Big ol' Burger Comparison Thread

molinari · 30 May 2014 at 09:14

Large slices of tomato aren't great in burgers, but I do love some onions. Raw red or slow cooked white onion is lovely

.

Anyone got thoughts on Cattle Grid burgers? I believe there is one opening down the road from me at some point soon.

Siliconslave · 30 May 2014 at 09:28

went to honest burgers (http://www.honestburgers.co.uk/) in soho yesterday, had the 'honest' burger. It was a nicely seasoned burger, pink but not pouring juice out of it, not stupidly large or unmanageable and the chips were lovely.

Highly recommended

HazardO · 30 May 2014 at 09:56

Might have to do Byron again for lunch today NomNom

MrMarvelous · 30 May 2014 at 13:15

Raymond Lin said:
The English...have you never bought a burger from a burger van ?

Oh God yeah I forgot, and hot-dogs. Not been to a van in years, would rather pay a bit more and get something half decent than a mix or eyelids and ********* with soggy onion.

krooton said:
I'd prefer no onion at all, but if I had to, fried to the point of caramelisation, or sliced pickled, would be the only I would do.

I hate large tomatoes, slices ruin anything they are in, be it burger or a sandwich, and even picking them out doesn't help, their soggy grossness infects everything!

Bread, burger, bacon, cheese. Simple and effective.
Lettuce and gherkins if some form of veg is needed.

Man up you bloody woman!

I'd hate to go out for a meal with you, you sound like a right fussy bugger.

J-FRO · 30 May 2014 at 14:36

I actually went to MEATliquor yesterday and had the mushroom swiss burger. Was a pretty fantastic burger. The chips however (sorry, I mean 'fries') weren't anything to write home about and the beer selection is somewhat lacking. Vedette, Hobo beer and budvar. That's all the beer they have!

krooton · 30 May 2014 at 14:55

MrMarvelous said:
Oh God yeah I forgot, and hot-dogs. Not been to a van in years, would rather pay a bit more and get something half decent than a mix or eyelids and ********* with soggy onion.

Man up you bloody woman! I'd hate to go out for a meal with you, you sound like a right fussy bugger.

I'm incredibly unfussy actually

The only things I don't like:

Raw, large tomatoes (cherry are fine)
Raw onion
Radish
Fish with heads still on
Offal

Pretty much anything else is game.

HazardO · 30 May 2014 at 15:02

Just had..

Byron burger with extra burger
2x Dead pony club
1x skinny fries.

Nom Nom

Siliconslave · 30 May 2014 at 15:21

J-FRO said:
I actually went to MEATliquor yesterday and had the mushroom swiss burger. Was a pretty fantastic burger. The chips however (sorry, I mean 'fries') weren't anything to write home about and the beer selection is somewhat lacking. Vedette, Hobo beer and budvar. That's all the beer they have!

the deep fried pickles and onion rings are amazing - don't think i'd bother with fries in the future... agree on the beer offerings though, must try harder!

Atari · 30 May 2014 at 18:02

Went to Five Guys in Birmingham last night. What a disappointment, £15 or thereabouts for an average burger that a BK would have beat quite easily. The staff were all weird as if reading from scripts, the restaurant itself was full of choke points - who puts the burger collection place in the narrow alleyway, with only one way out, and then pop the toilets on the far side so to use the bogs, you've gotta find your way through a ton of people waiting for food?!

Everything came wrapped in loads of foil, and then packed into paper bags - really, I'm eating in, I don't need you to waste that much packaging for no reason.

But yeah - disappointed more than anything else, don't think I'll be rushing to go back there.

Raymond Lin · 30 May 2014 at 18:30

I don't understand the bags either. They are massive as well.

I do like the soda machine though, way too much choice, i bet some people spend ages deciding what to get and inevitably causing a queue.

batsy · 30 May 2014 at 23:59

Too Tall said:
Haha, don't know why but the smashed into the pan bit made me chuckle.

I'm unfamiliar with the technique.

Made me think of this.. http://www.travelchannel.com/video/el-renos-fried-onion-burger

Not that complicated looking but I bet I'll burn the thing when i try it.

rogan · 31 May 2014 at 21:34

Went to Five guys in the T centre for a mystery shop on thursday

Wouldnt pay for it, it was just a slightly nicer Big Mac but with bacon on it and the chips were godawful

clankk · 31 May 2014 at 21:48

Agree on Shack shack being better. been to Five guys three times, didn't like it the first time nor the next 2 and everyone i went with didnt enjoy the burgers!! SS burger was best ive had this year.

Raymond Lin · 2 Jun 2014 at 14:55

manic111 said:
You can't beat Patty & Bun for me.

That said, I went to Big Dog, which is this shoddy, American themed diner in Paradise Forum, Birmingham earlier this week, and for the price (£5 with chips and a drink) they do an excellent burger!

Went there today, £5 for this and a can of pop.

Much better quality burger than maccy d next door. It's not amazing but great for £5. My criticism would be it is a bit too salty.

daz · 2 Jun 2014 at 16:39

One More Solo said:
That's what a lot of these places get wrong really, what makes a burger great is being able to eat the whole thing together. I don't like big novelty burgers that are a meal with a bun at each end, it misses the point.

Well said. I think the perfect size for a burger is probably 1/4 to maybe 1/3 of a pound of meat. Any bigger and it becomes unwieldy and I'd rather have two smaller burgers than one giant one that can't be picked up easily with your hands.

Siliconslave · 2 Jun 2014 at 17:45

daz said:
Well said. I think the perfect size for a burger is probably 1/4 to maybe 1/3 of a pound of meat. Any bigger and it becomes unwieldy and I'd rather have two smaller burgers than one giant one that can't be picked up easily with your hands.

should probably drop this here, the scientifically proven way to eat a burger:

http://kotaku.com/the-perfect-way-to-hold-a-hamburger-proven-by-science-1513085238

manic111 · 2 Jun 2014 at 17:46

Raymond Lin said:
Went there today, £5 for this and a can of pop.

Much better quality burger than maccy d next door. It's not amazing but great for £5. My criticism would be it is a bit too salty.

Yeah it's far from brilliant, but you could do an awful lot worse for a fiver!

Raymond Lin · 2 Jun 2014 at 17:52

manic111 said:
Yeah it's far from brilliant, but you could do an awful lot worse for a fiver!

The fries were interesting...never had them like that before.

Now I've made up my decision with fried onions vs raw onions. I prefer raw onions. Fried onions makes it difficult to bite, there is always a bit you pull out from the burger, which makes a mess.

krooton · 7 Jun 2014 at 10:05

Where should I go for lunch today? Byron, Meatliquor or Patty & Bun?

HazardO · 7 Jun 2014 at 10:08

krooton said:
Where should I go for lunch today? Byron, Meatliquor or Patty & Bun?

All three, and report back with pics!