"Food Wars" hosts Harry Kersh and Joe Avella travel across London to continue their search for the best burger in the city. They'll be visiting three different locations in just one day to see what the city has to offer. This is "Food Tours."
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00:00 So we're doing Burgers Part 2.
00:01 Yeah.
00:02 First part two that we've done, I just felt like the first tour of London that we did for burgers,
00:06 we were trying to give you like a cultural overview.
00:08 Yeah.
00:09 And maybe like while some of the spots were great and historic,
00:12 they might not have been contenders for the actual best burger in London.
00:15 Whereas this time, I'm bringing our A-game.
00:17 I really think we can prove to you that British burgers, it's the gold standard.
00:22 Yeah, I knew that last time.
00:23 But hey, more burgers, sounds good to me.
00:26 [MUSIC]
00:31 So this is a place that is very highly talked about,
00:33 top of a lot of people's burger rankings, it's Bleecker Burger.
00:36 Okay.
00:36 So it's not actually the first time that we've been to Bleecker before.
00:39 What do you mean?
00:40 Bleecker Street in New York.
00:42 Oh, yeah, yeah.
00:43 Is there any connection there, the words?
00:44 I think these are like American inspired burgers.
00:46 It's like thin, I guess like New York style burgers,
00:50 which are just done very, very well with proper British beef,
00:53 quality ingredients, and it ends up in a fantastic end product.
00:56 And also, it's interesting that we took you to a burger van style place in the last video too.
01:00 Yeah, place is great.
01:00 It's actually kind of how this place got its start.
01:03 It's that classic story of it was founded by a corporate lawyer
01:06 who got fed up with the city and wanted to do something else,
01:08 and burgers was apparently the solution.
01:10 What classic?
01:11 How often does that happen?
01:12 You know, I've had that before, the person gets sick of the city job, skips town.
01:16 Those are like those Christmas Hallmark movies,
01:18 where it's like she goes back to her town.
01:20 [BELLS RINGING]
01:23 But they're just doing some dental work back there.
01:25 [LAUGHTER]
01:27 And they're doing their own shakes, clearly.
01:28 [LAUGHTER]
01:29 Did you notice there's a Shake Shack across the street?
01:31 I did, yeah.
01:32 Yeah, this corner's hot for burger action.
01:34 Yeah, this is the place to be.
01:34 Yeah, yeah, yeah.
01:35 They're going toe to toe with Shake Shack, taking on the big guy.
01:38 Well, I'm hungry, so do we want to order some burgers?
01:42 Yeah, so I think at every place today, we should probably just order a cheeseburger,
01:45 so we have that basis for comparison.
01:46 Yeah.
01:46 And then we'll try some other things on the menu if they stand out to us.
01:49 Does that sound good?
01:50 Yeah, that sounds great.
01:50 Cool.
01:51 So I think here we'll probably go for the double cheeseburger.
01:53 I think we can handle that.
01:54 And then maybe some Angry House Fries as well.
01:56 All right.
01:57 I mean, I've been in London long enough to get a taste of what you guys consider anger.
02:01 And I'm from America.
02:03 [LAUGHTER]
02:05 We'll see.
02:05 OK, we'll get some like British repressed rage fries.
02:08 [LAUGHTER]
02:12 Oh, here, thank you.
02:13 Yo.
02:14 Thanks so much.
02:15 Thank you.
02:17 Cheers.
02:17 Big reveal.
02:18 Oh, yeah.
02:19 [LAUGHTER]
02:21 That is a good looking burger.
02:23 Oh my god, I'm going to kill this.
02:25 [LAUGHTER]
02:26 I'm not getting out of this country alive.
02:28 [LAUGHTER]
02:28 Oh my goodness.
02:30 This looks incredible.
02:31 So I'm looking at yours.
02:32 Oh, great.
02:33 No lettuce.
02:33 That's a good sign.
02:34 Basically no vegetables, which I know you like.
02:36 Oh, fantastic.
02:37 There's no pickles on here.
02:38 Good.
02:39 My attitude with that is like, it can go well on the burger, but how about I decide that?
02:42 Yeah.
02:43 And also, the lettuce adds nothing to the flavor, maybe a little bit to the texture.
02:46 But also, you bite in the lettuces, it makes everything go everywhere.
02:49 It's a little much.
02:51 It's true.
02:52 All right.
02:52 We get stuck in?
02:53 Yeah, let's go.
02:54 This is a juicy boy.
02:55 Yeah.
02:55 And go.
02:56 Oh.
03:01 I'm in trouble already.
03:04 Oh, that's good.
03:06 That beef, baby, that British beef.
03:08 That's like butter.
03:09 What cheese was it?
03:11 Just American cheese.
03:12 Yeah, right.
03:13 I will say, while I think our burgers are superior,
03:16 American cheese is all I want on a burger.
03:18 Yeah, right.
03:18 The cheese is melted perfectly with the onion.
03:20 Fantastic.
03:21 The buns, I love the bun.
03:24 Sesame, fantastic choice.
03:25 You had mentioned earlier about this being British beef.
03:28 What is it about British beef or the beef here that makes this burger so special?
03:31 In general, I think British beef just is like reared better than American beef.
03:36 Okay.
03:37 We have slightly higher standards for our farming and our food.
03:40 That'll do it.
03:41 So this place also dry ages all their beef.
03:44 What does that mean exactly?
03:45 So basically, you're doing like a controlled ventilation.
03:49 It's almost like a sort of blue cheese effect, but for beef.
03:52 So you're leaving it to basically like go slightly moldy in a controlled way.
03:56 So it's only those good bacteria that are getting in there.
03:58 We love mold.
03:59 And just to be clear, there's no wet aging?
04:01 I think that would be more like brining or pickling, maybe.
04:06 Okay.
04:06 That'd be weird if the meat was pickled.
04:08 Yeah.
04:09 Okay.
04:10 But with dry aging, it achieves a few things.
04:13 Firstly, it's a textural thing.
04:15 Because you get these enzymes in the meat, kind of like breaking these fibers down,
04:18 making it nice and tender.
04:20 And also, it does impact the flavor as well.
04:21 Because the moisture is leaving the beef, you're kind of intensifying the beefy flavor.
04:26 And also, I sometimes get like almost like a little bit of funk,
04:30 like in a similar way to how you get like a blue cheese.
04:33 Has a little bit of a funk to it and a tang to it.
04:34 So the quality of this burger, I'll tell you right now,
04:36 if you wanted a quality, a burger of this quality, like in the United States,
04:39 you'd have to go to like a higher end place, like a steakhouse,
04:41 or a place that's like, oh, we really do beef, but we're dry aging it back.
04:44 And we do have that.
04:45 But from this level, this like street level,
04:47 it's really hard to get a burger this great in the United States.
04:50 So I think these guys do it.
04:51 I think a few of the other places that we go to today do it.
04:53 So it really is, I think, more common,
04:55 just because of the like ease of access in the UK, because of the quality of the meat.
04:59 The bun is interesting because it's like pillow soft, like super, super soft.
05:03 But does seem to be holding up to all those juices.
05:06 It's not like completely falling apart in my hand as I'm eating it.
05:10 You can see like how many, like all the juice is pouring off this thing when you eat it.
05:13 It's just syrup with a straw.
05:15 You can't have a burger without fries.
05:17 Angry house fries.
05:18 Yeah.
05:18 Have you had burger sauce before?
05:20 I feel like we had it in the last one.
05:22 Which as far as I can tell, it's kind of just like a ketchup mustard mayo combination,
05:27 to be honest.
05:28 There is hot sauce on this as well.
05:29 So yeah, just thought that out in real time.
05:31 I don't know if these fries are angry.
05:34 I would say the more well pissed.
05:36 Okay.
05:37 Proper pissed off mate.
05:38 Yeah, proper pissed mate.
05:39 Oh, and you're calling them fries.
05:43 We are.
05:43 This place, like I say, it's taken inspiration from America.
05:47 Very American.
05:48 What can make this place more American?
05:50 None of the workers having health care.
05:51 Yeah, that's right.
05:52 Yeah.
05:52 You want to make this more American, pay them half and take away their health care.
05:58 So they can rely on, rely on tips.
06:00 Yeah, yeah, yeah.
06:01 Oh, yeah, yeah.
06:02 Anyway, fries are fantastic.
06:05 Burger's fantastic.
06:06 This is going to be a fun and exhausting day.
06:08 Hey, stop.
06:11 It's so good.
06:12 I know it's so good, but we're going to get to place three and you're going to be all like, oy.
06:16 I'm exercising Herculean restraint and not finishing this.
06:21 Yeah.
06:21 I hope people can appreciate that.
06:22 I hope you can appreciate that.
06:23 Yeah.
06:24 But like you say, we have a lot more burgers to eat.
06:26 Yep.
06:27 Should we go on?
06:28 Let's.
06:28 All right.
06:33 Where exactly in London are we right now?
06:35 So we are currently at Black Bear Burger and we're at their Exmouth market location.
06:38 This is actually like kind of my neighborhood.
06:40 So I feel pretty qualified to give you a guide through and talk about burgers with you.
06:44 Have you been here before?
06:45 I have been here before.
06:46 They do an excellent burger.
06:47 It's actually kind of like got some similarities with some other places on our list and it started
06:51 out kind of like a food truck and then just got so popular that they were able to open up a storefront.
06:55 Man, burger business is booming in London.
06:57 Seems to be the way the sort of like food truck to several restaurants pipeline.
07:01 What are we getting today?
07:04 So looking at the menu, there's a few things that I think we should try.
07:06 I think the standard comparison one will just use the Black Bear, which is their beef burger with cheese,
07:10 bacon, onion jam, and a garlic mayo.
07:13 Let's go.
07:14 I think we should also try their brisket burger.
07:15 I've not actually tried that one before, but as the name suggests, it's like a beef burger
07:19 with brisket on top of that.
07:20 Jeez Louise.
07:22 I know, in case we hadn't had enough red meat today.
07:23 Oh, God.
07:24 And they also have some really great sides here, including a couple of little British
07:29 or at least British-inspired dishes that they've got their own spin on.
07:33 Their own spin on.
07:34 We're talking like rare bit crumpets.
07:36 How does that sound?
07:37 Wait, what's a crumpet?
07:38 We can talk more about crumpets when that arrives.
07:41 Have you not had a crumpet before?
07:42 I don't know. What is it?
07:43 Man, you're missing out.
07:44 Well, I don't know. What is it?
07:45 You're going to find out.
07:46 Okay, geez.
07:47 What's with all the questions?
07:50 Okay, well, I'm excited for the burger and I'm excited to finally know
07:55 definitively what a crumpet is.
07:56 Me too.
07:57 So, you've got the black bear.
08:04 Yeah, the black bear.
08:04 There we go.
08:05 This is the second one.
08:06 Thank you.
08:07 The brisket burger.
08:08 Yeah.
08:10 Thank you.
08:11 This thing looks amazing.
08:13 Another very picturesque burger.
08:16 I love it.
08:17 Cartoonish almost.
08:18 All right, so this is a single patty.
08:19 Single patty.
08:20 Perfectly fine by me.
08:21 I'm seeing bacon that looks more on par with what I would expect in America.
08:26 Yep.
08:26 Oh, that beautiful yellow cheese.
08:28 Going to go ahead and assume it's American.
08:29 I think it's the Americano cheese.
08:30 Yo, USA, baby.
08:32 We've also got some garlic mayo on here.
08:35 Oh, yeah.
08:35 How do you feel about the garlic mayo and the caramelized onions?
08:38 This looks absolutely fantastic.
08:40 Should we crack on?
08:41 Yeah.
08:41 All right, man.
08:41 Garlic mayo, their bacon, their caramelized onions.
08:54 The three of these together make this sensational.
08:57 This bacon is reminding me a lot more of American bacon as far as its texture and its taste.
09:03 But you'd mentioned it was smoked flavored.
09:06 Yeah, I'm glad you mentioned that because they take their bacon pretty seriously here,
09:08 as they do with all the other ingredients, to be honest.
09:10 But the bacon is smoked with oak and chestnut.
09:12 They also cut it to their own specified thickness for what they describe as the optimal crispy
09:18 bacon texture.
09:19 Yeah, and I can tell because texture-wise, incredible.
09:23 Look, I love crispy bacon on the side of my plate and breakfast, but I don't want my bacon
09:27 too crispy in the burger because I want everything to work together, you know?
09:31 Of course.
09:31 You want to be able to bite through it and pull out a little bit.
09:34 It reminds me more of the bacon we had at maybe a J.G. Mellon or something.
09:37 Yes.
09:37 Similar to that in terms of texture and flavor.
09:40 Absolutely.
09:41 I think, again, with burgers, it's a meaty dish.
09:44 It's a very savory dish.
09:45 Just having contrasting flavors in there.
09:48 So I think you get a little bit of the sweetness from those caramelized onions, and that really
09:51 does help to cut through the burger.
09:54 Yeah.
09:54 Also, I want to point out the bun because you can see yours a little bit in there.
09:57 Do you notice that the bun inside is not overflowing with juices?
10:03 I do, yeah.
10:04 I think that's really important.
10:06 Generous with the sesame seeds.
10:07 Covered in sesame seeds.
10:09 But also, yeah, a slightly thicker bun.
10:11 They've actually worked with a local bakery to design their own buns.
10:14 Nice.
10:14 Maybe that was part of the thought process because it's like you say, it's not dripping
10:18 with juice.
10:18 It's soaking up enough of the juice that it's not just falling apart in your hand.
10:21 It tastes great.
10:24 It's really good.
10:25 I would love to eat more of it, and I might, but I do recall us talking about having a
10:32 second burger.
10:33 You're very correct, Joe.
10:35 All right.
10:36 Not designed to be cut in half.
10:38 Yeah.
10:38 A little brisket and a burger.
10:41 All right.
10:41 Let me get myself some of that brisket.
10:42 Look at that.
10:43 With the pickled onions.
10:44 Yeah, let's go.
10:45 Come on.
10:45 Mmm.
10:51 Oh, goodness.
10:52 That is so good.
10:53 That's really good.
10:54 It's fantastic.
10:55 Wow.
10:56 Those pickled onions are great.
10:57 Pickled onions are becoming the star of the show.
11:01 I'm trying to figure out if I prefer that to the standard black bear.
11:04 I'm thinking that as well.
11:05 It's really close.
11:06 Because it, like this had bacon and that's great, but with the brisket, it's bringing
11:11 similar extra flavors that the bacon also brought.
11:16 Obviously, they don't taste the same, but like.
11:18 You got that smokiness.
11:20 Yeah.
11:21 The double meat connection on the palate.
11:24 That's really fantastic.
11:25 Oh, I don't know.
11:26 That's really close.
11:27 I don't know if I had a choice when it come back.
11:29 I don't know which one I'm going to get instead.
11:30 No.
11:31 I would say either way, you can't go wrong.
11:33 Wow, that's so good.
11:34 No.
11:35 This is a rabbit crumpet, Joe.
11:37 Now you're saying, it sounds like you're saying rabbit.
11:41 It sounds like it.
11:42 So before we continue, the animal rabbit has nothing to do with this.
11:45 There's no meat on this.
11:46 OK.
11:46 No meat in this.
11:47 It's rare, as in like something that is just not common, followed by bit.
11:51 Rare bit crumpet.
11:52 And rare bit is a thing.
11:53 Rare bit is a thing.
11:54 What is it?
11:54 So it's almost kind of like a Welsh version of like cheese on toast.
11:58 It's usually a mixture of grated cheese cooked down with some kind of alcohol,
12:04 often like an ale or maybe a stout, then seasoned and spread onto, in this case, a crumpet or
12:09 usually toast.
12:09 Here's where I think I'm getting confused the whole week that I'm here.
12:12 You guys have so many different cheeses than we have.
12:14 In America, we'd be like mozzarella cheese.
12:17 You guys just say the name of it, but you don't add cheese to the end.
12:19 Yes.
12:20 So we would call this rabbit cheese.
12:21 Well, so the rabbit in itself isn't a cheese.
12:23 What is it?
12:24 It becomes rabbit when the cheese--
12:27 So you start with cheese.
12:28 Yeah, you start with cheese, grate that up, and then kind of melt it down and mix it in a pan.
12:33 And then is it like, whatever.
12:35 Just try the rabbit, man.
12:39 And what is a crumpet?
12:40 It's a piece of bread?
12:43 So a crumpet is a famous British food.
12:48 Yeah, it's bread.
12:48 Usually reserved for like a breakfast food.
12:50 It's a form of bread.
12:52 They make a sort of dough almost, and then you kind of cook it on like a hot base.
12:57 Oh, yeah.
12:58 So the base kind of like solidifies, and then the air bubbles rise up as you cook it,
13:02 and you get all these like holes in the top, which in this case--
13:04 Like an English muffin.
13:06 So Americans have said this before.
13:07 In my mind, a crumpet and an English muffin are very different.
13:10 But you know what we know are English muffins, right?
13:12 Yeah, the base I think tastes different.
13:14 I think it just lends itself--
13:15 The texture is different as well.
13:16 It's not quite the same.
13:17 Okay.
13:18 But what do you think?
13:19 Oh, it's fantastic.
13:20 I love it.
13:20 Not to Americanize your tradition, but it reminds me of like cheesy garlic bread.
13:24 I'm so sorry.
13:26 I have the palate of a 14-year-old boy.
13:30 No, I sort of see that.
13:30 Love the texture of crumpet.
13:34 I think there's also bovril in that.
13:36 You had bovril before?
13:37 So many words.
13:38 No, I don't know.
13:38 What is that?
13:39 I feel like a British thesaurus today.
13:42 Yeah, what?
13:42 Like a British dictionary.
13:43 There's bovril in this because you get like quite a--
13:45 Did you get a meaty taste from that?
13:47 Yeah.
13:48 You've had Marmite before, right?
13:49 Oh, yeah.
13:49 It's kind of like a cousin of Marmite.
13:51 It's like a beefier version of Marmite.
13:52 A little bit in that.
13:54 It's great.
13:55 I don't know what else to say other than this place is fantastic.
13:57 I wish I lived here.
13:58 Yeah, honestly, I should be here more often,
14:01 but my waistline might not forgive me for that.
14:03 Good point.
14:03 This was fantastic.
14:05 Thank you for taking me here.
14:06 But you know what we got to do.
14:08 Yep.
14:08 Let's go.
14:09 Those burgers aren't gonna eat themselves.
14:10 All right, man.
14:13 Welcome to Canary Wharf.
14:14 You've been here before?
14:15 I've not been here before.
14:16 I like the vibe though.
14:17 It feels like the city of the future, you know?
14:18 Yeah, it's very futuristic.
14:20 It's the financial headquarters of the UK, basically.
14:22 A lot of banks here.
14:24 Not a place I would often come to hang out.
14:26 Okay.
14:26 But excellent burgers.
14:28 We're going to the Low Back by Hawksmoor.
14:30 I think you're gonna like this one.
14:31 So this is the Low Back.
14:34 It's kind of like a combination bar/fancy steakhouse.
14:37 Oh, nice.
14:37 It's good.
14:38 They have a lot of emphasis on quality.
14:39 It's a luxury feel.
14:41 Although, honestly, like looking at the menu,
14:43 the price isn't what I would say extortionate.
14:45 I think, yeah, the price looks right to me.
14:46 If we're getting the burgers, £16.
14:48 That sounds all right.
14:50 What do you think makes one of these burgers so special?
14:53 What puts it in the upper echelon of London burgers?
14:56 When I'm talking about how they take care of their meat,
14:59 they claim on their website that all of the animals,
15:01 not only are they kind of grass-fed and almost free-range,
15:05 but they live stress-free lives.
15:07 How does that affect the meat?
15:09 Apparently, it has a beneficial effect.
15:11 I think there's probably some science behind, you know,
15:13 no stress, the cortisol coursing through your veins,
15:16 leading to a nice tender meat.
15:17 Stress-free equals better tasting?
15:19 I mean, that's what they, I think, are implying.
15:21 We can be the judges.
15:23 Yeah.
15:24 So what are we getting here specifically?
15:26 I mean, we're here for the burgers.
15:27 The standard one, I think, is the Hawksmoor Double Cheeseburger.
15:30 So I feel like we get those.
15:31 They also have one that they call a Big Matt Burger.
15:34 My boy, Matt.
15:34 You might notice some similarities in that name of the burger
15:38 with some other famous burger.
15:40 Big Mac, get out of my face with that.
15:45 So there's no Matt?
15:46 Took him a minute.
15:47 So there is a Matt.
15:48 I think Matt was one of the head chefs at Hawksmoor,
15:50 and he wanted to put together a tribute to the famous Big Mac burger.
15:54 Does it look like a Big Mac?
15:55 Is it gonna come out with a piece of bread in the middle?
15:57 We'll have to wait and see.
16:00 Oh, what a weird thing to pay tribute to.
16:01 Okay, yeah, well, I'm liking the spot.
16:02 I love the bar.
16:03 It's like we're in that scene from The Shining.
16:05 That's what I want.
16:08 It's like a nice relaxing burger experience.
16:09 And it's...
16:12 I couldn't even see my watch,
16:15 but it looks like it's time to maybe have a beer.
16:17 I would probably agree.
16:18 Yeah, I think we've earned that at this point.
16:20 Yay!
16:21 There we go.
16:23 Beautiful.
16:26 Thank you very much.
16:28 Have you ever had a Rustler's burger before, Joe?
16:30 I don't know. What is it?
16:31 It's this microwavable hamburger brand that we have in the UK.
16:35 Sure, we have versions of that.
16:37 You know what I have had as an adult and have all the time?
16:40 White Castle has their frozen sliders you can microwave.
16:44 Okay.
16:44 Good for a fix.
16:45 It's not as good as the real thing.
16:46 It's not as good as from the source.
16:48 Those White Castle burgers, man, they're really good.
16:50 What do you mean a frozen microwavable hamburger isn't as good as the real thing?
16:53 Yeah, can you believe that?
16:54 Hello.
16:56 There we go.
16:57 Do you guys want any sauce, ketchup, or mayo?
16:59 I think this is good for now.
17:01 Yeah, thanks.
17:02 Thank you very much.
17:02 We're going to fry.
17:03 Straight in with the fries.
17:05 Okay, man, here we go.
17:06 Good, man.
17:07 I'm going to hurry up.
17:07 This place is getting noisy.
17:09 It's getting noisy and dark and atmospheric in here,
17:12 but this looks like a very good burger.
17:14 And I'm getting an odor here that...
17:16 Yeah.
17:16 Good odor, but I think it's the cheese.
17:17 What kind of cheese is on this?
17:18 So they're using Ogleshield cheese.
17:20 It's a British cheese from the West Country.
17:23 Joe's taking his pickles out.
17:24 Can't believe it.
17:25 It's kind of like Britain's answer to raclette.
17:28 Have you had raclette before?
17:29 Yeah, yeah, yeah.
17:30 So it's like a good melting cheese,
17:32 which I think is probably why they've used it on the burger here.
17:34 But it does have like a pungent aroma to it
17:38 that I'm not used to maybe from like a traditional burger cheese.
17:40 It's about as juicy as the Bleecker burger.
17:42 This juice is like pouring off.
17:43 Yeah, pouring off, no complaints here.
17:45 Same here.
17:45 Oh my god.
17:46 Yeah.
17:46 It all like pooled on...
17:47 It all like pooled on the lettuce.
17:51 Oh no.
17:52 See, I'm going to say something right now about the assembly.
17:56 This is the problem with lettuce on a burger.
17:58 Hey, I said it.
17:59 You said it before.
18:00 Depending how long this video is, minutes ago,
18:02 lettuce has got to go on burgers, Matt.
18:04 Doesn't it?
18:04 Anything that a flavor...
18:05 Dude, and then look, they put the tomato on top.
18:08 They just want this thing going every which way but in your mouth.
18:10 As soon as you pick this up and squeeze it, it's just popping up.
18:13 I got to get like behind it, right?
18:14 Yeah, okay.
18:15 Yeah, yeah, yeah.
18:15 I think we should...
18:16 I'm going for a bite.
18:17 Let's get stuck in.
18:17 Wow.
18:23 Mm-hmm.
18:23 I think as is the case with a lot of like more pungent cheeses,
18:28 I much prefer the taste to the smell.
18:31 I think the smell might actually put people off this,
18:33 but once you actually get it in your mouth, it's like, "Oh no."
18:36 Creamy, nutty.
18:37 I think it's a gamble for them to pick a cheese with such a specific flavor.
18:41 But I think it's paying off.
18:43 It doesn't taste anything like any of the burgers we've had today.
18:46 It's a thick one too.
18:49 Like it's really thick.
18:50 I'm going for yet another bite.
18:52 I mean, I'm really enjoying this.
18:53 There's a few like, I guess, assembly notes that are different from other places.
18:58 This is, I think, more of like a brioche bun as well.
19:01 So it's quite like a cakey bun.
19:03 It's holding up pretty well with the moisture.
19:05 Is this like a mustard in here?
19:06 Do you have mustard in here?
19:06 I think there's like a mustard sauce on the bottom.
19:08 I got some of that as well.
19:09 Yeah.
19:09 We've got the lettuce.
19:10 Obviously, we've made structural notes about that.
19:13 That is a very confident burger to have a pungent cheese and also a strong mustard
19:21 with, I got to say, an incredibly juicy burger with unbelievable flavor.
19:28 We also ordered the Big Mac, not to be confused with the Big Mac.
19:32 Absolutely not.
19:33 I don't think looking at this, you would easily confuse it with a Big Mac, but you never know.
19:37 I gotta say, this looks a bit more appetizing than a Big Mac.
19:39 It does.
19:40 This looks beautiful.
19:41 All right.
19:41 Well, let's see how it tastes.
19:42 Barring the middle bun.
19:44 I don't know how to accept this now.
19:46 Mmm.
19:52 Definitely more meat than a Big Mac.
19:54 It's great.
19:57 They've made a Big Mac-like sauce on here.
20:00 The sauce is like weirdly uncanny, right?
20:02 And shredded lettuce.
20:04 That's a Big Mac.
20:05 They've shredded the lettuce.
20:06 But also the pickle, aka relish.
20:08 Very good.
20:10 Gives it that much-needed acid, a much-needed tang.
20:14 Wait, so you like relish, but you don't like pickles?
20:17 Nope.
20:18 What's the distinction?
20:20 What's the difference?
20:21 The texture.
20:22 It's just too much.
20:23 It's just a whole pickle.
20:24 It's just like, ugh.
20:25 You know, slimy and weird.
20:26 I'm shocked at how close to a Big Mac this tastes.
20:30 No.
20:31 The sauce.
20:33 Not enough to warrant a lawsuit, I will say.
20:35 Definitely not.
20:36 McDonald's, back off.
20:37 Talk to me about the meat.
20:40 Obviously, they pride themselves on the quality of their meat.
20:44 High quality, dude.
20:44 Very high quality.
20:46 I will say, if I just take like just a bit of the beef.
20:49 Yeah?
20:49 Chew that.
20:50 This might sound dumb, but like it tastes almost like a steak.
20:55 I do get that flavor that you're talking about.
20:57 Fantastic.
20:58 Really nice.
20:59 It is juicy.
21:00 It is cooked perfectly.
21:01 Amazing amount of flavor.
21:03 And in both burgers, they have paired the condiments on the burger with the meat perfectly.
21:09 We're not really fighting each other.
21:11 It's not like a bunch of like flashy stuff.
21:13 It all works together so well.
21:14 I think it's fantastic.
21:15 Oh my goodness.
21:17 Feels luxurious, if quite heavy.
21:19 Well, I'm heading along.
21:20 All right, cheers, buddy.
21:22 Cheers, man.
21:23 All right, so I think now's as good of a time as any to do the dang thing.
21:29 Do the dang thing.
21:30 All right, three fantastic burgers.
21:32 Three excellent burgers.
21:33 Yeah, from three excellent places.
21:34 So why don't we run down the list?
21:38 Sure.
21:38 So we started at Bleecker.
21:40 Fantastic meat, unbelievable flavor, you know, and with not so many toppings on there,
21:45 along with the incredible bun, just the cheese and the meat together.
21:49 Wow, the flavor in those burgers.
21:50 Could not believe it.
21:51 I think when we talk about dry-aged beef, which I think has been present on the menu
21:55 of basically all the places that we've been today, I think I kind of got the strongest
21:58 dry-aged beef taste from Bleecker, which I enjoyed.
22:01 I think also the simplicity also benefited from them.
22:04 Yes.
22:04 Black Bear Burger, what did you think?
22:05 Incredible burger.
22:07 The bacon.
22:08 You know how much I love bacon and they're doing it really well over there.
22:11 And I got to say that brisket burger, a bit of a surprise, but fantastic.
22:15 There was a savoriness to both those burgers that I don't think I've had throughout the
22:20 rest of the day that I just thought was phenomenal.
22:22 The brisket, the flavor that added to a burger.
22:25 If you want like just a beefy mouthful, that's the place to go.
22:30 And of course, we've ended up at the Low Back by Hawksmoor.
22:33 A couple of, I think, very good burgers.
22:35 Yeah.
22:36 Steakhouse burgers.
22:37 You enjoy these two?
22:38 Yeah, all of these were great.
22:39 I mean, I was incredibly impressed with the meat here.
22:42 I'm not surprised that there is a steakhouse connected to this place because they absolutely
22:45 know their beef here.
22:46 Sure.
22:46 They took a gamble with the specific cheese, right?
22:49 They took a gamble with their mustard sauce and it is absolutely paying off.
22:52 I think for me, they've done a bit too much with their double cheeseburger in terms of
22:56 ingredients.
22:57 Okay.
22:57 I think you can lose the lettuce and the tomato and maybe the cheese.
23:02 Just go for a standard cheese.
23:03 I don't think I loved the flavor and smell of that cheese enough.
23:08 To justify including it over just a standard American cheese or a cheddar, for example.
23:12 Sure.
23:13 But really good.
23:14 Also, I think the Big Mac is excellent as well.
23:17 Really enjoyed that one.
23:17 Yeah, very good, yeah.
23:18 So, Joe, time has come to make a decision.
23:21 Let's do it.
23:22 If you had to pick one of these places that you think did the best job today, who is your
23:28 winning spot?
23:29 Bleaker.
23:30 Bleaker.
23:31 Absolutely fantastic.
23:33 I loved it.
23:33 I know I ate there today.
23:36 I'm most certainly going to hit it again before I leave.
23:39 Every place here is fantastic, but Bleaker was just wow.
23:42 I'm going to agree with you.
23:44 Yeah.
23:44 Yeah, unanimous.
23:45 Hey, they killed it today.
23:47 All right, so we both think Bleaker is the favorite, but obviously this is a part two.
23:50 Yeah.
23:51 First part two we've done.
23:52 Cast your mind back, if you can, to the previous ones.
23:56 We said we liked Burger and Beyond the most.
23:58 Yeah, see, here's why it's hard because Burger and Beyond and Bleaker are like completely
24:01 two different types of burgers.
24:03 I actually love that Burger and Beyond.
24:05 So to me, Bleaker is closer to Honest Burger, which I will say Bleaker is better than Honest
24:09 Burger.
24:10 Okay.
24:10 I mean, I hate to be like, "Oh, which one's better?"
24:12 But I'm going to say that after two burger episodes, Burger and Beyond is still my favorite.
24:19 Interesting.
24:19 I think I've actually might have had my head turned a little bit, you know?
24:23 Whoa.
24:24 Yeah.
24:25 Mr. Love Island over here, yeah.
24:26 I bet.
24:27 Yeah.
24:28 There might be some recency bias because obviously it's been a while.
24:31 Bleaker's got good chat.
24:33 Bleaker's got good chat.
24:34 Wow.
24:34 Bleaker's turned my head in Casa Ramor, you know?
24:37 This is the Casa Ramor.
24:39 This is the Casa Ramor of Burger episode.
24:40 Oh my goodness.
24:41 I think I'm going to go back to the Villa with Bleaker.
24:44 Wow.
24:44 Oh man, man.
24:46 These men.
24:47 Burger and Beyond's going to be really cut up about it.
24:48 Literally like...
24:49 Maybe in a few episodes time, I might rekindle something with Burger and Beyond.
24:53 Just keeping your options open.
24:54 That's where I'm at, right?
24:55 That's just where my head's at right now.
24:57 At the end of the day, you have to do what's right for you.
25:00 At the end of the day, right?
25:01 You got to do what's best for you, right?
25:03 At the end of the day.
25:04 Like, you know, got good chat, got a good bar, so yeah, all right.
25:07 I'm sleeping on the daybed tonight, but I think it was worth it.
25:11 Wow.
25:11 Let's finish these beers and get out of here.
25:14 Cheers, buddy.
25:15 Oh man.
25:17 Right now, Burger and Beyond and all the other burgers in the first episode are like,
25:21 consoling in the Villa.
25:24 He doesn't deserve you.
25:25 Yeah, yeah, yeah.
25:26 It's just doing a tearful confession.
25:28 - Oh, you're out. - Oh, you're out.