The Best and Worst Burgers in London: 1 Year Anniversary Picture Quiz

Hello loyal burger fans.

This has been an excellent year for Burger Me!, and today is the 1 YEAR ANNIVERSARY of this blog. I can't believe its gone by so quickly. Doing some rough maths I reckon I've taken down around 100 burgers this year (that only averages out at 2 a week...) and blogged more than fifty different burger restaurants and burger events. So, with that in mind, what better way to wind down 2011 than with a pictorial competition of the best burgers in London (and the worst). Just name the burgers in the comments section and I might even send one lucky winner a classy MEAT WIN tote bag.

Can you guess all 30?

Click the image to see it in its full-sized burger glory.

Hawksmoor Seven Dials Burger Wars: Classic burger vs Kimchi burger

Location:
Just off Covent Garden, at the bottom of Langley Street (a New York-style alleyway, only lacking subway steam and a nunchuck weilding gang) sits Hawksmoor Seven Dials. Just as you get to the bottom of the alley, when you think there couldn't possibly be any kind of thriving business, save one of the less than salubrious establishments Soho is famed for, let alone one of London's pre-eminent and widely praised meat restaurants there it is. This is one of London's worst kept secrets, and a meat shrine at which first timers and regulars alike, worship.

The heavy, black wooden doors swing open to reveal a low lit reception, and a bevy of 

Maître ds efficiently deal with coats, bags and lead you down to the bar for drinks and a wait until your table is ready. It's dark, luxurious and just the sort of place to gain the reputation it has.

The scene is set for Burger wars. The classic Hawksmoor burger, and the Kimchi burger.

Burgers at The White Swan - 20 Farringdon Street, City of London, EC4A 4AB

Location: Almost directly opposite the Hoop & Grapes on Farringdon Road sits The White Swan. It's recently changed hands and the new owners have done a great job converting what was a bit of a grubby, old-skool city grot-pub into quite a nice gastro-type feel. In spite of the imposing pitch black exterior paint job, the inside was surprisingly light and airy, with 'proper' solid wood tables laid out ready for lunch.



This visit happened on a Thursday lunchtime, I had the pleasurable company of the blonde, the brunette, and the Scottish lass (and we know what happens when this lot join me, don't we Giant Robot!)


Price:
Handmade West Country beef burger with cheddar and bacon and hand cut chips - £8.95.


The blonde, brunette and I all went for the beef burger, whilst the Scottish lass went for a chicken burger (having never eaten beef...is she really Scottish, you ask?)

ELSCo Burgers: Testing the Mettle of the George Foreman Grill

From time to time, I cook burgers at home. That may not come as a surprise to many of you. "You're a burger blogger", I hear you cry, "it's what you do." But actually, home burger cooking is relatively irregular in my household.


There are certain moments, certain times however, when it would be frankly rude to not knock up a couple of burgers, and one of these moments presented itself to me last week. A PR company had been in touch with me to see if I would do a review of one of their George Foreman grills, and they'd send me one if I was interested.


Now, my previous experience of George Foreman grills was they were a waste of space. I had a mini one while I was at university, and it was about as effective at cooking as putting the food in your cupped hands and breathing into them. However it gave me an excuse to do a review that involved cooking burgers, so I acquiesced and two days later my George Foreman Grill and Griddle arrived.

The unit is a combination of a lidded grill and a flat griddle, and it's huge. If you don't have much worktop space in your kitchen, this may not be for you.

Tom Byng, Founder of Byron, on Burgers, Business, and Innovation

Tom cuts an inconspicuous figure picking his way across his crowded restaurant at One New Change, as he makes his way to where I'm sitting. I'm meeting Tom Byng, founder of Byron, to find out a little bit more about what makes Byron, and him, tick and we've arranged to meet on a Friday lunchtime in Byron's Cheapside outpost.

I've wanted to start getting more in-depth information on the thought process and personalities who are driving London's burger restaurants, and scene, and having bumped into Tom on several other occasions, he's very kindly agreed to meet and talk about some of the things he's most passionate about. Byron and burgers.

Burger Business: How do you start a burger van business in London?

This is the first in a series of articles I'm writing on the Business of Burgers.
I've been thinking over the past few months about how one would start on the road (pun intended) to setting up a burger van business. I haven't ever done it, and yet I can imagine there would be a few key challenges to overcome, and obviously some start up expenses.
So here's my list on how to set up a burger van business. I've tried to peg expenses to the number of burgers you'd need to sell to make back your investment capital @£4.50 a burger:

Meat Winning in the Burger Me! shop

Tell me what you want to win, and win it!

At Burger Me!, I like to reward people who read what I have to say, and not just with mouthwatering pictures of gastro-orgasmic burgers, but with real, physical stuff. And so I'm running a competition to win an item of YOUR CHOICE from the Burger Me! store.

There are two simple ways to win, and you can even get your name in the draw twice if you're cunning.

1. TWITTER
• Go to the Burger Me! shop and choose the item you want to win.
• Log into Twitter and paste the link to your item with the hashtag #meatwin
  
2. FACEBOOK
• Go to the Burger Me! shop and choose the item you want to win.
• Go to the Burger Me Facebook page and paste the link to your item on the competition post

I'll be drawing one lucky winner THIS SUNDAY 4th DECEMBER 2011 and the winner's item will be delivered well in time for Xmas.

So, what are you waiting for? Choose your Burger Me clothing NOW!