National Burger Day

National Burger Day, lets think about that for a second shall we. A whole day set aside to celebrate burgers? Gluttony or genius? Whatever your stance, this isn’t technically a national holiday (yet), it is however already up there in terms of big celebrations for me, rubbing shoulders with Halloween, Birthday’s & Christmas.

I have already expressed my praise for this event when Phil and I visited last year so there was every reason to expect much of the same from this year’s celebrations. However, this year got off to a much better start with my work deciding to jump on the burger van too. Big up’s go to City Pantry for hooking us up burgers from the lovely Patty & Bun, no joke, I ate two at lunch! It was than a furious digesting session for the next 4 hours until it was time to finish work and head of to Street Feast in Dalston Yard, East London. At the end of the evening, I managed to nom my way through a rather respectable 5 sliders. Rather talk about the burger any more, I will just get on with listing them in order of recommendation and the shoving a load of photos in your face to make you feel peckish and jealous.

Top 5 are;

1: Smokestack
2: Lucky Chip
3: Hotbox
4: Slider Bar
5: Nanban

Now in case you haven’t got the foggiest what that lot means, the menu is below.

SHOOTINGDAVE

Having a Bite of the Big Apple

Hungry? No? Well let me see if I can change that for you. I am going to show you some places to go and get great food in New York City. This blog won’t include any burgers, if you want that then check out Burgers of New York and why not catch up on Postcards from New York & Postcards from New York II.

Let’s kick things off with the pancakes from Empire Diner over on 210 10th Ave. This is food for doing stuff on. Had this for breakfast before smashing an average of 10 miles a day walking around the city. Big thumbs up from me.

This was also a big favourite of Amy’s. The staff were funny and friendly in there too. It also had that sort of classic diner vibe about it.

Sticking with the Diner theme, we also visited the Brooklyn Diner where I smashed down a massive plate of Huevenos Rancheros, this is my favourite breakfast I have ever had. FACT! Go check it out at 155W 43rd St – just off of Time Sq.

Although Amy’s omelette did look pretty damn fine, I am calling the Rancheros the all out winner. Everyone around the table had big envious eyes. Oh and just so you know, I could barely move afterwards. It was that big!

Over to Brooklyn now, you’ll spot a few Guacuco’s  around. This place sorts you out with some Venezuelan food. I know what you’re thinking, I ain’t ever had Venezuelan food before either.

Well leave your doubts at the door my friend. The Arepas are what it is all about! Little Venezuelan sandwiches with a range of fillings. These are perfect for a little bite on the go and for what they lack in size, the make up in taste!

I really wish they had some of these in London, I reckon they’d go down a storm!

There are a few other places that are worth mentioning which I didn’t get any pictures of. One I really loved was House of Lasagna which, you guessed it, does unbelievable Lasagna. They claim to do “the best Lasagna in NYC” and they ain’t fucking about.

I went to this standard diner, can’t for the life of me remember what it was called but these Macaroni Cheese bites were brilliant!

Whilst over in Brooklyn we also went to Tortilleria Mexicana Los Hermanos which is a Tortellia factory. What you see above is what they feed their workers in the canteen. It is so good, they open the doors to the public. Fresh as you like!

FRESHBITES is a brand new, and I mean brand new, we stumbled upon it on it’s opening day, healthy take out place. Their food is banging! The owners are super cool and they have this slick industrial feel to the place. Also I have never had brussel sprouts that tasted so good!

Our final meal before jumping on the jet was at Pershing Square, the busiest diner in NYC. It also made a brief appearance in Avengers! If it is good enough for Ironman, it is good enough for me! Fancy, upmarket and a little expensive, the place does deliver in quality. It’s pricing may have something to do that it is literally over the road from Grand Central Station.

Well there you have it. I missed so many other meals off including some amazing street food. But sometimes you just gotta eat, you know?

SHOOTINGDAVE

Burgers of New York

I’ll admit, it has been a while since my Postcards from New York blog post where I showed you a few of my favourites from the holiday. So I thought I would come back strong with my favourite burgers from New York. It is no secret that I could eat burgers every day, which would sell New York short as it is a place that really does do food well. In order to sample as much of it as I can I limited myself to 3 different burger joints in my week long stay.

Coming in at number 1 has to be the burger from The Spotted Pig in West Village. This is the only time I have encountered roquefort cheese in a cheese burger. A bold move and maybe a little too bold for some people but I couldn’t get enough. Pausing to take photos was a real chore, they almost didn’t happen. Served with shoe lace fried and a Bronx Summer Ale, I could eat this every day!

Not an Ale drinker? The staff inside would deliver recommendations thinly veiled in sarcasm but with enough charm to keep you happily chowing down.  The pub itself continues it’s pig theme into the interior. Expect hour long waiting times if you haven’t booked or you can do what we did and just muscle your way to the bar and perch yourself there. If you are in the area, I would highly recommend heading there. I know I will next time I go.

My number 2 burger joint is Bareburger which I have a sneaky suspicion could end up higher on the list had I visited more than once. Bareburger was literally round the corner from our hotel (on 514 3rd Ave), meaning we probably should have taken advantage of it a little more. These guys offer a load of organic, meaty and non-meaty goodness. Unlike The Spotted Pig where there is only one option.

A warm and noisy atmosphere offering some awesome post work chills with plenty of beers/ales/sodas on tap. I loved the warm log cabin theme on the inside, it gave a real sense of warmth and happiness inside.

The burgers were a decent size and tasted super clean, this isn’t your average dirty burger. You can really taste every component of this patty. I opted for the county fare burger with fries which boasts a Bison patty amongst aged cheddar, dill pickles, red onions, tomatoes, green leaf, mayo all housed in a brioche bun. There is so much more to check out on their menu.

Good branding, good food, good atmosphere and helpful staff really made grabbing a burger a much more enjoyable experience. They offered a load of drinks as well as beer on tap (including 40’s) which set this place up well for post work chills. I really wish they had one in London. I’d be there every friday!

A place that I can visit in London is our number 3, Shake Shack. Unlike the others, this is a place where you jump in for a quick burger. Think of a much more upmarket Burger King. Brooklyn Brewery sort these guys out with their own beer specifically made for them!

We went cheesey fries to with our bacon double cheese burger and cheese burgers. In fast food fashion we even stood up at a bench which I have to say makes taking photos of your food a lot easier haha. For fast food I have to say this was pretty damn good! It is a lot more expensive in the UK, same numerical values, different currency makes it a lot more premium. I am not sure that the food in the UK is worth the premium price tag but in the US it certainly is!

Look how dirty that it is! Gawd I want one! Again our Shake Shack was just down the road from our hotel making it a great option to nip out for a quick bite en route somewhere.

SO that is my Top 3 Burger joints in Manhattan, I am sure there are many more spots that I missed on my travels, if you know of some that I or others should consider then leave a comment below.

If you liked reading about these and made yourself hungry then why not check out these blogs posts too:
Dip & Flip
Honest Burger
National Burger Day

SHOOTINGDAVE

Dip & Flip

Welcome to Dip & Flip; Dipping Gravy, Flipping Burgers is their game and I kid you not, this is some of the most indulgent food I have EVER consumed! EVER! If I was wearing a hat, I would doff it to them.

Based in the heart of Clapham, near Clapham Junction these guys serve up burger big enough for those with an appetite the size of a Borough. If this isn’t exactly local to you then I strongly urge you to consider making the pilgrimage. You certainly won’t be disappointed.

On my first (and so far only) visit, the anticipation was killing me. This had been on my list of places to eat for a while! First thing’s first, what to drink?

I made the rather bold decision to go for a milkshake. Odd considering this was in the middle of January. But by God! These milkshakes are worth visiting for alone! What was the food going to be like?

As I mentioned earlier, properly indulgent! After trying to figure out the best way to hoist the burger to my face I just thought, “sod it” and grabbed it in all it’s juicy goodness! It is something you just have to deal with. You will get messy. They know that, there’s no shame in it. There is even kitchen roll on the tables!

I opted for the “Dip & Flip Burger” with beef on top… There are no other words for it, it was EPIC. I also went for some fries with squeezy cheese on top. So wrong yet SO RIGHT!!! Seemingly all meat has been dipped in gravy (hence the tag line) but you also get an extra dish of gravy with all your food.

For me, eating burgers has been revolutionised! This is good! This is perfect for a hangover. This is ideal for when you have a hunger you just cannot satisfy! And best of all, it ain’t that expensive!

Well done Dip & Flip – I will be back!

SHOOTINGDAVE

Honest Burgers

2014 it would seem was the Year of the Burger and you really didn’t have to travel far to find a good one. Sprawled across London there are plenty of places to satisfy your cravings for beef complete with pretty much any topping you can imagine. So when Honest Burgers announced in 2014 that they would be opening a branch in Tooting (where I live), I could not have been happier.

Typically, getting a decent burger would happen whilst I was either in Central or East London meaning I was pretty much out all day. But now with Honest Burgers literally down the road for me, I can pop out for a break from blogging or editing to get my burger fix.

So far myself and Amy have only been twice but both times I have had the special burgers; a Mexican quesadilla burger and the Christmas burger whilst she had the classic cheese burger. Put it this way, I think you would be hard pressed to go wrong with whatever you choose.

What I liked about the stores is the sense of branding they have, carrying on the story of the pop-up shop they started in 2010. The shops are permanent but have the same type of tactile materials and rustic feel you would expect to find in a pop-up stall. A smart move and it clearly pays off.

I mentioned the “special burgers” that they offer, well these aren’t permanent so make sure you follow Tom from Honest Burgers on twitter to keep up to date as to what is coming next. Personally I am looking forward to sampling the Indian Burger!

SHOOTINGDAVE