Bundance, Street Feast‘s continuation of National Burger Day, was back at Hawker House in Canada Water earlier this week. Street Feast proclaim that it’s Europe’s biggest burger bash and this year it featured 16 burger stands, each bringing their finest or something a little special to the table for this annual celebration.
First up for us was one of the huge billed collaborations: Honest Burger and Monty’s Deli. My friend said the first bite was a spiritual moment and I’d have to agree. I’m always a big fan of Honest’s National Burger Day collaborations and specials and this was no exception. The potato latke giving a beautiful crunch alongside delicious pastrami and then the Russian dressing to cut through it all. What a start to the evening!
Then came the much lauded Handsome Burger – Ireland’s recently crowned number 1 had the longest queues of all the stands. Word had clearly got out about their successes and everyone wanted a bite. Thankfully the team on site were flinging patties as fast as the orders came in, seemingly fuelled by everyone’s favourite monk-made caffeinated fortified wine, Buckfast (as the tips bowl would suggest)! What really set this burger apart was the incredible thick slice of melted Irish cheddar from the Derg Farmhouse, the mature saltiness of which really brought the best out of the beef.
It was also great to see National Burger Day founder Jamie Klingler at Bundance with her trademark burger-couture (including matching headwear for her dog McNulty), despite no longer running the celebration. National Burger Day has changed a lot since its start in the early 2010s, especially with this year being focussed on London only. It’s great that this event at Hawker House is still the focal point for the best burgers across Europe.
I wasn’t familiar with By CHLOE ahead of the event, but the vegan chain are making waves. Turns out that they’re already huge in America with 12 restaurants across New York, Boston, LA, and Providence and making waves over here with 4 in London alone. Their vegan creation for this year’s Bundance featured a delicious beetroot, lentil and walnut patty alongside cheedah cheeze, shiitake bacon, pickles, lettuce, tomato and onion in a potato bun. The flavours were great, and it made for a tasty break from beef. The patty was quite soft though and did squeeze out of the side of the bun when I bit into it, making for a messy mouthful. It wasn’t the end of the world though, and it did make for an easier dip into their delicious chipotle ketchup.
Note: I was gifted the Bacon Cheezeburger from By Chloe but this in no way has shaped my views.
By this point I was starting to get pretty full so decided to go for one last morsel with Up In My Grill‘s Spanish-themed ‘El Torro’. What a decision that was. Arguably saving the best ’til last, the succulent offering featured 10-year old Spanish ox patty cooked over English oak. The smokey, rich flavours tasting like the ultimate BBQ. It was even more flavoursome thanks to the delicious burnt pickled green peppers, beef fat confit onions, provolone cheese and aioli, what a combination.
It was another great year for delicious meaty creations at this ‘Christmas-for-burger-fans’. It’ll be great to see what form Bundance takes next year and whether there’s a revival of National Burger Day involvement outside of London too.
