Monday Munchies - Honest Burger...Again!

This isn't my first visit to Honest Burger and I can safely assure you it won't be my last. I've previously raved about Honest Burger in this post HERE. This time we ventured to their Shoreditch branch as opposed to the one off  of Oxford Street. Over the last year or so, these guys have been so popular, thay have really expanded so there are plenty of stores for you to visit if you're so inclined.

This time, we visited purely so we could indulge in their December special (I know, I know, but their January special looks scrumptious if you're a burger fan like me!). Thier December special was a beef patty, smoked bacon, deep fried brie, cranberry sauce, rocket and of course, their crispy rosemary fries.

I cannot resist brie, it really is my complete and utter weakness. Add bacon AND cranberry sauce? Then lordie it's like I've died and gone to heaven!

Can we just take a moment and enjoy this image? I mean the bacon, that ooozing and gooey cheese, and that gorgeously glossy bun! As a side note, I'm totally in love with my new camera, my images just seem so much clearer and more vivid! Let me know if you've noticed the difference?

Going back to Honest Burger, I just want to do a quick shout out to their special Beavertown House Pale ale brewed especially for them, Ad assures me it's lush and available by the pint. In addition, whilst they also do your typical wines, soft drinks and the like, they also do some pretty banging cocktails like the below spiced mulled drink confection.

To give it it's proper name, it's a Spiced Winter Warmer, a yummy warm blend of rum, spiced ginger and marmalade and whilst it's served in a small glass for it's £6 price tag, this thing packs a serious punch. One ought to leave you grinning and glowing from cheek to cheek.

As a restaurant, Honest Burger are consistent and have delivered great food and good service each and every time we visit. Their staff are friendly, approachable, passionate and more than happy to suggest bits and pieces of their menu which suit your tastes. Whilst their speciality is beef burgers, you can see from the menu above they also serve chicken, vegetarian burgers and they now offer gluten free versions too so please do visit when you can!

Have you visited Honest Burger yet? If not, what the heck is wrong with you people???

Tuesday Tasties No.48 - Hache - A Review

Yes, I am still trekking across London in a bid to find the perfect burger, I currently have a very definite top 5 in my head but would point out that this obviously subjective to me! There are still a few places I need to head to before compiling a top 5 post but I don't think we're far off now.

This week took me to Hache which I'd read nothing but rave reviews about so I was pretty excited to see what was on offer. The menu offered a range of salads and burgers including duck and the more unusual beef variety, namely peanut butter and cheese. I was assured that this is actually one of their best sellers although I can't say I was brave enough to try that on this occasion.

I do feel a special shout out should be given to the decor which was beautifully femine, think chandeliers, bird cages and delicate touches of pink. As the restaurant was a little on the dimly lit side, this does mean my pictures aren't as crisp as they usually are, but I tried my best!

So this week I wasn't quite feeling up to the usual beef burger and I therefore opted for the duck burger which the menu promised would come complete with spring onions, cucumber and hoi sin sauce which seemed to tick all the boxes of what I was craving at that moment in time. I had a choice of either a brioche bun or a ciabatta roll and asked the waiter to bring me whichever was best.

I have to say, I'm not entirely convinced that the burger sauce was meant to be on the bottom of my burger, it didn't quite seem to fit with the oriental flavours. Don't get me wrong, the duck was incredibly tender and it was clearly a fabulous cut as it wasn't too fatty. The crisp spring onions and cucumber complimented the sweet hoi sin sauce fine enough but I just have no idea why the orange burger sauce was there.Sadly, it made my burger overly rich and I actually found it very difficult to finish.

Ad opted for the Steak Catalan which came with grilled chorizo and tomato jam, he also asked for his burger to be blue (yuck!). Sure enough, I've never seen a pinker burger so Ad was pretty darn chuffed, the chorizo was sweet yet spicy and the patty itself was well seasoned.

For sides we kept things simple, some beer battered onion rings and Hache frites. The onion rings were tasty but a little greasy for my liking which probably contributed to the feeling of an incredibly rich meal. The frites were thin and crispy, just how I like them.

Overall, Hache just felt like a very rich experience for the both of us, whilst Ad was able to polish off most of his burger, the two of us really struggled to finish the meal. I think if we were to go back, we'd keep things simple, opting for ciabatta over brioche and maybe skipping the sides. Given that I've had so many awesome burger related experiences lately this didn't quite hit the mark for, maybe I need to gives things another go?

Have you been to Hache? How did you find it? Do you think I need to give things another and keep it simple?

Tuesday Tasties - No.32 - Shake Shack - A Review

Holy Mama, I love me a good  burger. We're still on a mission to find the best spot for a burger in London and in doing so, we've finally hit out next mark, Shake Shack.

This place is pretty easy to find and is tucked away in the Covent Garden Piazza. We decided to get here nice and early to avoid the queues. If you do happen to stumble across this place mid-afternoon, don't worry, the queue goes down very quickly and for CG, there's actually a lot of seating space available.

If you're having trouble spotting it, keep your eyes peeled for these signs, there's another one which resembles a burger, once you have it in sight, make a b-line as swiftly as possible. Right, onto the food.

We ordered two shack burgers (your basic cheeseburger and the burger of choice when comparing to other burger joints) some fries and two lots of concrete, more on the latter later. Ad also had one of their Ales which are brewed exclusively for the chain.

The grub definitely has a fast food feel to it, thin patty (which was FULL OF FLAVOUR) simple accompaniments and killer garlic style mayo, otherwise known as Shack Sauce. The fries were crispy with fluffy insides, the fact they're crinkle cut kinda indulges your inner child. Next time, I'll be going for the double patty.

Now for me, the real star of the show was the concrete. This isn't your usual ice cream, it's actually custard which comes with a variety of goodies which can be thrown in. I opted for for the Union Shack which you can see above, chocolate custard, hazelnut brownies, Paul.A.Young chocolate chunks and sea salt. OH MY this stuff was INCREDIBLE and is hands down one of the most indulgent chocolate treats I have ever had the pleasure of scoffing.

Ad opted for the big blend, vanilla and chocolate custard, chocolate brownies and sugar biscuits. I think it's safe to say there was some serious food envy here as Ad is a big fan of chocolate (dark of course, he's not a sugar addict).

For me, the custard seriously outshone the burgers, that's not to say the burgers weren't good, they were actually pretty darn tasty. As a bonus, the whole meal (including one alcoholic beverage) was a little over £25 making it a steal. I'll definitely be heading back.

Have you been to Shake Shack, what did you think?