[Review] The Grizzly Bear from Burger Bear, Red Market, London

It was a over a year ago when I ventured across London to first meet up with Burger Bear's Tom Reaney, and shortly afterwards posted London's first review of his burger street food offering.

Burger Bear Grizzly Bear Burger

Since then Tom's star has been in the ascendency, to the point where he was crowned Heat 4 winner of the London Burger Bash - a competition that pits purveyors of burgers against each other in a battle for the Golden Patty. So I had a Friday lunchtime free and decided to pop down to Red Market for a winners lunch.

Price: 

Grizzly Bear - £7.50 (that's £1 more than last summer - it's inflation, innit)

Presentation:

The Burger Bear burger has been upgraded from being served on a paper plate and is now neatly-ish tucked into a takeaway carton. And that's no bad thing with the chill November winds blowing through Red Market. This pleases me as when you crack open the lid, you get an instant, concentrated hit of burger. Obviously this is less pleasant when your box contains a kebab....

Mmm...bacon.

Toppings:

Double smoked bacon. Check.
Double american cheese. Check.
Bacon Jam. Check.
There's a great balance here between heavily oak smoked bacon, the slightly sweeter bacon jam, and the sticky, creamy cheese. And then there is, of course, the ubiquitous shredded lettuce base which includes some finely chopped onion, pickles, ketchup and French's mustard.

Meat:

Wow. Tom has clearly done some work on his patty, and it shows. His burgers used to be a strict 10% fat maximum in the mix, but it seems he's upped that, and it transforms the patty from good to excellent. In fact he's traded his suppliers in Hertfordshire for another in Sussex and rather than Chuck/Sirloin, he's switched to a Chuck/Rib Cap blend. More aged, more fat. More 'I love it'. And it definitely justifies the extra £1 you're paying.

Bun:

Excellent. The additional steaming under cloche on the griddle gives this white/brioche bun mashup a soft sheen, and it delivers a satisfying squish when squeezed. Great work on this custom Burger Bear bun.

Accessories:

I just had the burger, skip, so no accessories for me.

Overall Rating: 9.5/10

This burger is a joy to eat, from the super-oaked bacon to the perfectly pink, aged and juicy patty. Even the service has sped up and my burger was ready in short order. Burger Bear has come of age, and I urge you make a visit to sample his wares.

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