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burger

I’ve reviewed the beef burger from the latest Wetherspoon Menu, with which they give you a burger with chips and a drink for only £5.10. I’ve only just realised that for £1.59 more, they give you a GOURMET variation of their cheap-o meal, and I couldn’t pass the opportunity over.

The Veggie Burger is a great alternative to a hunk of mashed cow. Contrary to popular belief, humans CAN survive without a dead animal between their teeth three times a day. I was as surprised as you are! What surprised me more is the great feeling I get by not subconsciously thinking “I wonder what he thought before they electrocuted him”.

I’ve been having more and more vegetarian meals since a couple of weeks, which may or may not have coincided with the arrival of our new Kenwood Food Processor and a variety of smoothies we made. Somehow I just don’t fancy meat anymore. Good!

The Ice Wharf is a Wetherspoon Freehouse, very large on the inside, it’s music-free and is situated by the vibrant Camden Lock. The area has recently been redeveloped, and you can even sit outside and get smashed by the water. Brilliant! But back to the actual meal review…

Gourmet Veggie Burger - £6.59 with drink

Gourmet Veggie Burger - £6.59 with drink

The Burger comes with everything it says on the menu:

Stacked high on a soft bun (smaller than a DVD), there’s tomatoes, onions, a tiny bit of lettuce, a big flat mushroom (grilled to perfection), and a generous dollop of Levi Root’s Reggae Reggae Sauce – new to me as well, and not as spicy as I had expected. Very nice though.

In between all this we find a patty made of puy lentils, sweet corn and cheese, in a batter. Really filling, and very nice indeed. We also find three of the (exactly) 6 onion rings I had missed at first glance. It’s all held together with a giant toothpick, served with chunky chips which – like on my last visit – could have benefitted from another couple of minutes in the deep fryer.

It comes with a choice of alcoholic pint size drinks or coke/water/coffee/tea – ready in about 10 minutes. Goes to prove you CAN have a decent meal for much less than a tenner on the high street these days.

VERDICT:

Although not “the perfect dream burger”, this baby gets the highest remarks for value. £6.59 includes a pint of beer or cider, it’s delicious and filling – recommend it to your friends today. We’ve tried a similar meal in another Wetherspoon’s Pub in Wood Green, and the quality across the brand is consistent.

113 Thumbs Up from this reviewer!

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After such an amazing experience with my own home made burgers, I thought I’d give the Chiswick High Street ago and seek out the ultimate defender of the burger.

They stopped counting once they had sold their billionth burger, they had countless re-designs of their stores and re-bradnings. They’ve never had a good review in their life and were under public scrutiny since 1982 – of course I’m talking about the one and only Mc Donald’s.

The Big Tasty... apparently with bacon

The Big Tasty... apparently with bacon

I’ve seen this particular candidate on their menu before, called The Big Tasty.

Inevitably, I associate this burger with the taste of human flesh… there’s something about the special sauce that reminds me of when the German cannibalism trial was on (remember? Bloke answers an ad and wants to be eaten, then eats parts of himself with the other guy? Not funny!) – think that’s when the Big Tasty came to Britain.

First things first:

I ordered the one with bacon. It said “with bacon” on the box, and that’s certainly what I’ve paid my £5.29 for (that’s with soggy fries and a flat diet coke). Bacon would seriously have made a difference here – but it was not to be. 27 thumbs down for that to start the review.

Next up:

the burger itself. Bigger than the bun, fried well (at Micky Dee’s, they’re not grilled you know). There’s something about that beef taste though… I’m sure it’s not 100% as the advert claims.

mm_big-tasty-bacon

Is this the same product?

We also find some “special sauce” on this thing, a slice of tomato, some lettuce, cheese (preformed) and onions. It’s all like the advert describes, it just does’t look like it.

When I ordered the “large meal”, I didn’t recall being asked if I wanted some chips with my salt either! I did find some though: soggy, not sweaty, and with that typical Mc Donald’s fat taste once they cool down. You know, the one that sticks to your gums long after the meal is over.

This burger combo gets some plus points in regards to price though:

for the same amount of food, you sually have to shill out a lot more money. And when you do, you don’t get a headache later that day, like in this example (now we know what we pay extra for). My overall wellbeing after eating this was… well… not amazing.

Sure I survived, and I’ve lived on an almost exclusive Mc Donald’s diet many moons ago – but it looks like over the years my body has developed senses for what’s good and what isn’t. This clearly isn’t!

Do you see any damn bacon on this thing?

Do you see any damn bacon on this thing?

In conclusion:

This monster of a huge burger isn’t for the faint hearted. In fact, it’s for NOBODY. Do youself a favour and order the nuggets instead.

Verdict: 47 Thumbs Down!

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FURTHER READING:

If you like to try your own hand at running The Fast Food Business and experience the difficulties first hand, why not try the amazing McVideo Game at http://www.mcvideogame.com/ (not endorsed by McDonald’s btw)

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Burger and Chips at The Green Court – featuring my own burger recipe

May 15, 2009
Home made burgers... 47 Thumbs Up!

It was time for me to roll up my sleeves and see if I still had it in me. Why put everybody else to the test, when I can do these things myself? Ladies and gentlemen, get ready for MY OWN homemade burgers! Here’s the secret recipe: Take the leanest steak mince you can find, [...]

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Burger and Chips at The Vintry, St. Albans

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Burger and Chips at The Vintry, St. Albans

On a spontaneous trip to meet Al Monty and JB, we checked out this very wine based gastropub in the centre of Verulamium, or better known as St. Albans. A decent burger, with plenty of oompf. They do the 8oz and 10oz version, with various toppings and in various styles. Bacon, Emmental Cheese, baby tomatoes, [...]

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Chicken Burger and Chips from Deliverance

May 13, 2009
Judging by the photo, "terrible" is an understatement

Having received a raving review on the Beef Burger, I decided to give Deliverance another go. However, on the Chicken Burger, they couldn’t quite “deliver”. With the usual sweaty chips and all the ingredients you would expect from a good burger, this one came to the office luke warm. On top of all that, the [...]

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Burger and Chips from Seven Sisters Kebab (Takeaway)

May 6, 2009
Burger and Chips from Seven Sisters Kebeab

Sometimes, nothing says it better than a burger from a kebab shop. Enter the Seven Sisters Kebab and Pizza store. It’s been there forever, and although they were looking for a buyer not 12 months ago, the FOR SALE sign is gone for good and I understand in broken English that the proprietor is eager [...]

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New Series: BURGER & CHIPS

March 13, 2009

I should have realsied this much earlier than this week, but I have a confession to make: I love Burger and Chips. Any variation, any time, and place. So I thought maybe I’ll document my Burger and Chips journey thorughout the following months, with detailed pictures and descriptions where you can find the best burger [...]

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