Wednesday August 27th saw the celebration of National Burger Day. Defined by the Oxford dictionary as a flat round cake of minced beef that is fried or grilled and typically served in a bread roll, the restaurants taking part in this event defied definitions and proved just how much of an evolutionary form the burger is.
Held at the iconic Battersea Powerstation, this burger menagerie was buzzing from the start as eager patrons waved their little burger passport cards around, excited to tick them off and see how many of the dozen they could get through.
From the humble cheeseburger to the more exotic burgers, borrowing flavours from India and France, National Burger Day was a celebration of the classic and the revolutionary.
Motherflipper’s, Double Candy Bacon Flipper won the hearts of the purists who revere the simple fillings without too much artistic flair. Stacked high with two patties, there was plenty of grease and char in this baby and the candied bacon added a heap of crunch.
Slider Bar served up some quality meat in their Short Rib Slider with bone marrow. The habanero salsa was kicking but not too aggressively.
B.O.B.’s Lobster won many fans with their B.O.B.’s Burger. Among the usual suspects you’d find on a typical cheeseburger, there was a new posh-looking fellow in town by the name of Béarnaise. The tarragon was a dream, shining through the juice and cheese.
Moving to the more exotic, Roti Chai – The Indian Street Kitchen, rolled out the Toddy Shop Slider, a burger where mysterious Indian spices come to play with Uncle Sam. Inspired by beef fry, a traditional dish from the streets and Toddy Shop drinking dens of the idyllic Southern state of Kerala, the dry-aged patty sings of cinnamon and star anise and offers a vibrant East meets West on a bun. This is sort of fusion that people want: the combining of flavours they love with familiar forms they love.
The Rolls Royce burger of the evening, has to be Club Gascon’s Foie Gras and Summer Truffle Burger. A thick, succulent slab of grilled foie gras sits smothered in truffled cream. Shreds of baby gem provide bursts of freshness and cut through the richness. Head chef, Pascal Aussignac created the champion burger as he wanted to do something summery with foie gras. Be warned though, this burger is intensely rich and decadent and may require you to sit down for a while afterwards, or at least lean on something for a bit if you can’t find a chair.
The Roller Disco Burger from Disco Bistro excited patrons with its bacon pinceapple jam. Bleecker St. Burger faithfully created a pizza in burger disguise, whilst offerings from Byron, Dip & Flip, Hotbox and Dirty Burger saw an assortment of Scottish beef and crispy cheese, a burger so juicy it comes with rubber gloves, some serious smokey BBQ and dirty, meltingly awesome Swiss cheese.
No food celebration is complete without dessert. Crumbs and Doillies adorable cake burgers will not only melt your heart, but delight your tastebuds. Offering patties of white chocolate chip blondie or chocolate and peanut brownie, these fun burger cakes are utterly delicious and come accompanied by an assortment of condiments and sides, including butter cookie chips, strawberry and yuzu ketchup and caramalized white chocolate mayo.
After sampling as many burgers as humanly possible, revellers left the event staggering, with their burger bellies protruding and their burger passports greasy and full of ticks. It’s no wonder tickets sold out so quickly, as anyone in the know, knew just what a wonderful evening of burgerlicious antics Mr Hyde’s National Burger Day would be.
