining and had been well-seasoned, although realistically you wouldn't want to add any more salt.

The burger was served in a fairly plain bread roll, which was actually quite a refreshing change from the usual brioche which currently dominates the burger world.

The problem, however, with a plain roll is that it simply looks a little anaemic in photos although I can confirm it did its job well - slightly crispy on the outside, fluffy interior, tasty and strong enough to reach the finishing line.

It's a bit dry looking...

As well as a covering of mozzarella on top, the thick burger patty sat on a bed of thin tomato slices, lettuce and a couple of large pieces of pickle which I had to remove as they aren't my thing, certainly in those proportions.

My first impression was that the beef was very generous while the cheese wasn't. When I opened the top bun the cheese looked really like it could have been cloaked a little thicker, especially with mozzarella which of course is very mild anyway. And with the cheese being the only thing actually described on the menu.

Does it look like a pub burger...?

The patty if you recall, was medium and I'm sure glad I didn't have it well done, because this was frankly well done anyway, with only a few pockets of pink throughout.

I think for most people, this burger would do the business, but with a lot of burgers (literally) under my belt, I've got a lot more beef blends to compare to. It wasn't bad at all, but just didn't have that wow factor that I immediately associate with great burgers.

The benchmark is the new patty at Almost Famous, by a long shot, but in fairness what they don't know about burgers isn't worth knowing, while Gusto is a high-end Italian restaurant that happens to have one burger on its menu.

I finished it, and enjoyed it to a point, in this case the tomatoes (which often I remove) and the red onion slices in there actually saved the day, keeping the taste fresh and interesting.

Medium-cooked patty...

I didn't get the impression that this patty had a high fat content and that, combined with the conservative application of cheese and lack of pink juiciness meant that the tomato was vital in keeping everything from being too dry.

Not for the first time I've had a burger in a non-burger restaurant and left knowing I'd be back for something more mainstream according to the venue's offerings. I saw pasta and fish dishes going to other tables and was genuinely impressed.

The venue is lovely and striking, service impeccable and the menu very good as a whole. I'm just not sure it actually needs to offer a burger.

Inside the Gusto Burger...

Admiral Burgerbar

Principal Burger Critic

Bacon makes everything better!

https://twitter.com/AdBurgerbar

Review of McDonald’s Great Tastes of the World The Canadian Melt

Website: http://www.mcdonalds.co.uk/ukhome/product_nutrition.beef.1592.week-3-the-canadian-melt.html

What they say:

This Canadian taste sensation tops 100% beef with maple cured bacon, cheese slices, crispy onions and fresh Batavia lettuce with an irresistible maple BBQ sauce and sesame-topped bun. A hearty taste of Canada.

Price: £3.79.

Calories: 693 kcal.

We’re back… hot on the heels of breaking the WORLD EXCLUSIVE news of the Halloween Whopper coming to Burger King USA!

Here in the UK, week three of the Great Tastes of the World sees the release of The Canadian Melt.

McDonald's promotional picture...

Back in August, we predicted that a burger bearing the Canadian Maple Leaf would make an appearance this year. One of the main reasons we went with a burger from Canada is that McDonald’s UK have never done anything claiming to be from the Great White North. We also had a hunch that due to the BBQ Smokehouse having maple cured bacon, this would be an ideal opportunity to re-use the ingredient on another burger in the promotion.

Talking of re-using ingredients, it appears McD’s have used the economies of scale and purchased barbecue sauce in bulk! Not only has the aforementioned Smokehouse featured it, but also the Australian BBQ Supreme and now the Canadian Melt. But don’t worry… there’s no cool mayo on-board this build (in-case you need to check)!

First look at The Canadian Melt...

Those of you that follow BURGER LAD® will be well aware of the June promotion at McDonald’s Canada – the Great Canadian Taste Adventure. We sort of hoped that one of the line-up from here could make it to the UK (sort of like a “guest” burger showing a true taste of the world) but alas that didn’t happen. In that line-up, there was the Cottage Country Chicken - which had crispy seasoned Ontario-raised Chicken and a smokey Muskoka sauce (by all accounts a maple-infused BBQ sauce). The Western BBQ Burger - with sweet and smokey BBQ flavour and the near infamous McLobster – well, we’ll surely never going to see that here in the UK are we? So what makes the Canadian Melt from Canada Eh? Or is that Aye? Or Ay?

Looking at the Canadian Taste Adventure, the obvious answer is maple BBQ sauce. Throw in some maple cured bacon and eh presto we’ve got a hearty taste of Canada for week three.

Now I approached today with extreme caution. Like I have previously stated, when I ordered the Smokehouse just after 10:30am I didn’t receive any maple cured bacon, but instead leftover “breakfast” bacon. I would be watching the construct of this build like the proverbial Highway Mountie.

McDonald's Great Tastes of the World - The Canadian Melt...

I’m so bloody happy to report back that my Canadian Melt DID have maple cured bacon!! After doing our latest episode of BLTV (which you can see below) I took my first bite of this taste of Canada. Now this is a sweet burger. Very sweet. And I don’t mean that it buys you presents or does nice things for you.

Instantly your senses are flooded with the sweet BBQ sauce and you get a quick one-two combo from the sweetness of the bacon. A sweet double whammy. If you want to count how many times I say “sweet” in this review you better start now because there’s nothing else you can really describe it as. Sweet.

Maple cured bacon baby...

As you can see from the pictures, my build was fairly decent today. I think it took about 6 minutes to make, which is respectable considering the earliness of my visit. I think some of the slack-jawed customers in there thought I was some sort of M.I.B agent/mystery shopper, as I snapped away photos of this latest limited time offer, wearing the signature BL® sunglasses.

Did I mention this burger is sweet? Well it is. After the lofty heights of week two and The Italian Classic I really fell back to earth with a bump from The Canadian Melt. It’s not offensive or particularly rubbish, it’s just semi-uninspiring.

Like we mentioned earlier, yes this does somewhat offer a taste of Canada if comparing it to the Great Canadian Taste adventure promo. It's a shame we can't get Maple & Bacon Poutine though - I can just see people washing that down with a Big Tasty (by the way that's coming back after this promotion).

Back to the Canadian Melt. I’m not quite certain how crispy onions associate with the country but as they are one of my all-time favourite high street burger toppings I’ll let it pass. And, they do work quite nicely with the BBQ sauce, almost offering a counterpunch to that sweet sauce.

Week three...

The cheese is the standard variety and brings much needed lubrication to an otherwise dry patty. And the lettuce is only there really just to play lip service. My top bun also looked rather “flattened” too but attribute that to the promotional box weighing down on it for 20 seconds.

Don’t get me wrong. It’s not a terrible burger, it’s basically a barbecue bacon cheeseburger. And… if you crave sweet BBQ sauce you’ll be all over this like snow on the Rocky Mountains. Would I have this burger again? At £3.79 and weighing in at 693 calories, I think there’s more chance of me going over Niagara Falls in a barrel.

Sweet...

Overall, The Canadian Melt is exactly what it says it is (if you’re using the Cockney rhyming slang for melt). No… I’m being overly harsh… and that’s just because I enjoyed week two so much, so when you get this it’s just a bit disappointing really.

The BBQ sauce is very sweet and this is backed up by its sweet buddy, the maple cured bacon. The crispy onions offset against the pair quite nicely, almost to the point of making the save. The cheese and ever recurring Batavia lettuce offer some moisture, texture and greenery, but for me, The Canadian Melt is certainly a once in a lifetime destination.

Now I wonder what sort of associations I can make with next weeks’ offering – The Brazilian Spicy.

Sweet!

Burger Lad®

McDonald’s My Burger 2014 Finalist

We are the people's burger website™

Enjoy!

For more burger related news and comments follow me on Twitter:

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Review of Tib Street Tavern, Manchester – Maple Bacon Burger

Website: http://www.tibstreettavern.co.uk/

What they say:

4oz beef chuck patty topped with American cheese, maple bacon and accompanied by hickory BBQ sauce, lettuce, tomato & red onion.

Price: £8.75.

Calories: Unknown.

Pub burgers are generally poor. The vast majority, anyway. However, I've only ever heard good things about the burgers at Tib Street Tavern, a bit of a stalwart pub in Manchester's Northern Quarter.

This place is going to be busy today. I think it's busy most evenings, but today there's international rugby and they are big on showing live sports. Can't miss the place - flags everywhere. I went in at opening time and it was quiet - some stock deliveries were going in.

Outside the Tavern - is there Rugby on...?

I'd already chosen what I wanted by checking out the menu online - pretty much standard these days - but although the £8.75 was quite reasonable, it was a bit annoying (although no fault of the pub) that I had nobody with who to share the 2 burgers for £9 offer.

Anyway, I ordered my food at the bar and chatted with the warm staff who were joking about the sound system and preparations for a fully-booked evening. I sat down after ordering and noticed my table was fixed to the floor (which was fine) but rather too far away from the fixed bench seat (less fine when it's for food as it involves a less comfortable stretch, especially for shorter people.

It's a minor thing though, and there were plenty of moveable seats I could've chosen if I'd wanted. It's a nice place in there. Spacious, clearly a pub but with modern decor, uncluttered and not jumping into "bar" territory (yes there's a difference).

The Maple Bacon Burger is one of several choices on a menu of mainly burgers and hot dogs. The burgers include beef (quite small at 4oz), chicken, lamb and the obligatory vegetarian one, as well as a nice touch - 4 half-size burgers giving a selection of them.

I did consider that burger tapas, but I got pulled in by what is essentially a bacon cheeseburger with medium being the house standard.

Chatting with the man I assume was the owner, I got the very distinct impression that this place did food and drink very well and was clearly immensely popular with sports fans.

When it arrived, it looked sort of familiar. The super soft buns, the diameter, and the cheese all looked almost famous and I definitely recognised the taste of the patty (I later confirmed that the patty was from Frost, the same as the old patty from burger gods Almost Famous).

The Maple Bacon Burger...

Similarities ended there though, because where one is more than just a little bit famous for spectacular toppings, this one was altogether more straightforward.

I got stuck into the fries first - something I wasn't expecting (perhaps if I'd read the menu properly...). Anyway, those fries weren't heavily seasoned, which is a good thing. You can easily add salt and pepper yourself but can't very well take it off if there's too much.

Certainly not the best fries ever but hot, crispy and fluffy, as a free side-dish they ticked enough boxes.

Is the flag for the cheese...?

But the burger. Wow - this was possibly the best burger I've ever had in a proper pub. The brioche was lovely and shiny and very squashy. It didn't actually do too well holding the sauce in, and that made this a pretty messy affair. I did end up having to turn it upside down towards the end as the bottom bun thinned out.

Presentation was fantastic - all the right colours and smells. A vast jungle of lettuce at the bottom was perhaps overdone, but amongst it were some pieces of tomato and slices of red onion, the latter of which made their presence known in the most wonderful way.

Lettuce overkill...?

On top of the patty was the bacon. Two or three pieces, a little on the fatty side but damned tasty with their maple treatment. The BBQ sauce, which was mostly responsible for my sticky hands, was fantastic too. Distinctly smoky and slightly sweet, it picked out the flavour of the bacon and thrust it to the fore. As I said, fantastic stuff.

But that's not all, there's the small issue of that meat from Frosts of Chorlton. As ever a good burger is made or broken by its patty and this one is amongst the best. Any concerns that 4oz was too small went out the window. This was a fantastic coarse-ground, medium-cooked chuck affair, seasoned with a "secret blend" which accentuated the beef's great natural flavour.

To top it off, there were a couple of slices of American cheese. These could, perhaps, have been melted a bit more before service, but that wasn't a big issue here.

Lots of bacon...

I loved this burger. All the elements, great on their own, worked really well here together. The best pub burger, and surpassed only by some places that actually specialise in burgers.

A big gold star for the Tib Street Tavern, it's a lovely place with good food and very friendly service. I left with a very happy stomach.

Admiral Burgerbar

Principal Burger Critic

Bacon makes everything better!

https://twitter.com/AdBurgerbar

Review of McDonald’s Great Tastes of the World The Brazilian Spicy

Website: http://www.mcdonalds.co.uk/ukhome/product_nutrition.beef.1593.week-4-the-brazilian-spicy.html

What they say:

This spicy Brazilian burger features 100% beef, bacon, sliced and crispy onions, cool mayo and shredded lettuce with a flourish of spicy Brazilian-style salsa, all in a colourful paprika-topped bun. It’s time to treat your taste buds.

Price: £3.79.

Calories: 595 kcal.

Week four of Great Tastes of the World sees another new burger launched – The Brazilian Spicy. Will we be transported to the land of beaches and football dreams for McDonald’s to play a Samba on our palate? Or will we feel like we’re sat in a retail park in Finchley munching on yet another slightly tweaked burger? Today will also be the last time we report back on the promotion, as we previously reviewed week five’s South African Deluxe back in 2013.

McDonald's promotional picture...

A burger from Brazil was in our list of predictions for the 2015 Great Tastes line-up. But prior to seeing the full identity parade we’d talked briefly of another carnival-inspired LTO, the Brazil burger – launched in Australia as part of a promotion celebrating the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

This particular build was an interesting one, as the patty actually contained beef infused with beans, corn and capsicum (pepper). Now, although it would be cool to see something similar in the UK I don’t hold much hope. I’ve actually tried something similar in Germany before – El Chili Con Carne. Another McDonald’s patty containing a mixture of sweetcorn and kidney beans which was really rather good. It could be about the closest this style of patty gets, to reaching the Great British isles.

Anyway… The Brazilian Spicy is the lowest calorie beef burger (no cheese) of the line-up weighing in at a respectable 595 kcal (The Chicken & Chutney Indian is only 503 kcal.) Compare this with next week’s destination to South Africa which clocks in at 738 kcal.

FIRST look...

Of course, upon placing my order I couldn’t help but ask for “a Brazilian” (accompanied by expected childish snigger). I wonder just how many tweets of this nature we’ll see this week. Pure. Comedy. Banter. Get in the sea.

So, is this burger the equivalent of Brazil in the 1970 or 2014 World Cup? Is it like your favourite football club unveiling your latest transfer signing, to find out that it is in fact Kléberson instead of Neymar? Either way, we’ll provide you with our “expert” post-match analysis right now…

McDonald's Great Tastes of the World - The Brazilian Spicy...

Beef Patty– like the dependable squad member of the team. Does nothing spectacular throughout or really lets the side down. Just there. Doing its job. Could work harder in training on juiciness as it was pretty dry for the entire match.

Bacon– didn’t show up today. Looking rather miniscule this was a disappointing performance, especially after last week’s sterling display with the maple cured bacon. Certainly hope there is a return to form next week for the encounter in Johannesburg.

Sliced and Crispy onions – the dynamic duo did everything they could to keep the score respectable. The fresh white onion slices really cut through their opponents on this build to provide a much needed crunch and tang. This was complimented well in the middle of the park by the man-of-the-match – the crispy onions. Bringing a slightly burnt, but pleasant taste to proceedings, this definitely cemented the ingredient as one of the first on the team-sheet.

A dry lunch indeed...

Cool mayo– substituted early and very difficult to appraise. Despite never being a fan of cool mayo I couldn’t even describe the performance today as there was so little on this build. Helped contribute to the dryness and subsequent downfall of The Brazilian Spicy.

Shredded lettuce– definitely showing signs of fatigue and in need of a rest. This wasn’t great and looking at the remnants in my promotional box this looks very much like yesterday’s leftovers. Definitely let the side down and difficult to defend.

Brazilian-style salsa sauce– I know it’s unlikely we’ll ever get anything with Habanero or even Sriracha in, but this pretty much scores an own goal in describing it as “spicy”. It’s not. It’s got a pleasant, sweet, fresh taste to it which is obviously tomato-based. But spicy!? No. Definitely not. Again with a lack of cheese on here and barely any mayo this needed lashings of the salsa and it was sparse at best. Definitely deserved the cautionary yellow card.

Paprika-topped bun– pleasant, fresh and offered a bit of dimension to The Brazilian Spicy. It had a solid performance and there’s no criticism from the panel.

The bun puts in a good performance...

Overall, The Brazilian Spicy was a slightly disappointing burger and mine was certainly quite dry from a lack of mayo and salsa. The lettuce was sub-standard, but the onion combination certainly worked well. The salsa is pretty tasty but is certainly not spicy. For me, a slightly disappointing Great Tastes campaign with the bright stars being The Italian Classic and my favourite chicken menu item mentioned below.

In the latest episode of BLTV I did comment saying that I preferred The Brazilian Spicy to The Canadian Melt and I probably still stand by that statement. But that’s the thing about reviews – they are all subjective to your individual taste. Would I have it again? Certainly not. Line it up alongside The Chicken & Chutney Indian and I’d reach for that one every time.

So having paid £3.79 for the burger alone, I stood there feeling rather like a deflated David Seaman, after Ronaldinho lobbed him with a looping free-kick at the 2002 World Cup (Ronaldinho being The Brazilian Spicy and his McDonald’s team-mates off celebrating my spend).

Spot the mayo...

I’m sort of glad we’ve already reviewed The South African Deluxe as it spares me the pressures of being the FIRST to bring you a look at the latest McDonald’s limited time offers. We’ve been living in the fast food lane and doing it best since 2012. How many mainstream media outlets have reported on the BK Halloween Whopper AFTER we delivered that news to the world first? The Daily Mirror called us “expert in all things burger-related” after all…

Remember to tune in soon, as we’ll be bringing you even more exclusives in our never-ending quest to report back on the latest urban burger news.

Burger Lad®

McDonald’s My Burger 2014 Finalist

We are the people's burger website™

Enjoy!

For more burger related news and comments follow me on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/Burger_Lad

Review of Burger King UK Halloween Whopper

Website: http://www.burgerking.co.uk/

What they say:

Inspired by the Burger King brand’s Black Burger in Japan, which created buzz worldwide, the Halloween Whopper sandwich has a look that is curious to the eye, whilst still tasting like the familiar Whopper that Burger King guest’s know and love.

Price: £4.29 for the burger only.

Calories: TBC.

WORLD EXCLUSIVE:

Burger King UK releases black bun Halloween Whopper in the UK!

Burger King UK Halloween Whopper...

And guess what...!? BURGER LAD® was invited to a special pre-launch tasting event alongside some other high profile media types.

In case you missed it, we were first in the world to report on the release of the HA.1.Loween Whopper in the USA and we're here to bring you an EXCLUSIVE first look at the UK version.

Now this could be a massive coincidence, but when we initially reported on the BK Eurotrip promotion, it was scheduled to run until 17th November. Could it be that after seeing the worldwide reaction and media buzz around the Halloween Whopper that BK decided to terminate their Eurotrip immediately and capitalise on the hype surrounding the black buns?

Burger King Halloween Whopper

We'll leave that with you to decide based on the facts, but we'd like to believe we played some part in helping get this released over here. MM even lost a bet with me on this one. After we received the mysterious invitation she confidently declared that the "UK would never get black buns". Unfortunately for her, she was wrong... And her Carvery forfeit awaits (mine would have been a Greggs Baked Bean Slice).

Outside the flagship restaurant...

We were back again at the flagship BK restaurant on Leicester Square, London. Now this didn't appear like a regular tasting session as the entire upstairs section was closed off. After explaining to a bewildered member of staff about why we were here, one of our PR contacts appeared and we were led upstairs to our spooky lunchtime séance...

Talk about brilliant. I instantly spotted BLACK Halloween Whopper bags and poured a celebratory Diet Coke with Lemon from the Freestyle machine. BK had setup a banquet-style table with full on Halloween inspired decorations, eerie music and cobwebs everywhere!

Sinister green lighting really set the tone for what was to be one of the first tasting sessions in the UK of the now infamous black bunned Whopper. As you can imagine I really could not contain myself, almost like I was possessed and you can tell how excited I was in our latest episode of BLTV below.

Spooky goings-on upstairs...

After a short wait (actually it felt like ages because I really could not wait!) the Mummy-inspired wrapping arrived! Now also bear in mind that having since broken the US story two weeks ago I've watched with excitement as that story spread across the world. Imagine telling me that in two weeks’ time we'd be sat in the flagship store again with a black Whopper in my hands!? No wonder I couldn't get my words out on the video!

Mummy-style wrapper...

The Halloween Whopper was expertly presented today. I literally had to sit there for a minute basking in its black glory. Unlike the US counterpart which uses A1 steak sauce, (the vast majority of this country have probably never heard of it) this has BBQ sauce baked into the bread, with a natural colourant added to give the bun it's dark black colour.

Black buns land in the UK...

The rest of the build is a standard Whopper with cheese, BBQ sauce, lettuce, tomato, fresh onion and pickles. We'll talk about it as a complete burger in a minute but let's answer that burning question. WHAT IS THE BLACK BUN ACTUALLY LIKE!?

Firstly it looks spectacular. We were very impressed with just how black it was. You expect the promo pictures to exaggerate the colour but this was very much an actual representation of those promotional images. It was very striking, with the ghostly white sesame seeds extenuated against the black bun. It was scarily brilliant to see for the first time in person.

Lifting the lid...

In terms of taste, there is no real BBQ flavour in the bun and that is used more for the colouring aspect. What we did find is that it had a great consistency and was very floury and fluffy. It does certainly challenge your perceptions, but more than anything it is a real coup to see this in the UK. Instead of longingly looking at pictures from the US and Japan wishing we could try something a bit different, this is now on our High Streets and in our Drive-Thrus!!

Apart from the bun aspect, like we said above, this is in essence a standard Whopper with cheese and BBQ sauce. It all works nicely together with the freshness of the salad items and the crunch from the pickles and fresh onion. I did remove the tomato midway through this ghoulish build, as for me it just ruins the taste of the sandwich.

ANOTHER Burger Lad exclusive...

In terms of the burger this has all the classic components of a Whopper with the added bonus of American Cheese and BBQ sauce. And let's not forget freakishly freaking black buns for freaks sake! Other reviewers might say that this is just a Whopper with a black bun and they could be right. It is a gimmick, but a good gimmick and an incredible amount of fun! And it really sends a positive message from BK in the UK and at a corporate level that they have simultaneously released this in a number of countries worldwide. No more arguments about the UK never getting the decent or bizarre stuff we see overseas. And didn't we pitch the idea recently to Mathew Bresnahan about the UK getting true international "guest" burgers...!? Well here we are...

After we finished the tasting session we received a black Halloween Whopper goody bag which included a BK crown, press release, panic button, flickering candles and a promotional t-shirt!!! And you know how much I love a burger-branded t-shirt!

Dare you try it...!?

Whether this was planned all along by BK or they decided to capitalise on the buzz surrounding the Halloween Whopper this is a master stroke by The King and Co. You only have to search for Eurotrip or Crunchy Cheese Whopper on Twitter and there are very, very few tweets! Compare this to just how much press coverage the Halloween Whopper has got and you can see why BK MIGHT have changed their original plans. I said might...

We would like to once again thank everyone at Burger King for inviting us down today and making this a spooky, fun filled tasting event. Its fantastic news the black Halloween Whopper has arrived in this county and it was great to be one of the FIRST in the UK to sample it.

The Halloween Whopper is available now and will run alongside the Pumpkin Spice Latte (£1.69 regular, £1.99 large) and special limited edition packaged Chicken Fries until Saturday 31st October.

Burger Lad®

McDonald’s My Burger 2014 Finalist

We are the people's burger website™

Enjoy!

For more burger related news and comments follow me on Twitter:

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Review of Byron Burgers Run Rarebit Run

Website: http://www.byronhamburgers.com/

What they say:

Our new special is a best-of-British take on a classic bacon cheeseburger: a 6oz hamburger topped with vintage Cheddar rarebit, dry cure bacon and pickled cucumber, with a tangy mustard mayonnaise.

Price: £10.95.

Calories: Unknown.

I'm at Byron's newest branch, in Manchester's Corn Exchange, to try the latest special with rarebit. This has proved a difficult morning, drawing upon every ounce of patience and perseverance.

Firstly, the Corn Exchange's central atrium is still being finished, so although some of the restaurants, including Byron, are open for business, it required walking around the outside to find them, and navigating further engineering works as a result of the Metrolink.

However, find it I did, only to discover it wasn't actually open yet because a window was being replaced. The trouble with these modern floor to ceiling Windows is that it's anything but a small job to replace them if they are broken.

Anyway, all this walking around gave me time to ponder the issue of independent restaurants vs. chains. Byron is undoubtedly one of the latter, while the Corn Exchange itself is a bastion of chain restaurants.

It's not going to be terribly popular with indies, and it may well be that the rates are so high that most indies would be precluded. But on the flipside, it's a vast improvement on the dismal semi-empty retail block the Triangle, as it was formerly known.

The Byron build - an eye for detail...

Byron is clearly a chain, but that wasn't always the case. It began, as so many do, with a single branch, in this case Kensington, and grew from there. Growth wasn't entirely organic though. Initially a decent enough short-menu London-only affair, it was injected with some serious capital before taking on one of Britain's foremost burger chefs, and daring to do what most London companies don't bother with - venturing outside the M25.

Now, most of its branches are still in London, but looking at recent openings, it's a reasonable stab to say that will change. I'm in Manchester's third Byron after all. Anyway, my original point was that a lot of the restaurants we consider to be chains, did begin as independents with single branches, including the epitome of the chain brand – McDonald’s.

But with Byron, I'd argue the key to its success now isn't the vision of its founder, or the deep pockets of its backers, or its marketing machine, it is burger god Fred Smith, whose specials in particular have transformed an ordinary London burger chain into a national cause for excitement.

Mr Smith doesn't make bad burgers. They range from very good to jaw-dropping and I'm here to find out which end of the scale best suits the current rarebit special.

View post on imgur.com

On paper it is a best of British - pulling in ingredients from all over the United Kingdom. Beef from Scotland, mustard from England, rarebit of course is Welsh and I'm just going to hope the onions and lettuce were grown in Northern Ireland. At any rate, each of these ingredients just wouldn't be as good if you ate them separately.

It's essentially a bacon cheeseburger with some twists, chief amongst which is the fact that the cheese is in fact vintage cheddar rarebit, and that is accompanied by bacon, mustard Mayo, pickled cucumber, red onion and lettuce, along with Byron's signature 6ox patty. It's an understatement to say I'm looking forward to this.

As I wait for my burger, my observations are as follows: this is a nice branch, well-appointed and moving away from the slightly tired pseudo-industrial non-decor of older branches; incredibly friendly and welcoming staff. On the downside, no Wi-Fi and woeful loud music of the type that I believe is called "RnB" so I use "music" in its loosest sense. At midday on a Tuesday, with one customer, it wasn't appropriate.

I turned to the blurb on the about the rarebit, setting out Chef Fred's methodology to some extent. Vintage cheddar blended with pale ale, Worcester sauce, mustard and hot sauce.

The latest special - a rarebit treat...

Picking it up, I got the strong savoury tones in my nose first, even before my mouth made contact, and in that moment a piece of sauce-soaked bacon slid out the back. This is a slippery customer.

The rarebit is the stand-out taste here, giving a very tangy, slightly sour flavour to the build, which worked well with the intense savoury hit of the bacon and the sharp ping of the pickled cucumber and red onions, both of which were pretty clever inclusions.

Although all the sauce and cheese was on top of the patty, somehow the bottom bun succumbed to it and crumbled. Not entirely - it held on heroically until the end, meaning I didn't need to turn it upside down to finish.

The pickled cucumber, with its crunch, kept the texture interesting, while the range of flavours kept by taste buds on their metaphorical toes. As I said, chief amongst that was the rarebit.

And there's the rarebit...!

The patty is Byron's signature and we've covered that in other reviews before, but just as a reminder, it's a well-sized 6oz, cooked medium by default (although of course you can choose otherwise if you prefer), nicely seasoned and a good, loose blend. If I had to guess, I'd say a 70/30 with at least some chuck. It's good and well-developed.

Is this the best Byron special ever? No. It's a very good and extremely enjoyable burger though, and well worth having before it is subsequently replaced by the next delight from Fred's kitchen.

Admiral Burgerbar

Principal Burger Critic

Bacon makes everything better!

https://twitter.com/AdBurgerbar

Review of Havana’s Burgers & Shakes, Cheltenham

Website: http://www.thehavanas.co.uk/

What they say:

We source everything from local farms, that includes our prime British beef, and fresh milk for our shakes. The Havana’s: Slow 6oz cooked burger, slice of crispy bacon, topped with Swiss cheese, rocket, fresh tomato, onions, Havana’s sauce and a touch of mustard.

Price: £5.80.

Calories: Unknown.

Cheltenham. That regency, spa town which nestles just in the area of the UK known as The Cotswolds. Famous for the horse racing, in particular The Gold Cup and other highbrow events such as the Literature and Jazz Festivals.

What you won’t find on the brochure is its deepest, darkest secret. Never even but whispered in the ponciest of wine bars are the three dirty words any Cheltonian cannot bare to hear. Lower. High. Street. Down here you will not find any Harris Tweed, Hunters-wellied, mustard trouser wearing race-goer quaffing along with The Racing Post tucked underarm. Oh no… this end of town is reserved for ethnic food stores (very good I will add!), and the typical non-branded takeaway eateries offering pizza, chicken and the like.

Havana's Burgers & Shakes...

Now Cheltenham is smartening up this vicinity. They started it with The Brewery, which opened around 2006 and continue to do so with further redevelopment of Phase II. It sort of reminds me of the Urban Rehabilitators or "Rehabs" in RoboCop 3 – with the likes of Bon Appetit, Card Factory and Betfred being bustled away from the area to make way for Delta City (aka Premier Inn, a retail complex and 34 town centre apartments).

Those establishments not taken away for “rehabilitation” are probably rubbing their hands together at the £30 million face-lift for the area. There’s also been an influex of new takeaways opening up in the last few months and one recently very much landed on our radar – Havana’s Burgers & Shakes.

Small, but cool set-up inside...

Boasting an impressive sounding menu, theres an array of burgers such as the Jalapeño Cheese and Pulled Pork Burger (the Old School has been “borrowed” from Real Burger in our expert opinion). Drinks are provided in the form of smoothies and milkshakes and the Angry Fries certainly sound interesting. We’re a bit perplexed by the naming of Pommes Frites for Sweet Potato Fries but hey-ho. Looking at the wide selection of milkshake options, it very much looks like someone has tried to merge both Real Burger and Shakes to Go. But they’re the opposite end of town…

I’ll be honest. I went to Havana’s with caution and trepedation. Not from its locale, but by the lack of responses to some questions asked about suppliers prior to my visit. Miss Milkshake® very much warned me to approach the task with an open mind… so let’s find out now what we thought of their signature burger – The Havana’s.

The 6oz Havana's Burger...

Available as a 4oz option (£4.60) or as part of three different special offers (one being any 6oz burger, small fries and a can of drink for £7.65) this was cooked to order and arrived about eight minutes later. Not bad considering I was in a rush!

Today was the first day of opening for Havana’s so I hope they get some better packaging in the near future. I was presented with a long styrofoam container which wouldn’t be out of place in a kebab shop. This housed a chip shop style paper wrapping. Like I said this is their first day and I expect/hope this is temporary.

Inside I found a respectable looking burger which dispelled any fears that this wasn’t handmade. Just from the smell and look of it you could tell this had been made by Havana’s and not bought in from a cash and carry. I later asked where the meat comes from. It is from a local ethnic food store called East & West but I’m not certain where their meat comes from so the traceability ended at that point.

Back to the burger... I’m not sure what makes this patty “slow” cooked but it was pretty respectable. It had a meaty texture, with flecks of green herbs throughout. It was blatantly cooked well-done but retained a juiciness which was commendable. Its certainly not the best… or worst I’ve encountered but I am pleased to report that I was pleasantly surprised.

No crispy bacon...

Although the back bacon used was pretty good and a substantial size it was definitely not cripsy bacon. Crispy bacon is streaky bacon cooked to a crisp (obviously) and this was without doubt, not the case on the Havana’s today. Again this could be attributed to it being opening day, but please do not advertise something that isn’t on the final build. A positive on this burger was the gooey, melted Swiss cheese which was on-board. Only a subtle flavour but definitely as described so this offered some redemption from the mis-advertised crispy bacon.

The sauce is a talking point. I was expecting a Big Mac style sauce, something similar to the excellentness of the sauce on the burger I had at Burgershack, but it was very heavily mayonnaise-based with not much else to it. Anyone with a particular dislike for mayo would run a mile from this (it is on the menu that it contains the stuff) but there didn’t seem to be much to it. I definitely wanted more from it and it was quite unusual to have mustard on there too – I can’t recall too many burgers that pair these, with the mustard being the dominant of the two condidments used. I’d recommend a bit more development of the house sauce moving forward.

Lifting the lid on the Lower High Street...

The bun raised my eyebrows as I wasn’t expecting it to be great. Certainly very good and coped with the juicy beef and copious amounts of the Havana’s sauce. Again I’ll say I was pleasantly surprised.

Finishing on the salad components there was just not enough of the rocket on here and it was completley lost. I’d also suggest putting it on-top of the hot beef instead of underneath it as all the heat and juice from the protein just wilted it. Add more rocket and switch it around with the patty and you’ll be looking at a much better burger. I’m not a fan of fresh tomato but I left it on and to be honest with you I didn’t notice it was there the entire time. You can take that as a compliment or an insult, that’s upto you! Finally that brings us to the fresh onion – you get a very sharp crunch and the distinct flavour of the onion which is very much welcome and cuts through all the other ingredients.

A respectable burger...

Overall, this is not a bad burger from a place facing the BURGER LAD® treatment on their very first day of trading. I don’t want to end on a bad note so I’ll say this now. Yes you are a family-run business but for a discerning customer there is nothing worse than seeing a family member who is not working there walking in and out of the kitchen. Again I appreciate that it was the first day of opening but I’d certainly address that.

The packaging of the burger I’d hope you sort out as you find your feet and it would be nice to see something with the cool Havana’s logo on it. Apart from these teething problems it’s actually a pretty respectable burger. It’s not the best in Cheltenham. Definitely not… but it’s certainly got potentional. And receiving my loyalty card today I’ll go on record and say that I would return… next time for the Jalapeño Cheese.

Cheltonians. When you take your jolly good jaunt down from Montpellier and find yourself at a crossroads near the beginning of the Promenade. Maybe take a left for a change and you’ll find Cheltenham’s newest burger bar – Havana’s. I walked into the joint with low expectations and my perception was altered. Maybe yours will too...

Burger Lad®

McDonald’s My Burger 2014 Finalist

We are the people's burger website™

Enjoy!

For more burger related news and comments follow me on Twitter:

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Review of Solita NQ, Manchester - Monte Cristo

Website: http://www.solita.co.uk/

What they say:

French toasted bun, 6 ounce patty, emmental cheese, ham, béarnaise sauce.

Price: £12.95.

Calories: Unknown.

Solita seems to be going through a phase of bringing back old specials and it's a very welcome process. There are plenty to choose from out of its three year back catalogue.

This time round it's the Monte Cristo which I didn't have originally, so this is a new one for me. Apparently due on Tuesday, then Thursday and actually appeared on Wednesday. Solita isn't quite ready to be a slick corporate chain just yet!

This Monte Cristo isn't directly a homage to Dumas' classic tale of revenge, but rather a burgerisation of a classic American sandwich, which is basically the same thing minus the beef patty.

On top of Monte Cristo...

The defining features are the ham and béarnaise sauce, and the French toasted bread - in this case the burger bun is French toasted. To all that is added emmental cheese and Solita's house patty - a 6oz blend from the Inka oven.

Now, béarnaise sauce is a FABULOUS burger topping - it really ought to be used more often, as it gives wonderful texture and gloop. But that combined with very liberal amounts of emmental lead to a very photogenic burger, at least in the promo shots that Franco tweets.

Two thick French toasts and lots of ham...

At Solita, menus double as placemats so aren't whipped away like most places. I find myself staring at it even though I can pretty much rattle off all the burgers without looking. The bacon-wrapped dough balls caught my eye and were duly ordered (in hindsight a mistake as they interfered with my ability to finish the heavy duty burger, and although nice, they weren't a patch on the Mac balls or the cheeseburger spring rolls).

This might well be my last visit to Solita's original NQ joint before the refurb so I enjoyed taking it all in one last time, looking forward to new adventures.

So, the Monte Cristo. Ham, béarnaise and French toast are all pretty unique in the world of burgers, so this should be pretty good.

Béarnaise barely contained...

When it arrived I realised instantly it was a cutlery job. The French toast "bun" was far too soft and slippery to pick the whole thing up and the birth of this beast made it difficult too.

First impressions, besides awe at the size of it, were that it was quite mild. Emmental isn't a strong flavour, the ham used here isn't of the strong smoky variety and the béarnaise, although delicious and distinctive, wasn't strong. This was a bit less about taste and more about texture.

Another thing I realised later after seeing further promo tweets from Franco was that it's supposed to have icing sugar lightly scattered on top. Mine didn't, although I'm sure that would've added even more to the look rather than the taste.

The French toast, with its rich crispy coating and stodgy interior, was thick and quite fascinating. The béarnaise was everywhere, a gooey drippy tasty mess with an ever-so slight sourness lingering on the tongue. Honestly, this is a brilliant, brilliant sauce to be put on burgers.

Solita's newest old special...

This cheese disappeared somewhat into the sauce. Emmental is nice enough on its own, a pleasant nutty flavour, but here it just isn't strong enough to stand out. The mild ham was also relatively masked by both the sauce and the outstanding patty. Occasionally, depending on the constitution of the mouthful, I did get the hammy taste, and there was certainly plenty of it.

And the beef itself never fails to deliver here. Cooked medium, you get that sticky feeling between the teeth that the best blends of beef have. Really enjoyable.

Lifting the very heavy lid...

I loved the addition of the béarnaise sauce, as I'm sure you can gather, but it was noticeably mild. I'm certainly no expert, but I wonder if it might benefit from having its peppercorn content beefed up, or indeed being swapped for a similar hollandaise that's heavy on the lemon. I have never had an American Monte Cristo sandwich but I don't think it comes with béarnaise, so there's scope for fiddling around with the burger tribute.

I also felt that the ham and French toast didn't push out enough of their own taste to make me want to attack this heavy burger again.

I'm sure glad I had it - there's no doubting its uniqueness and it is absolutely in-keeping with Solita's fun innovative streak, but I do wonder if this is a burger built for Instagram first and foremost.

It does look utterly amazing.

Inside the Monte Cristo lies heavenly Inka treats...

Admiral Burgerbar

Principal Burger Critic

Bacon makes everything better!

https://twitter.com/AdBurgerbar

Review of Almost Famous, Manchester – I’m Crack-ed, Baby

Website: http://almostfamousburgers.com/

What they say:

Now with 22% more crack (jalapeño mustard). Cheese, chorizo, garlic salt shoestring fries, Cholula, salt & vinegar crisps, blue cheese sauce, jalapeno mustard.

Price: £9.00.

Calories: Unknown.

Almost Famous again. I think perhaps they should just set up a bed for me at the base of the gorilla. Particularly with breakfast heaven Home Sweet Home opening next door. I shan't trouble you with a waffly preamble discussing the place - done that many times before and you can read all about it in earlier reviews - just click Almost Famous in the list of venues on the right of this page.

Suffice it to say, it's just as fantastic as ever, but now with the added thrill of table service.

There's no prizes for guessing which one of AF's bosses came up with the name of this little number. But despite the seemingly endless list of outlandish toppings, don't forget this burger is built around the very best burger patty in the business. Not the leanest, by a long stretch, but the tastiest by far.

I'm Crack-ed Baby...

With the crisps, garlic salt, shoestring fries and chorizo, I'm expecting something quite salty, but that's not going to be a problem with a pint of Danger and Mayhem at the side.

When it arrived, the usual presentation in a basket with a wooden skewer. Although there are quite a number of equally wacky fries options from which to choose, fries aren't included in the price of the burger at Almost Famous.

I'm gloopy Baby...

First things first, and I wonder if these Almost Famous burgers are getting smaller. Not shorter, certainly, but the diameter seems less these days. It's a pretty sensible size anyway, allowing for all manner of craziness without busting the waistline.

But as ever, the presentation sets it off wonderfully. A shiny bun, a double whammy of beefy perfection and all the glorious gloopy mess of the world's best burger money shot.

At Almost Famous you don't just get the sauce dribbling out of your burger, you get it in absolutely the perfect consistency, with just the right amount of colours and Instagram-friendly shine. They think of everything!

I'm hot and cold Baby...

In fact, there are no bad burgers at Almost Famous. There's bound to be some that you like more than others, but that's as far as it goes.

This one, with the crisps and shoestring fries and sauce sticking out all over the place, looked like it had been stuffed with leftovers from a student party. But students could only dream of conceiving something like this.

For all the wacky sauces and toppings, let's not forget this also had chorizo in it. And I don't mean the insipid thin slices you get on pizza, but proper thick chunks of the stuff. This was a proper contender for the bacon crown.

The chorizo MADE this burger. It populated the spectrum of textures and flavours with its wonderful unique savoury saltiness, and sat absolutely perfectly with the medium cooked patty.

But the stuff of dreams didn't end there. There's always something new to discover with the next bite in this burger. The soft sponginess of the bun was juxtaposed by the harsh crispness of the crisps (duh) and slightly less so by the shoestring fries. While the chorizo was obviously a harder bite than the dreamy soft beef. This burger had the full range of textures going on.

I'm crunchy Baby...

And as for flavour, the stand-out union is that of the hot(ish) jalapeño mustard vs. the soothing cool blue cheese. Of course the concept of using hot and cold in this way isn't original, but it certainly works and the proportions of each seem to be very well thought out.

As for that blue cheese, you might be forgiven for thinking that does the business as far as a cheeseburger is concerned, but no- there are also two slices of American cheese in here, one on top of each patty. And for those inclined to take photos of their food, the combination of the blue cheese sauce and the jalapeño mustard does look, at first glance, like an egg has been stuck in here too.

So yet another burger from Almost Famous that's easy on the eye and even easier on the taste buds. That combined with friendly table service, the trademark fun and silliness, means that AF remains at the very top of the burger tree, and I can wholeheartedly recommend their I'm Crack-ed Baby, one of the newest additions to the menu.

I'm downright tasty Baby...

Admiral Burgerbar

Principal Burger Critic

Bacon makes everything better!

https://twitter.com/AdBurgerbar

Review of Virgin Trains Diner Cheeseburger

Website: https://www.virgintrains.co.uk/

What they say:

British barmarked beef burger with mature Cheddar cheese in a semolina topped roll.

Price: £3.50.

Calories: 470 kcal.

To start things off, having read the title, you'd probably expect me to say this was awful but I must admit that I can't say that. Not entirely. However, I don't think Shake Shack and McDonald’s need worry too much about the competition.

It's a burger on a train - sounds rather like it should be a Samuel L Jackson sequel.

Functional packaging...

You buy it from a fridge - it's then stuck in a microwave for a minute before being served in a brown paper bag for you to carry back to your seat. Let's be blunt. Food served this way isn't going to win a Michelin star. It's also as basic as a cheeseburger gets. Bun, patty, cheese.

So, peeling off the plastic wrap and cardboard sleeve, I got stuck into my Virgin Cheeseburger.

Virgin Trains Diner Cheeseburger...

The smell hit me first - couldn't quite place it but was definitely in that bracket of salty processed food - and probably had a lot to do with the lengthy list of ingredients.

Now, I'm no microwave technician but my experience is that bread doesn't usually belong in there. It gets hard patches that ruin it. This bun didn't suffer that fate and I can only put that down to the fact that it was encased in cardboard and plastic - perhaps they help to disperse the magic rays more evenly or something like that.

Cheese is present...

This review is going to be short I'm afraid, because there simply isn't much to talk about.

The next element was the patty. Quite thick and generous, its texture was very dense and rather unappealing - more grey than brown or pink - obviously not freshly made and I suppose designed to respond best to microwave heating.

This patty also had the fake grill lines across it - presumably to add to the aesthetic appeal, such as it was. But not a stretch to imagine it had never been anywhere near a grill.

Not real grill marks...

The taste, heavy on the salt, just wasn't beefy enough. Don't get me wrong - it did have a taste that wasn't entirely unpleasant but it isn't one to write home about.

And that leaves us with the cheese. Pretty generous again, but indistinguishable. The packaging said cheddar so I'll believe it.

It was melted well though, clinging to the patty and the crown (that's the top bun - see I DO learn stuff from Burger Lad®, contrary to popular belief).

The cheese kept the texture moist, and one thing this burger couldn't be accused of is being too dry. It did the job.

Bread better than expected...

I'm going to end the review here - it's the only burger available on Virgin Trains and under the circumstances in which it has to be served, it is serviceable, just.

It is exactly as good as a pre-packed burger served from a microwave on a train can possibly be.

Admiral Burgerbar

Principal Burger Critic

Bacon makes everything better!

https://twitter.com/AdBurgerbar

Burger King UK unveils new 20/20 Garden Grill Restaurant Design

Website: http://www.burgerking.co.uk/

THIS JUST IN:

Burger King has recently unveiled a brand new restaurant design in the UK. And if this reads like a BK PR communication its because it is...

This new design is called ‘20/20 Garden Grill’ and brings together the great tasting BURGER KING® flame-grilling tradition with an outdoor BBQ atmosphere.

BK 20/20 Garden Grill...!?

20/20 Garden Grill has been developed in-line with BURGER KING's® design principles and showcases an authentic, warm and bold aesthetic. The BURGER KING® brand is celebrated through a distinctive wall collage reflecting the brand’s heritage, with all natural copper, brick, reclaimed wood and bamboo; it brings a hand-made feeling to the restaurant. The new design also incorporates a red brick heritage wall, with historic BURGER KING® brand photos highlighting the nostalgia of the early days of the BURGER KING® brand.

A variety of comfortable seating options for guests including booths, community tables and banquet style dining makes the environment more inviting, warm and comfortable. Incorporating natural materials with a bright colour palette, the new interior décor creates a rustic and inviting ambiance highlighted by complementary lighting. Hand-carved, natural wood pieces showcase craftsmanship and bring alive the authenticity of the BURGER KING® 'Be Your Way' spirit.

20/20 Garden Grill restaurants have an open truss ceiling with a natural wood trellis and accent soffits, giving the restaurants an outdoor look and feel. Restaurants designed in the Garden Grill Style will also have the opportunity to incorporate express ordering kiosks. The unique concept sets it apart from the usual QSR and showcases the craft that is present in all that BURGER KING® do.

Burger Lad®

McDonald’s My Burger 2014 Finalist

We are the people's burger website™

Enjoy!

For more burger related news and comments follow me on Twitter:

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Review of Common - Korean Fried Chicken Burger

Website: http://www.aplacecalledcommon.co.uk/

What they say:

kfc, gochujang, kimchi slaw.

Price: £8.50.

Calories: Unknown.

The KFC Burger at Common - simple construct, tasty execution...

Common is a staple of Manchester's Northern Quarter, epitomising the area both in terms of the decor of the place and the people who go there.

As for the former, the look of the place is part 1980s Manhattan loft, part IKEA, with touches from the Crystal Maze industrial zone. This sort of design is ubiquitous in the NQ because it works and hasn't dated yet.

But in middle of the dining area is something that doesn't fit. Two hideous hippy curtains in bright patchy colours. Almost like the Manhattan loft in question used to belong to Mamma Cass.

I wouldn't normally devote such a number of words to curtains, but in this case it's warranted. It utterly spoils the whole place; totally cringe worthy in an otherwise sleek and modern space.

World's ugliest curtains...

Anyway, Common is very popular, not least for its selection of doughnuts available to eat in or takeaway daily. Food is given a pretty extensive menu and I sit down with a £7 bottle of Danish Pilsner while I choose (just let that price sink in for a minute).

Mesmerised by the doughnut tray, I also order my takeaway before they get sold out.

It's the Korean Fried Chicken Burger that grabs me - Korean spicy sauce and slaw on their fried chicken in a bun. All sounds good, and having seen pics on social media, looks pretty amazing too. That said, despite the large windows, the cloudy day kind of spoils my photographs, so for that I apologise. Can't really blame the minging curtains for that, because they aren't over the window.

Almost everyone in this place is younger than me - it's that sort of place, but service is friendly, knowledgeable and impeccable.

Close-up makes it look big, but it's not...

It arrived in pretty quick time, with a fairly spartan arrangement of burger and pickle on a small white plate. The first thing that struck me was the smell. Extremely inviting. I initially put this down to the sauce but I suspect it was more of an ensemble effort.

What also struck me was the size. Not big. For lunch, that's great, suits me perfectly. I actually prefer small dishes, and eating more frequently.

Essentially, what we've got here is a sturdy, slightly toasted dark brioche bun, some lovely fried chicken, a decent amount of tasty slaw and a spicy sauce. There's really nothing to fault.

Tasty slaw, lovely chicken, hot sauce...

Is it the best fried chicken in Manchester? No. But it's really very, very good, spot-on cooking and it is actually quite addictive. I put that down to the sauce mainly. Heat does seem to make me want to tuck in more eagerly - I'm not talking about the flames of Mercury that Burger Lad® has in his sleep, but normal-people spicy. All good.

As with almost all non-fast-food chicken burgers, this didn't have cheese. I like cheese on my burger, whatever the meat, but nothing seemed to be too much trouble here at Common. I reckon if I'd asked, they'd have done it.

This isn't going to fill up the most ravenous of stomachs but as a decent lunchtime pit stop with a perfect amount of kick to it, I loved it.

Generous sauce is pretty spicy...

Admiral Burgerbar

Principal Burger Critic

Bacon makes everything better!

https://twitter.com/AdBurgerbar

Review of McDonald’s Big Flavour Wraps – The BBQ Pulled Pork One, The BBQ Chicken & Bacon One, The Sweet Chilli Chicken One and The Hot Peri Peri Chicken One

Website: http://www.mcdonalds.co.uk/content/ukhome/food/big-flavour-wraps/bbq-pulled-pork.html

What they say:

Various.

Price: £2.99 or £1.99 on Wrap of the Day.

Calories: From 469 to 500 kcal.

OK… originally we were not going to feature the new McDonald’s Big Flavour Wraps on the website – hence why this review is not coming at you on their day of release! After all they are clearly not burgers, and we are the expert on all things burger-related… not jack of all trades, master of none. So don’t worry… this will not lead to a mass influx of non-burger reviews on your favourite review website…

Big Flavour Wraps...

Miss Milkshake® thought it would be a good idea to sample all four of the new wraps dubbing it the “Epic Wrap Battle” (more on that later) and when we received a personal invitation plus complimentary vouchers we just had to “live bolder this lunch time” – despite it being an evening tasting session on this occasion. I mention the vouchers now as this has absolutely no bearing on our unbiased and impartial analysis.

Don't order all four at once...

A slight confusion ensued when we placed our order around 7:40pm on Monday evening…

“Can we get one of each of the wraps please?”

“Yes sure. Which one do you want?”

And yes, Miss Milkshake® did her very best impression of Gary Oldman’s “Stansfield” character in the 1994 movie Léon: “BRING ME… EVERYONE!!!”

It took approximately ten minutes for us to receive the new wraps and it wasn’t particularly busy. I guess the likelihood of someone coming in and ordering all four at once is pretty low normally…

There’s no way you can really present a decent photograph of the product without unravelling the wrap and that shows in the photos. Each is tidily put together though and fits snugly into its non-promotional packaging.

MM commented that “judging by the box size you think you’ve got a big-ass burrito but the ingredients struggle to fill the tortilla... leaving you with a light lunch instead”. And that’s exactly what they are aiming for with this range.

Anyway… let’s get to the wraps, up first – The BBQ Pulled Pork One.

The BBQ Pulled Pork One...

The taste and texture very much reminded me of the “pulled chicken” on the KFC Ultimate Pulled Chicken Burger. A slightly smokey and pleasant BBQ taste with the coleslaw complimenting it rather nicely. Hey and I’m no fan of coleslaw so credit where it’s due…

For me though, I didn’t particularly find the texture to be that appealing and pulled pork is not something I would go out of my way to find on the High Street due to its over saturation in many eating locale now. Maybe three to five years ago this would have raised eyebrows but not in 2015…

Before we move onto the next wrap I previously mentioned an Epic Wrap Battle – the synopsis for this was that MM would review two and I would review two and we’d pit our chosen tag-teams against each other. That, or we’d briefly write about each of them in turn giving you more than just a one-sided argument. The trouble is that two had mayo and one had slaw so that pretty much ended our plans there and then.

Moving on we tried The BBQ Chicken & Bacon One next.

I forgot to mention above that the new chicken wraps give you the option of either grilled or crispy chicken – an option not presented to us this evening, so we ended up with crispy chicken on the remaining three. Not a problem, as I actually loved the chicken they use in these. Possibly two Chicken Selects per wrap… but I could be wrong and they are not Chicken Selects. Like I said… expert in all things burger-related.

Inside The Chicken & Bacon One...

The crispy chicken is definitely the best element. You get a slight smokiness from the sauce and bacon rashers although there isn’t a great deal of bacon inside. The mayo you don’t notice which is always good for me and eventually you hit the distinctive taste of fresh tomato (one slice). Long-time readers will know this is up there as one of my least favourite burger toppings ever, so at that point it was game over for me on this one. Like any subjective review this will depend on your personal preferences but with the inclusion of fresh tomato I wasn’t a massive fan.

Two down and you’re probably thinking “whoever sent those vouchers is probably regretting it now”, but from our experience we know they’d prefer an honest review. Don’t worry… it gets much better!

Next we have The Sweet Chilli Chicken One and this was really rather good.

Things are improving...

The crispy chicken is again, very pleasant and the sauce offers a slight heat which creeps up on you as you make your way through the wrap. The sweet chilli sauce is never going to be as strong as something like a Blue Dragon dipping sauce but it’s enjoyable and works well with the chicken. The mayo is non-existent, so for all non-mayo eaters out there don’t be too concerned. Or just hold it… The lettuce is like it is on all of the wraps – just there… but bringing a slight crisp and freshness to the palate. And that works wonders with the cucumber. To repeat, this is where personal preference comes in. If you like tomato and dislike cucumber you’d probably side with the Chicken & Bacon One, but for me this was much, much better.

Finally we get to The Hot Peri Peri Chicken One. Be warned! This isn’t as hot as you might expect – I’d personally rank it somewhere between a Nando’s Mild and Medium Peri sauce strength at best. This was also the only one MM could try and she added that it has a “noticeable amount of heat which is quite surprising for McDonald’s.”

Saving the best for last...

This is my clear favourite as you get a good heat from the sauce (which I beg McDonald’s to use on a chicken burger in the near future!). We’ve covered the crispy chicken and its good but this wrap is elevated way above the others with the inclusion of cheese and sliced white onion. If I could only recommend one wrap out of the line-up it would be this one so it might be worth checking it out as a chaser with your regular burger on a Monday (priced at £1.99).

My ranking for the four McDonald’s Big Flavour Wraps would be:

1. The Hot Peri Peri Chicken One.

2. The Sweet Chilli Chicken One.

With The BBQ Chicken & Bacon One and The BBQ Pulled Pork One tied in third or last place depending on your point of view.

McDonald’s are clearly targeting the female demographic (in my opinion) with the Big Flavour Wraps and rotating them at a discounted price on set days is like we’ve seen before with the “Deli of The Day” range. You’ve also got the option to make it a meal with Buxton Water and a Shaker Side Salad at £4.59.

Personally I associate a trip to McDonald’s with getting their core product – hamburgers! It’s a shame they can’t give what some of the other spectrum of the demographic want and that’s things like Mega Macs or Triple Cheeseburgers!! But then they would be crucified by the UK tabloids for excessive calories (despite all “gourmet” or “dirty” burger establishments offering burgers that must get close to the 2,000 calorie mark but come out unscathed).

McDonald's Big Flavour Wraps

If wraps at McDonald’s are your thing then you won’t have too many complaints with the Big Flavour Wrap range. I’d certainly recommend the Peri Peri and Sweet Chilli ones but that Pulled Pork just doesn’t do it for me…

Burger Lad®

McDonald’s My Burger 2014 Finalist

We are the people's burger website™

Enjoy!

For more burger related news and comments follow me on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/Burger_Lad

Burger King Brand Rolls Out Breakfast Menu Nationwide

Website: http://www.burgerking.co.uk/menu/breakfast

THIS JUST IN:

Direct from Burger King UK...

This week, BURGER KING® has announced it is rolling out its new breakfast menu nationwide. This new menu features a range of delicious breakfast options including Croissan’wiches and English Muffins; with plenty of satisfying options available. Guests who choose a meal will also enjoy a serving of regular mini hash browns.

BK Sausage King Muffin...

New on the menu is a choice of different Croissan’wiches: a delicious croissant bun filled with American cheese, an egg patty and filling of your choice. Choose from Bacon or Sausage and for those who can’t choose the Double Croissan’wich offers both filling options. Also on offer are the Bacon or Sausage King Muffin; featuring cheese, an egg patty and your choice of filling, all sandwiched between a delicious toasted English muffin.

For those who just can’t choose between these tempting options, why not try the breakfast platter; which includes a sausage patty, a serving of scrambled eggs, 6 mini pancakes, an English muffin and mini hash browns. This tasty combination will be sure to start your morning in the right way!

The perfect coffee accompaniments are also available in a range of three great tasting lattes. Choose from Caramel, Vanilla or Mocha flavour for a little pick me up with your meal.

The Bacon or Sausage Muffin or Croissan’wich has the recommended retail price of £1.99 or £3.49 with regular mini Hash Browns and a regular Coffee or Latte.

The Double Croissan’wich is priced at £2.39 with the same meal option at £3.89.

BK Double Croissan'wich now nationwide...

Burger Lad®

McDonald’s My Burger 2014 Finalist

We are the people's burger website™

Enjoy!

For more burger related news and comments follow me on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/Burger_Lad

Review of Infamous Diner, Manchester – The Colonel

Website: http://www.infamousdiner.co.uk/

What they say:

Buttermilk chicken with secret spices, Monterey Jack, bacon and homemade burger sauce.

Price: £8.95.

Calories: Unknown.

The Colonel - loads of ingredients, loads of chicken...

I'm at the Infamous Diner in Manchester again. You may recall we reviewed their Infamous Burger shortly after the opening, and left feeling there was considerable room for improvement.

Well, it so happens that head chef Jason ("area chef" officially) got in touch and said there was a new menu launching this week. So I'm back, and at first glance, the new menu looks rather like the old one.

That's at first glance though, and it's because the design of the menu is the same, the new items haven't been labelled as "new" and most importantly for burger fans, the descriptions remain the same, even though it's all change under the hood - more on that in a minute.

As I sat down, I noted two other tables of customers and thought the music was a little loud for so few people. But it was 50s Rock n roll and was totally in-keeping with the vibe of the place. As I said in the earlier review, the themed decor is spot on. And besides, after a short while, it filled up, including a whole class of primary children, so the music soon retreated to the background.

Jason sat down and explained the new menu to me. Essentially the new items are spread throughout - corn dogs on the starters, chicken and waffles, hash, pancakes, hot dogs. All the good soul food stuff.

Corn dogs side dish - American funfair staple...

Burgers have been moved from a central spot on the menu, to the side as they aren't the core focus. The list is expanded with the inclusion of a behemoth "Go Big or Go Home" which can only be described as a bit of everything, and costs more than the rest, unsurprisingly.

The main change however, and the main cause for concern the last time, is the beef patty. Completely redeveloped - brisket out and chuck in - yet this isn't mentioned on the menu. More flavour and more training in the kitchen as to how to make it. Jason assures me that it is really good, and I've already decided I want to try it next time.

But he is also very proud of the chicken, so I decided, this time, to have The Colonel (a nod to a certain Kentucky gent in a white suit), which includes the same burger sauce as the other burgers, along with Jack cheese and bacon.

The Colonel is presented animal style...

The burgers here also come on premium brioche which belies the low price of £8.95 for them all (including fries and slaw). It's actually a very good deal.

As I waited, I also pondered the black Halloween burger that Infamous is running next weekend. There will also be weekly specials (Wednesday to Wednesday) including mains, milkshakes and desserts, starting later on once the new menu has bedded in. I understand the first of the specials will be Jason's renowned meatloaf so that's a must!

It's clear from talking to him that the concept, the menu and even his own role have developed considerably from original plans, and hats should be doffed to the management for remaining open-minded as to the direction.

A final little nugget of information I noted down was that the company (MAD Ltd) are not only planning to open further concepts in Manchester, but also plan to roll the Infamous Diner brand out to other places.

Now, I must point out, in the interests of disclosure, that Jason refused to take payment for my meal, despite my protestations. That's not normally my cup of tea - well, we've all read about reviewers who try to get freebies in return for favourable words. That's not our style at Burger Lad® - we value our integrity and the reviews are a subjective reflection of our enjoyment (or otherwise) regardless of payment arrangements.

That said, I was given the very distinct impression that I was going to enjoy my food this time anyway. Jason's enthusiasm and pride in the food he and his staff produce is very engaging and left me in no doubt that significant improvements had been carried out at Infamous.

It's fair to talk about all these things, but remember we are here to review a burger. As the big man himself would say, let's get amongst it.

Admiral, meet the Colonel...

Firstly, the fries. I found them soft, chewy and salty last time, and am pleased to say they are none of these things now. Warm, crispy, they performed the sidekick role perfectly. There was a decent amount and if anything, I could've added salt. As so many people are getting excited about Star Wars now, let's just say these are, in fact, the fries you are looking for.

The burger itself sat in a small paper bag, mouth open animal style, similar to In-N-Out and Shake Shack. This kind of sideways presentation is very appealing on the eye, and lends the burger a more sandwich-type aesthetic (which of course they originally were).

CHEESE - melted just right...

The brioche bun is indeed very good, even if you pull off pieces to eat on its own. Well-sized and suited to the job, it neither crumbled nor tore. Inside the bun were two generous pieces of crumb-coated chicken.

This chicken also got the eat-on-its-own test and passed. The crumb could possibly do with being a bit crispier, but the "secret spices" gave it a glowy tangy taste, while the meat inside was nice, with that slight teeth-stickiness that chicken does. I'm assuming it's the same chicken that is added to the chicken and waffles dish, which I'll definitely be having in future.

The list goes on. Two glorious rashers of bacon added their savoury goodness to the stack, while liberally-applied stringy cheese was perfectly melted between the two types of meat. The pickles in here, along with the burger sauce, which I'm quite sure contains blended pickles too, was a really good sour tone to balance out the flavours. And finally, I'm pleased to say that the tomato slice, while still large in diameter, was more thinly sliced - by far my preference, and didn't intrude on proceedings.

Still the cheese - very impressive...

In there as well was some red onion which nearly always delivers a sharp kick in certain bites - one of the best burger ingredients around (although at the bottom end of the burger-reviewing world, it has been known for onions to be bad-mouthed, believe it or not. The final content was the lettuce - as ever, very easy on the eye but adding little to the taste. Hard to imagine all this content fitting in here (it's not a massive burger) but it does, and it does so well.

The cheese and the sauce made sure it was a pretty messy, fun affair too. I certainly didn't mind licking my fingers between bites.

Happy stomach - £8.95 goes a long way at Infamous...

This visit was an epiphany. It's fair to say I was disappointed with the food last time, and the lesson today is very much about second chances. Looking at the place, looking at the menu, you'd be forgiven for thinking nothing has changed. But you'd be wrong - under the hood, it's all changed- considerable improvement has occurred and I didn't leave disappointed this time. All the things that were wrong last time were right this time - while I'd like to think this was because our last review taken on board constructively by MAD and used as a basis for improvement, I know I'm not the only one to have pointed out the shortcomings. This is a company keen on image but not forgetting the largest part of that involves customers enjoying their time and wanting to come back. This time I want to go back!

I left feeling very full and very happy, not just because I'd enjoyed a very tasty burger, but because I'd rediscovered an interest in the brand and as I walked back to the car I was reciting in my head the half-dozen or so dishes I want to try next time.

Starting with that meatloaf - I'll be on it like a bat out of hell.

Admiral Burgerbar

Principal Burger Critic

Bacon makes everything better!

https://twitter.com/AdBurgerbar

Review of KFC BBQ Bacon Boss Burger

Website: https://www.kfc.co.uk/our-food/for-one/box-meals/bbq-bacon-boss-box-meal

What they say:

BBQ, Bacon, Hashbrown, cheese and our Original Recipe fillet - what more could you want in a Burger? All boxed up with a piece of our famous Original Recipe Chicken, Fries, your choice of side and a drink! #BossedIt

Price: £5.99 for the box meal.

Calories: 1,280 kcal for the box meal.

From checking their Twitter feed, it appears KFC released the BBQ Bacon Boss BoxMeal on or around Thursday 15th October. It didn’t pop up on our radar until I was walking through Cheltenham town centre on Sunday when I saw the mini billboard advertising for it on a telephone box.

KFC promotional image...

Now the word “Boss” in the description got me semi-excited for this latest limited time promotion from The Colonel. Why you ask? Let’s give you a bit of context you’ll not find anywhere else…

Various other countries around the world have had Kentucky Fried Chicken burgers featuring “Boss” in the name. For the uninitiated of you, it stands for Big (or Best) Original Sanders Sandwich. It has appeared in various guises in the likes of France, Germany, The Netherlands and Hungary but the most notable version has got to be the Canadian Big Boss– KFC’s very own version of a McDonald’s Big Mac. The sandwich features two chicken fillets, signature “club-layer” middle bun, American cheese, lettuce, pickles and signature sauce. Like I said… KFC’s version of a Big Mac. We couldn’t possibly be getting this mighty burger in the UK could we..!?

Currently the answer is no.

KFC Canada Big Boss...

A quick look at the KFC website for our German and Dutch counterparts reveal their versions of the Boss include Monterey Jack Cheese, creamy pepper mayonnaise and either Texan BBQ sauce or special BOSS sauce. So what incarnation of the Boss does the UK get to have you ask yourselves?

The answer is… a moderately lazy promotional item featuring BBQ sauce. If you stand it side-by-side with The Daddy Burger (previously Big Daddy Burger) there is very little difference between the two. KFC have literally held the fresh tomato slice on the Boss and switched the ketchup for BBQ sauce.

KFC BBQ Bacon Boss Burger...

Anyway, the evening went something like this…

Parked at KFC (like a boss)

Queued for 10 minutes (like a boss)

Placed my order (like a boss)

Had a side of beans (like a boss)

Paid contactless (like a boss)

Picked my table (like a boss)

Forgot my napkins (like a boss)

Ate the chicken burger (like a boss)

Lazy promotional item...!?

After the TEN minute wait to place my order the food arrived relatively quickly. Costing £5.99 for the meal this represents exceptionally good value, but clocking in at 1,280 kcal I was glad I had a little helper along to share the calorific burden.

The BBQ Bacon Boss was presented decently (no promotional box though) and actually looked good and appetising although I’m not quite sure what was going on with the crown of the bun. It looked like it had been toasted on the wrong side to me.

Top bun toasting error...!?

I have no complaints about the Original Recipe fillet. OK it’s not going to win gourmet fried chicken of the year award but for an accessible, High Street chicken “burger” it’s pretty good.

You get a slight crisp from the hash brown but that soon gives way to the softness of the interior. It’s not particularly obvious it’s on-board the build but I’d rather see it on than off.

Bacon is not an overly common ingredient used by KFC and it is tucked away between the chicken fillet and hash brown. I didn’t check to see how much was actually on the BBQ Bacon Boss so you’ll have to accept my apologies on this occasion.

You can tell from the melted state of the cheese that these are made-to-order as it had only slightly melted where in contact with the chicken. Some people like this, others don’t. Personally I’ll always take this as it shows it’s not been sat around waiting in the heating bays.

Lifting the lid...

The burger/sandwich is finished with a garnish of slightly dark (but fresh) lettuce leaves which had been semi-carefully put on and were not overflowing all over the place.

Finally the domineering flavour is quite rightly that BBQ sauce. After all this is the BBQ Bacon Boss! It’s certainly a strong BBQ sauce, fairly sub-standard and nothing to throw superlatives at but pleasant all the same.

I’m no fan of mayo but the one they use at KFC is actually really rather good and enjoyable. It’s got a slight tang to it and I thought it would be buried under the bold BBQ but it actually complimented it well.

Overall, this is quite a decent burger and as part of the Box Meal offers outstanding value. It’s certainly a safe play limited time offer and when comparing it to The Daddy Burger it appears quite a lazy promotional item.

Having not had a KFC for a while I very much enjoyed the BBQ Bacon Boss quite a bit. Despite this fact, I can’t help but think of it as a missed opportunity. If the people at KFC HQ are reading this (BTW we’re still waiting for our invite) then I implore you to give releasing the Big Boss over here some consideration. I think you’d be onto a sure fire winner chicken dinner if you do. Just a thought…

Latest KFC promotional burger reviewed. Like a boss.

Enjoyable and outstanding value for money...

Burger Lad®

McDonald’s My Burger 2014 Finalist

We are the people's burger website™

Enjoy!

For more burger related news and comments follow me on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/Burger_Lad

Review of All Star Lanes New Yorker Burger

Website: http://www.allstarlanes.co.uk/

What they say:

Our 6oz ground chuck and rib patty, topped with a layer of melted Monterey Jack cheese, juicy pulled salt beef, gherkins, another layer of melted Monterey Jack cheese and sauerkraut. Served with a quarter pickle and tangy deli mayonnaise.

Price: £13.00.

Calories: Unknown.

I've covered All Star Lanes before, having reviewed the Nacho Cheeseburger, which is a permanent menu item. This time round I saw a picture of the current special on social media and it jumped to the top of the queue. So here we are, getting stuck into The New Yorker Burger, described on its promotional blurb as "the Reuben reinvented".

Well made marketing blurb...

I've had a Reuben-style burger before, at Mishkin’s in London. That was quite good, but I must say this one looks even better. But looks can be deceiving - the proof of the pudding, as we know, isn't in the looks. Let's find out.

There's sauerkraut and salt beef on here, which will be the key ingredients in making this Reuben-esque. There's also gherkins, Jack cheese and deli Mayo whatever that means.

All of this sits atop their 6oz patty, as well as some brown, red and green on the picture - bacon, tomato and lettuce? I'll find out shortly. As I wait, I'm given some sauce - all the sauce it would seem - BBQ, ketchup, hot sauce, mustard and two types of Tabasco.

All Star Lanes is decked out nicely, with the bar, restaurant and bowling areas all clearly defined. Service is impeccable and the whole place has a timeless charm about it. The burgers are also very good - well, living next door to Almost Famous, they'd have to be.

When it arrived, I noted the precise presentation as well as the glorious smell. The brown under the patty (which is assumed to be bacon) was actually red onion, so there were a LOT of flavours and textures going on in here.

A tall New Yorker...

First things first though, this burger is built around a rather good patty. The other special currently running actually has a Wagyu patty and a price to match, but it also has mushrooms, and the standard patty is already rather full of flavour. I wasn't asked how I'd like it done though, and it came out a bit too much on the well done end of the scale. Doing it medium, or at least giving the option, would be a big plus.

Staying with theme of meat for a bit, the salt beef topping was also very good on its own. Within this burger stack, the saltiness was a little lost, probably due to the stronger sour tones of the mayo, sauerkraut and gherkins.

Double cheese in a well put together stack...

But that was no bad thing because these things were wonderfully interesting on this burger. The sauerkraut particularly, with its characteristic crunch, was delicious and worked really well with the red onion lying under the patty.

I really didn't taste the lettuce or tomato at all, but the lettuce had been cut and placed perfectly with a very keen eye on the aesthetics of this. And speaking of aesthetics, where they blended well with practicality, was the bun. Looked good, tasted good, held together until the end.

Meaty goodness combines with sour delights...

And finally the cheese - two slices of Jack doing a grand job in the middle - the cheese worked particularly well with the salt beef and a sandwich of salt beef and cheese was something that definitely occupied some of my mind.

So, a summary - a terrific special from a place already on any discerning burger aficionado's list. I believe the New Yorker is around for a couple more weeks. Get one.

All the flavours of the rainbow...

Admiral Burgerbar

Principal Burger Critic

Bacon makes everything better!

https://twitter.com/AdBurgerbar

McDonald's launch new 'The Signature Collection'...

McDonald's UK have launched The Signature Collection as part of a pilot across 28 restaurants. The new collection features a thicker 100% beef patty with carefully selected ingredients, all in a brioche-style bun and crafted when the customer places the order.

New premium burgers at McDonald's...

The Classic -100% British and Irish beef, Beechwood smoked bacon, cheddar cheese, wholegrain mustard mayo, ketchup, Batavia lettuce and red onion, all in a Brioche style bun.

The Classic...

The Spicy - 100% British and Irish Beef, Jalapeño slices, Pepper Jack cheese, Batavia lettuce, Mayo and a spicy relish, all in a Brioche style bun.

The Spicy...

The BBQ - 100% British and Irish Beef, BBQ sauce, coleslaw, red onion, Batavia lettuce, Beechwood smoked bacon and cheddar cheese, all in a Brioche style bun.

The BBQ...

All three burgers should be available in McDonald's restaurants across the UK in 2016 and are in-line with ranges such as The Signature range in Switzerland and the more recently released Maestro burger in some European countries.

Burger Lad® pitched the idea of a mid-range burger to compete with the likes of Five Guys at the 2014 My Burger Final.

Below are the locations the new Signature Collection is available:

Here are more promotional pictures of the new Signature Collection line-up:

Burger Lad®

McDonald’s My Burger 2014 Finalist

We are the people's burger website™

Enjoy!

For more burger related news and comments follow me on Twitter:

https://twitter.com/Burger_Lad

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Review of McDonald’s Great Tastes of the World The Brazilian Spicy

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Review of Infamous Diner, Manchester – The Colonel

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Review of KFC BBQ Bacon Boss Burger

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Review of All Star Lanes New Yorker Burger

McDonald's Signature Collection

McDonald's launch new 'The Signature Collection'...