Sloppy Joe Burger, Wenlock & Essex

A word of advice: don't get the burger at Wenlock & Essex.  This is not to say that it isn't good - in fact, as you'll soon read, it's much better than good - but there are many other great options on the menu.  The burger is by far their best seller though, much to the disappointment of the lovely pork fillets, the fish and chips, and the wild salmon.

But then I'm not part of the solution; rather, I'm part of the problem.  Just another lemming with tunnel vision for the burger.  But then, this isn't an ordinary burger, or even a slightly different burger.  This is its own beast, and a marvelous one at that.

James Morgan, the head chef at Wenlock & Essex, is most definitely a driven young man, and like many of us, he has a special enthusiasm for burgers.  His creations skew more towards the Hawksmoor/Ad Cod end of the spectrum as opposed to the MEATenterprise or Lucky Chip.  I headed up to the W&E for a weekday lunch with a couple of coworkers in order to sample his latest creation, the Sloppy Joe Burger.

Back in the old country, I grew up eating many a sloppy joe, and whilst tasty (to my 12-year old palate), they weren't exactly fine dining.  I was prepared to have my perceptions shifted slightly.

First hurdle cleared easily; this burger looked fantastic.  In terms of components, working our way down, the burger consisted of: thinly sliced gherkins and tomatoes, the latter covered in thyme and other spices and slow roasted; Montgomery cheddar; a thick layer of sloppy joe; the burger itself; shredded lettuce; and finally some burger sauce consisting of mustard, ketchup and mayonnaise.  This glorious combination was coddled in a delicious, squashy egg-glazed bap from Rinkoff's Bakery which proved a worthy opponent to the subsequent onslaught of juices.

I truly loved this burger.  To make the sloppy joe,pork and fore rib (I believe) had been simmered in tomatoes, stock and other assorted ingredients for over 9 hours.The sloppy joe was reminiscent of a Texas-style chili (no beans) minus the heat, and I could've eaten a pile of that thick, rich concoction on its own.  The gherkins did a fine job of providing just a touch of acidity to cut through some of the heaviness, with the lettuce playing the part of a firmer-textured component.  

Every bite yielded a traverse through the flavours, but as with every good burger, the end taste was always beef -- perfectly cooked, aggressively juicy, delicious beef.  Silence reigned for a good 5 minutes punctuated by small outbursts of inarticulate pleasure.

Skin-on, hand cut chips were lovely - and plentiful - in their own right, but they were overshadowed by their beefy friend (and rightly so).  Of course I finished them, eschewing the ketchup for the cup of burger sauce on the plate.  Did I mention that this dish only costs £10?  

I love what's happening in London at the moment - burger obsessives, street food mania, American food(!), all of it.  I realise we've reached the point where some people feel that these things have become overexposed, and to them it's become fashionable to rail against those who queue, dream nonstop about burgers or serve cocktails in slightly eccentric glassware.  There are no shortage of articles complaining about the latest food trends.  And that's a bit sad isn't it?  But then I suppose some people just love a good moan.  Anyhow, digression aside, here is a chef who really loves what he does and works virtually nonstop trying out new things that are innovative without being outlandish.  It doesn't seem like he does things just for the sake of being different - the focus is always on the most important element, the taste.  And with the sloppy joe burger, I believe he has accomplished his goal in spades.  Now when's the next creation coming?  

Wenlock & Essex

18-26 Essex Road

Islingon

N1 8LN (map)

http://www.wenlockandessex.com/

Mon - Wed: 12:00 pm - 11:30 pm
Thu: 12:00 pm - 12:00 am
Fri - Sat: 12:00 pm - 2:00 am
Sun: 12:00 pm - 11:30 pm

#BlogEATblog at Vibe Bar with Big Apple Hot Dogs

As you've undoubtedly heard all about London's famous Big Apple Hot Dogs and their equally famous purveyor Abiye Cole, I'll keep the intro short.  Abiye has been selling a variety of naturally-encased torpedos of meaty bliss for a little over a year and a half now, and he has gained a well-deserved substantial following.  

To accompany his new Sunday pitch at the Vibe Bar on Brick Lane, he came up with an idea: invite food-obsessives of all backgrounds to make a topping for these ethereal dogs.  Thus #blogEATblog was born.  I was fortunate enough to grab a slot on Sunday, March 11 alongside Rosie (@_RosieT), Chris (@chrisgreen) and Paul (@PaulLomax).

Based on the reports of the previous weekend's 1-2 punch of cold and wet, we were incredibly fortunate to have the polar opposite in terms of weather, with temperatures hovering above 15 and the late winter sun shining brightly, unencumbered by any typical thick grey cloud.  We brushed away the cobwebs with a beer or two whilst the hot dog cooking began in earnest.  By 1pm, it was time to sample and serve.

Pictured below are the four entries (clockwise from top left): My bourbon-bacon marmalade with crispy fried leeks, Rosie's chilli & cheese, Chris's which he artfully tweeted as a "relish of onions, red & green chillis, gherkins, damson sauce & 10yr old Ardbeg scotch" topped with crispy bacon bits and Paul's poutine (cheese curds, gravy and crushed crackers).  

The chilli was made with minced beef and had a sweetish edge to it that the salty cheese balanced out very well.  The damson relish was also quite sweet with a nice hint of acidity from the gherkins, and yet again it had a perfect counterbalance in the form of Jebus's greatest creation, bacon.  And finally, Paul had declared that his untested poutine would either be "really fucking good or really fucking bad."  Ladies and gents, it fell firmly in the former category.  [Edited: Thanks to Paul for pointing out my idiotic error!] The cheese curds had a flavour reminiscent of mozzarella, with a firm consistency and a lovely salty finish.  Add some gravy and crunchy cracker bits, and you've got yourself a damn fine topping that worked very well with the Big Frank I tasted it on.

So yes, in all honesty, I really enjoyed them all.  Including mine, if I do humbly say so myself.  I had done a small test batch a couple of weeks ago and managed to test a little in situ at the Old Street stand; so I knew that it wasn't too rotten a combo.  The leeks were a last-minute addition for a bit of texture, but damn if they weren't a touch moreish on their own.  I thought if even one person enjoyed it, then I'd consider it a success....and I think there were in fact two.

I managed to pull myself away about 6 hours later, having enjoyed an absolutely fantastic afternoon.  So many thanks go to Abiye for thinking it up and organising the whole thing, and to my fellow contestants as well as everyone who came down for a dog, a drink and a bit of discourse.  I can highly recommend it as an ideal Sunday afternoon, although any time you are able to get one of those dogs you should seize the opportunity.  

Bourbon-bacon marmalade

(I made 4x this recipe, and it was a massive amount - probably 2.5 litres worth).

Ingredients:

1 lb smoked streaky bacon, chopped into 3/4" pieces

1 medium onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

¼ cup bourbon (I'm partial to Jack, but if you can go higher end then by all means)

¼ cup pure maple syrup

¼ cup cider vinegar

3 tablespoons dark brown sugar

1 cup brewed coffee

hot sauce of choice

fresh ground black pepper

Prep:

1. Fry the bacon in small batches until it's crisp (don't overdo it).  Drain the pieces on a plate or tray lined with paper towel.

2. Using the same pan/pot, fry the onion and garlic in the rendered bacon fat over medium heat until the onion becomes translucent.  

3. Add the bacon, onion and garlic together in a heavy bottomed pot (Le Creuset is ideal) with all of the remaining ingredients bar the hot sauce and pepper.  If you've been using the same pot from the beginning, get rid of any excess bacon fat first.

4. Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce the heat to low, keeping it at a steady gentle simmer.

5. Continue to simmer for 2-2½ hours, giving it a good stir every 20 minutes or so.  If it starts to dry out too much, add a splash of water.  If it's too wet, simmer it a bit longer.

6. Let it sit off of the heat for a little while, and then transfer the contents to a food processor with the standard blade fitted.

7. Give it a few short pulses to standardise the consistency, but don't overdo it - this should be a bit chunky, not smooth.

8. Add some hot sauce (I used a touch of The Ribman's HF) and lots of black pepper.  Taste.  Taste again.  Taste a 3rd time on a dog with the leeks.

Crispy Fried Leeks

Ingredients:

Leeks - use the white and pale green parts only

plain flour

salt

pepper 

paprika

Prep:

1. Cut the leeks into 2-inch sections, then halve them lengthwise.  Cut the sections into thin strips.

2. Put the strips in a colander and rinse them well under hot water (this takes a bit of the harshness of the flavour away).

3. Dry them well, either with paper towels or in a salad spinner.

4. Add the spices to the flour, mix it up with a fork and toss the leeks in the mixture.  

5. Shake off any excess flour and deep (or shallow) fry the leeks in 180°C vegetable oil for about 3-4 minutes until they reach a deep brown colour.

6. Remove them from the oil to a plate/tray lined with paper towels, season well with salt, and then commence stuffing them uncontrollably into your mouth.

Big Apple Hot Dogs

239 Old Street

London EC1V 9EY (map)

http://www.bigapplehotdogs.com/

T: 07989 387 441

Tues - Fri: 12-6pm

Sun @ Vibe Bar: 12ish onwards

91 Brick Lane

London E1 6QL (map)

T: 020 7247 3479

Also usually 1 day/week at Eat St., King's Cross


edit: added a better description of Chris's relish from his own words instead of my inadequate ones.

The Crooked Well, Camberwell

I can certainly see the allure of being a proper food critic (i.e., stringing proper sentences together, getting paid to do this, free meals), but sometimes it appears as though some of that ilk decide to nitpick just for the sake of being contrary.

Example: when I think of comfort food, I imagine the more butter-enabled, fat-laden, meatful end of the spectrum.  So when John Walsh wrote his review of the Crooked Well in Camberwell, I was a bit confused.  He went in "...looking for comfort, and, more to the point, comfort food."  He then proceeded to turn his nose up at nearly all of the mains, proclaiming the steak or venison with red cabbage and white pudding as being "too rich."  And really, isn't duck with chorizo quite a common dish, despite his reservations about the seemingly exotic-sounding combination?  Ok, enough about that (although judging by the article's comments, I wasn't alone in finding it all a bit churlish).

I made my second trip to the Crooked Well last month with a friend visiting from San Francisco.  He's over quite frequently on business, and as we weren't venturing into the heart of the City, I thought this a perfect alternative to our usual haunt, the Palmerston.  It was a Sunday night, and when we arrived at 7.30, the place was nearly empty, as opposed to the heaving atmosphere when we departed a bit after 10.

I found it to be quite warm and inviting: muted lighting with the obligatory candles on tables, lots of wood furniture slightly distressed but still attractive and comfortable.  Being that I didn't note them down, I'm sorry to say I can't recall my companion's cocktails, although I had a couple of stellar whiskey sours.  The staff are very relaxed and friendly, but make no mistake: it is a tightly run ship indeed.  Service throughout was attentive, knowledgeable and unobtrusive.

Not long after we had sat down, a jazz band struck up in the far corner of the room.  They were quite talented to be fair, but they started out far too loud.  Conversation was not an option, and it didn't set the tone for the evening very well.  However, we had a word with the staff who informed us that they'd already mentioned it to the band.  Things got a bit better, although it still was a bit loud for 8pm on a Sunday night (probably just I showing my advanced years).

The menu reads as a fairly standard British-gastro-with-French-roots offering, but each of the dishes has its own character and unique touches.  I opted for the Warm pigs head terrine whilst companion guy had the Crisp salt & pepper baby squid.  The terrine's soft breaded exterior surrounded large, fleshy chunks of slowly cooked pork.  Caramelised apple offered the perfect sweet and slightly acidic complement to the meat.  And perfectly cooked scratchings....as my teacher at culinary school would say, "What's not to like?"  

A crisp, delicate and perfectly seasoned batter ensconced lovely soft pieces of squid, all within a large salad of rocket, baby spinach, walnuts and some other bits.  Good start indeed.

Mains followed in pretty much the same vein.  A large disc of braised venison was wrapped in cabbage and placed atop a similarly generous blini.  Small pieces of parsnip, carrot and swede were dotted around the edges with a venison jus.  The meat had been braised all right - my knife never got near it.  So tender, delicate; it was truly fantastic.  The jus had been reduced to the point where it eventually started to solidify on the plate, and it was smooth, rich and generously portioned.  The blini acted as a sponge for all of the juices although it was a bit burnt on the bottom.  

I only had a small taste of the Calf liver, as the guy across the table wolfed it down - crisp exterior, soft melting liver-y insides , excellent flavour and texture of the ham....you get the picture.

Sides of Pommes frites and Seasonal greens - in this case, kale cooked simply with some olive oil and salt - were summarily inhaled in the most delicate manner possible.  I can normally identify straight away whether chips are fresh or frozen, although these had me on the fence.  But If they're well cooked, hot and taste fresh, them I'm generally satisfied.  These ticked the boxes.

We had a bottle of Tabali 2010 Pinot Noir which was young but complex with soft tannins and a buttery feel to it.  Markup was probably just nudging above the top end of what's standard (£27.50 as opposed to £10.50 in the shop).

I had just about enough room for the Rhubarb mousse; it was smooth and not too sweet, allowing the fruit flavour to take centre stage.  It was topped with a thin disc of rhubarb jelly, a curly rhubarb tuile and a mini chocolate log.  A biscuit base held up the ensemble, strongly reminiscent of that on a cheesecake.  It provided the majority of the sweetness, along with a crunchy texture to offset the smoothness atop it all.  Broken record here - it was delicious.  The cinnamon ice cream on the other side of the table was refreshing and - here's a surprise - tasted overwhelmingly of cinnamon.

And back to the paid food critics: I would probably eat a couple of meals at a mediocre place in order to give it a proper - as objective as possible - review.  But as the above prose more than details, I sadly am not.  So it should come as no surprise that I've returned to a place I absolutely love.  Many in the food writing / blogging / tweeting world cringe at the term "gastropub," feeling it to be in turns pretentious, asinine, nonsensical, and so on.  But if it has a more benign definition, encompassing a pub that aims to provide truly special food not traditionally found on a pub menu, then the Crooked Well hits the mark.  Quite spectacularly as well I might add.

The Crooked Well

16 Grove Lane

Camberwell

SE5 8SY (map)

http://thecrookedwell.com/

Phone: 020 7252 7798

Mon: 17:00—00:00

Tues-Thurs: 12:00—00:00

Fri-Sat: 12:00—01:00

Sun: 12:00—23:00

Burger Monday w/ Ben Spalding, Andrew's Café

The man can cook.  It's safe to say that when the Mrs. and I went to Roganic over 8 months ago, we were suitably blown away by nearly all of the dishes placed in front of us.  Ben Spalding's cooking most definitely belies his years, incorporating a multitude of ingredients, many of them unknown to me, in his dishes.  However, despite the exotic sounding plant names and dizzying stylish presentation, he always seems to put flavour first.  My kind of guy.

So when the email announcing him manning the helm for a Burger Monday hit my inbox, I didn't hesitate in booking a couple of spots.  And as many of you know, Burger Monday tickets don't last long (understatement); I'm sure Daniel can give the exact figure, but I'd be shocked if they lasted 10 minutes.  And we were well up for this one.

I love Andrew's café - it's around the corner from my office and the go-to spot for a proper Bacon sandwich -- white bread, lots of butter, fatty bacon and brown sauce.  Might just pop out in a minute.  Anyhow, as usual, Andrew's is always a bright, warm, buzzy refuge during Daniel's events, and this night was no different.  I really enjoy the group seatings as we've met some lovely people, and the two sisters we broke bread with last night were great company indeed.

Not long after we sat down, we were presented with what the menu called "Nibbles."  These turned out to be Pig skin; Veal breast; and Salt beef, horseradish mayonnaise & sourdough.  

I gobbled the pig skin far too quickly to take a photo, but I think the table was unanimous in agreement that we could've eaten a meal of just that.  Imagine the lightest pork flavoured prawn cracker with a touch of salt that literally melts in your mouth, and you're there.  Aside: among my litany of grammar grumbles, near the top of my list is a hatred for the misuse of "literally;" so, yes, I mean it when I say it.  Ben was not permitted to have his entire FOH staff, but he was allowed one gentleman who informed us that the skin was simply dried for 16 hours or so and then quickly deep fried in olive oil.  I am going to try this at home.  Oh yes.

The almost gamey salt beef was perfectly complemented by some smoked horseradish, with the crisp sourdough adding more texture than flavour.  Again, a success.

The veal breast was breaded and deep fried and then topped with pickled shallots and mayweed (no, I'd never heard of it either).  The flavour of the meat was lovely and deep, although it was a bit dry.  I loved the acidity of the shallots and the crunch of the breading (although who doesn't?), and the mayweed was attractive if not overwhelmingly flavourful.

Appetites sufficiently whetted, it was on to the proper first course, "Soup & burnt toast."  Ben was kind enough to provide a detailed list of ingredients for each course at the end of the meal, hence my actual descriptions of what we ate.  This course was a cauliflower soup with pickled cauliflower, roasted cauliflower cream, pearl barley and chervil.  The burnt toast was squid toast -- presumably, squid ink had been mixed in during the dough formulation.  

Picture Homer Simpson on a mountain of donuts, and you'll see my face whilst eating this.  Before last night, I certainly would never have said, "I could live on this pickled cauliflower," but what a difference a dish makes.  The bread was crumbly and crisp, more suited to dropping in the soup than mopping up bits, but it worked.

By this time I was very eagerly awaiting what the menu described quite thoroughly as "Burger & Chips."  We had caught a glance of some at the adjoining tables; so we knew what to expect in terms of presentation:

Quite humorous.  I loved the fact that he rigged the burger boxes with a rubber band to give them a spring-loaded effect when opened.  All of the chips bags had messages scrawled on them....well, all but mine.  I said that I wasn't hurt, but perhaps I just buried my feelings.

The chips themselves were hot, crisp, fluffy and well-seasoned, but if I'm being honest, I did feel that at £41 a pop, getting only 7 chips was a bit mean.

On to the main event: the final menu described the burger's elements as chuck steak & 45 day aged rib fat burger, iceberg lettuce, onion jam, cucumber pickle, mild cheddar and a granary seed bun.  The patty, replete with well-melted cheese, sat atop the other ingredients.  The thin slice of pickle was very tasty and quite reminiscent of a typical USA deli pickle style.  I usually enjoy the crunch of iceberg on a burger, and this was no different.  The onion jam was sweet, perhaps a bit too much so, but they had a bit of firmness to them which was good.

The bun: we were told that it was air dried to hold up to the juice of the burger, but I didn't enjoy it at all.  I'm sure some of it is a personal bias, as I'm generally not fond of buns encrusted with a variety of seeds.  I like sesame seeds on a burger bun, or poppy seeds on a deli kaiser roll, but when they're tossed together with sunflower seeds thrown in, I'm not usually thrilled.  And to me, it was far too firm.  I feel that burger buns should be soft and yielding but able to stand up to any juice onslaught.

Perhaps I was also less than impressed with the bready wrapper due to the fact that it didn't have many juices to stand up to.  My burger was overcooked.  It didn't have the pinkish interior of those in my fellow diners' clutches, and the overall package suffered sorely as a result.  The flavour of the meat itself was deep and pleasant, but my enthusiasm was sorely dampened by the lack of juices.  

The dessert had yet another dizzying array of ingredients: salted caramel; mint & lemon granita; toasted hazelnuts; white chocolate rocks; iced milk mousse; lingon berries; cloudberries; coffee tequila, amaretto & maple syrup soaked sponge; classic wafers and half baked cookies.  With that many elements you'd never be able to taste each one completely distinctly, but it also meant that each bite offered up a different flavour.  With the exception of the slightly-too-powerful mint in the granita, I thought it was fantastic: a wide variety of textures, lots of memory-triggering flavours, and not too thick or cloying.

So was it a success?  I left mostly satisfied, as I'd had some very tasty dishes and bites, but I couldn't help feeling let down by the main event.  I know that it's tough to sling a whole mess of burgers simultaneously and get them all right, but I was pretty disappointed with the burger itself.  That said, I can't wait to have a bit saved up for a return trip to Roganic.

Andrews Café

160 Gray's Inn Road

WC1X 8ED (map)
http://youngandfoodish.com/events/

Grab Burger, the Diner Soho

When it comes to food, I think that I can be easily satisfied but not easily impressed.  I'm not averse to trying, well, just about anything; as long as it lives up to expectations, then I'm happy.  Pizza almost always falls into this category - I've been experimenting with different dough formulations for quite a number of years now, but even so, I love a dirty street slice at the proper time.  There's only one place near Leicester Square (shock) where I couldn't actually finish my slice, and this was post-many-a-tipple.  Shame on them, putting melted plastic on top of a sponge -- that's what it tasted like.

Can you digress before even starting?  Well it appears as though I have.  I was very lucky to be invited, along with other much more established burger enthusiasts, bloggers, etc. to sample a new limited run burger from The Diner, the grab burger.  In the invite, the burger was described as:

• 2 x 3oz USDA short rib patties heartily seasoned and cooked medium rare 
• Each topped with a melted slice of US cheese
• Served in a Harvey Rinkoff “big slider” bun http://www.rinkoffbakery.co.uk/ 
• With shredded lettuce, dill pickles and USA sauce
• Presented in your grab bag with fries and topper
• A no frills celebration of the good old American cheeseburger

Sounds good to me.  We tasters were ushered to a cluster of booths in the corner, and a bourbon sour was promptly placed in front of me.  Now, there is a fast lane to my heart (and liver), and it is via aged-in-charred-oak-barrels-American-corn-whiskey.  The night was already a success.  Not long after that, the very attentive staff started bringing out fistfuls of grab bags.

Inside was a massive cup of chips sitting alongside the main event.  First impressions were good: I saw meat and lots of oozing cheese.  So how did it taste?

Well, I was definitely satisfied.  Not blown out of the water, and there were obvious bits that could've been improved straight away, but it wasn't bad.  Immediate negative impressions: patties weren't heartily seasoned enough for my taste, resulting in no real crust on the meat, and they had hurtled passed medium rare a while ago.  As a result, there was a decided lack of juice to the patties, and I imagine that some of the short rib flavour was left on the flattop as well.

That said, I thought that the cut of beef still retained a good amount of meaty flavour, and the cheese, lettuce, pickles and sauce complemented each other quite well.  There was a good bit of sauciness from the ketchup and sauce, which was a clear Thousand Island derivative.  The bun was soft, yielded easily to my mastication efforts and had a light, open crumb.  It remains to be seen how it would stand up to a seriously juicy burger, but it fit the bill here very well indeed.


I lived in California for over 8 years, and as such was fortunate enough to eat a Mini Cooper's worth of In-N-Out (both in weight and cost, I imagine).  And this burger definitely was reminiscent of that -- not the same, and it certainly didn't reach that level, but it was enjoyable nonetheless.  Fries were crisp and plentiful - again, not mind-blowing, but I'm much more easily satisfied by most types of hot potato sides.

And so I had a few more drinks (also on the house!), chatted with the burger crème de la crème, and made my way home.  Great bourbon, great company, and a tasty burger.  That's me happy.  They're on the menu from 31/1 for 10 days; so a very limited run indeed.

The Diner

5 Locations

http://www.goodlifediner.com/

Grab burger available from 31/01 - 09/02