Thursday 24 August is like Christmas for fans of all things meaty. Mr Hyde’s National Burger Day hosted at Street Feast’s Hawker House in Canada Water was back for another year, celebrating the finest the burger world has to offer. Launched by Jamie Klingler 5 years ago it’s become a bit of a staple in the foodie calendar.
Working our way through the 17 traders wasn’t going to be easy, but thankfully the stalls were broken down into areas so it wasn’t quite so daunting! Starting in the aptly named “The Big Room”, I went for Lagom and their “Bjorn Burger” (60-day aged patty, tomahawk rib bacon, smoked american cheese, scandi slaw and dill mustard mayo) before getting some advice from the people next to us on the communal dining-benches. It was time to divide and conquer.
Splitting burgers with a friend meant we could cover more ground (beef) so we grabbed Black Bear Burger‘s perfectly cooked “The 74” with its pancetta-y goodness, and a “Double Double” from Beer + Burger. The latter was unfortunately the only misstep on a incredible night of food. It wasn’t bad by any means, just fairly standard flavours and a thin patty that wasn’t up to the high level of the other traders – that said their Beer + Burger Running Club sounds like a brilliant approach to exercise.
I also got my hands on this stunning piece of meat from Hot Box, covered in smoked pulled pork collar, dripping in rich BBQ sauce, and with a surprise kick in the form of a pickled jalapeño tucked under the bun. It’s making my mouth water again just writing about it. The bun was so soft too, perfect with the melt-in-the-mouth pork.
My Brother had been raving about how great the “Fools Gold” burger from The Beef Chief over from Amsterdam was so I couldn’t leave without seeing if he was right. It definitely didn’t disappoint! The beef patty was so incredibly juicy and when combined with the peanut butter sauce and chilli jam made for one of the most succulent offerings of the night.
I went with my Brother last year too, but this year I also brought along my wife and a friend. One of the perks of going with others is that occasionally, you’ll get a sneaky bite of their burgers (with their permission, don’t steal burgers kids). This meant I got to taste the gravy soaked “The Sloppy Tom” from Chuck Burger – even just a bite was enough to show they were onto a winner with that one.
(Check out my 360 photo of Hawker House filled with burger fans)
I was really impressed by the thought taken for anyone who was gluten intolerant at the event too. There was a station were you could pick up a bag of decent gluten free buns which you could then provide to each of the burger stands to use instead of their standard offering. They all seemed to be knowledgable about it and even knew whether there was gluten in their sauces, unprompted, which can be so useful but easily forgotten. Some even offered their own, preferred gluten free buns (nice one Barrels).
As always the guys from Honest Burger were so on the ball with separate gloves and preparation area for the gluten free burger my wife was having. Taking lots of care and attention to get it right, just as they do in their restaurants.
While on the subject of Honest, their special in collaboration with Chop House was on another level. The meat was so incredibly juicy which then was perfect alongside the crisp and decadent confit potato. Like the ultimate roast dinner in a bun. There’s a reason they’re kings of the burger game in London right now.
Just when you think you couldn’t possibly eat any more, SE Cakery are on hand with a millionaire shortbread milkshake to polish things off and round off the night (and my belly). We’d got these to take with us on the walk back to the tube but unfortunately security was tight and they wouldn’t let us take the plastic-cupped milkshakes out of the venue. Bit of a shame but certainly didn’t spoil the night.
Roll on National Burger Day 2018!
What were your favourite burgers? Did you celebrate elsewhere, what did you eat?
