#8: Ed's Diner Review

Ed's DinerI have been admonished for wandering off script. Too much travel crap (a bit show offy too). Well I'm back in the M25 and I have some reviews for you.

On Friday lunch time a colleague said that he was going down to Ed's Easy Diner to grab a burger. Ed's, it turns out, had been a regular  childhood treat for him. He said that while he knew the burgers weren't great, they did the job quickly and efficiently. I didn't have much time but couldn't miss the opportunity. We made our way along to the Old Compton Street bar.

The restaurant is in the style of a 50s diner, replete with the naff slogans of the period daubed on the walls: no dancing in the aisles, that kind of thing. You sit at a horseshoe shaped counter on a stool. To add to the feel the Seeburg juke boxes are counter mounted. Chuck in 20p for a play. All very Happy Days.  

I ordered a straightforward cheeseburger (swiss, but you can choose others) as per rules and side of classic fries. My oppo did not order chips but onion rings, which should have been a warning.

Lets start with the ugly: the chips were gash. Institutional frozen foodservice spuds I would say. Not acceptable in anywhere that sells itself as a proper burger joint. The menu allows fries covered in gravy, chilli or cheese too, but this would serve only to mask the dry, heavy, flavourless morass of potato below. 

The cheeseburger was better, but the bar set by the fries was low. Nevertheless it fulfills key criteria - easy to eat, with appropriate garnishes. classic sesame bun (entirely bog standard but also entirely appropriate for the job), pickles, lettuce. The meat itself I thought was a bit of a disappointment, thin and somewhat overwhelmed by everything else in the sandwich. I have to say the overall flavour wasn't disilmilar to a Big Mac: not unpleasant, but quite heavy on the acid of sauce and pickles, with not much meatiness.

Quick and efficient, yes. Exceptional, no. If they put some effort into serving proper fries I would be a lot happier and a bit more meat in the burger wouldn't go amiss either. Probably a great place to take the kids, but for weirdo obsessives like me looking for the best, look elsewhere.    

Other stuff: Full marks for French's burger mustard and Heinz Ketchup being left out on the counter. Drinks: The peanut butter shake is a class act. Soda is bottomless. Value: not cheap. £12 for burger, fries and a coke.  

Ed's Diner, 12 Moor Street, Old Compton Street, Soho, London, W1D 5NG. Tel: 020 7434 4439

Patagonian Meat

Tarquino, Bariloche

Patagonion lamb, asado style

A couple of pics from the holiday so far (I have refrained from posting spectacular pictures of the landscapes and concentrated on the food). First a 500 gram (18 ounce) bife de lomo (sirloin) eaten in Bariloche, and second delcious Patagonian lamb grilled over wood embers in the traditional Argentine asado style, eaten in great company at the family home of our guides, also in Bariloche.

#7: Byron Review

ByronIt was a party of seven of us that visited the Wardour Street restaurant after carols at St George's Hanover Square for a festive burger review. This group, the largest yet for a BM review, is linked by passed or forthcoming nuptials at the church and, clearly, a taste for burger.

So what's the deal? Byron is a budget-ish hamburger focussed mini-chain. While the website does bang on about provenance - the so-called 'story', so often a rouse to hide lack of creativity or boring food, there is good reason to believe this is not the case here. 

First, the menu is simple and well conceived and it is clear thought has gone into the whole package, which is a good start.

I ordered the cheeseburger (with Monterey Jack though you can choose others) as did most of the table along with a nice array of sides all of which were competently executed. Mrs BM was particularly taken with the courgette fries, which since the demise of Luciano's and their zucchine frite have been sorely missed. The burgers were simply constructed and ate well - the bun was nicely soft but stood up to the task well.

The burger was topped with rabbit food, including a disc of insipid tomato. I guess customers expect to see tomato on top, but the truth is there are few decent tomatoes in London in the depths of December. I should have dumped it as the overall effect is to add a tasteless watery layer. The meaty core of the burger was good, and indeed compared well to Automat, nicely grilled with good flavour - though I felt it lacked the unctuous, mouth-filling fattiness of the best burgers. The group consensus was that this was nevertheless a good effort.

It is little suprise, then, that Byron has been basking in critical praise: it offers a sound burger with a good array of accompaniments for not much money. Without wanting to belittle what Byron seems to have achieved this also says something about parlous the state of the London burger scene, if such a thing can be said to exist. The bar is low in this city, and the truth is that this would rank as a good average in the USA. However Byron has shown what is possible at this price-point and should be seen as a benchmark for burgers in the £5-£10 range.   

Dining room: Clean with some weird touches like a terrifyingly arachnoid chandelier wrought from so many anglepoise lights and an utterly inexplicable video wall. At the time was showing a looped clips of girls with chests that appeared to be in inverse proportion to their tiny bikins. Eating burgers. Just odd. Service: just fine. Price: About £15 per person with sides and a beer and some tortilla chips to nibble on.

Byron, 97-99 Wardour Street, W1F 0UD Tel: 020 7297 9390

Update on Saturday, January 23, 2010 at 1:28PM by Burger Monkey

Credit card bill for this meal was billed by Zizzi. Another chain in the making?

Burger Monkey is away

I am on my holidays in a country where per capita consumption of beef is 70kg per year. While this is not a travel blog, I hope to post some pictures in the coming days - internet connection permitting. In down time I hope also to do some write ups from London which I have neglected to do over Christmas.

#6: Aubaine Review

AubaineA meeting with a senior colleague - a burger fan himself - offered the opportunity to revisit Aubaine on Heddon Street. This French bistro-style restaurant is a stone's throw from the office and has a burger on the menu. It was therefore a welcome choice for a convivial pre-Christmas lunch.   

As you will see from the piccie it all looks rather good. I have only one problem with the very enjoyable burger at Aubaine. It is not a burger. In fact the Aubaine 'burger' is made with strips of steak. This is a non-trivial transgression of the canon law of hamburgerology (and probably of the Trade Desriptions Act). So whay call it a burger? It might be a Gallic thumbing of the nose at American imperialism. Hah! Take that Yankee! Or perhaps it is simply an attempt to reinterpret the burger with an authentically French twist. Either way as a burger it is an epic fail, a disqualification and a forefeit.

Nevertheless out of duty I struggled through the sandwich, the cone of frites and a glass of pinot noir so you guys would have something to read. Selfless, I know. If you are looking for a hearty steak sandwich this is perfectly decent effort. If I were being picky I would say the bun seemed to be slightly dominating and there was too much tomato given this is the depth of winter and most tomatoes are insipid at this time of year. But it was enjoyable, and that's what counts.

Burger: Non! De bon goût: Mais oui, bonnet de douche. Prix: 80 francs, peut-être

Aubaine, 4 Heddon Street, London W1B 4BS Tel: 020 7440 2510