Well Hung and Tender Beef

Our burger quest made its fifth stop, today, taking advantage of the joys of the festive markets in east Princes Street Gardens. The Well Hung and Tender Beef stall is a regular visitor to these type of events. It offers locally-sourced sustenance to balance out all the glüwein, lebkuchen and other Germanic goodness on offer.

On another bitingly cold lunchtime, I made haste towards the market. Upon arrival, I was confronted with a busy hot plate of burger treats.

I opted for the Angus burger, which comprised a rustic burger, chunky onions and Lockerbie cheddar, served on a morning roll.

It came in a minimalist carrying case (a paper napkin), so the situation didn’t lend itself well to me transporting this back to the office for consumption. This was no bad thing though, as I was chilly, hungry, and the burger had a tempting aroma.

This experience was quite different to what we’d got from the Balmoral Beef Gourmet Burger Van, the other day. Where the Balmoral was a flat, wide burger, topped with a range of relishes and salad items, what we had here was a smaller, chunkier burger, that relied on the cheese and onions to add condiment detail.

The meat of the burger was very well seasoned and had good flavour. The cheese was excellent; by far the best cheese on any burger so far, not only by virtue of being the only thing that came close to being actual cheese, but also because it added a lovely mature tang to each mouthful. The onions were curiously bland, but served to add a different texture, so still did their bit to add to the overall experience.

But while the ingredients were of better quality, they weren’t brought together as effectively as the Balmoral folks had managed with theirs, so I was left a little less satisfied. The Balmoral roll was much nicer, as well.

In other exciting burger news, it appears that the first Burgher Burgers event will be presided over by none other than chef Neil Forbes of Café Saint Honoré fame. If you’ve not heard about Burgher Burgers yet, take a look at their website at: http://www.burgherburger.co.uk/ and their Twitter @burgherburger.

So, the burger quest will crack on to new and uncharted territory, next week. Maybe somewhere indoors might be good, given the increasingly inclement weather.

Scores
Blythe scores Well Hung and Tender:
4/5 for food
3/5 for presentation
3/5 for service
3/5 for setting
giving an overall 13/20

I ate: Angus burger

I drank: nothing

I wore: regulation pinstripes

Total bill: £4