Author: JD

The French Dip is simple cold roast beef sandwich served on a baguette with a side of beef broth for dipping and is pretty commonplace on lunch menus at pubs and restaurants in North America. I am a huge fan. The broth dip softens the bread and warms the meat, bringing leftovers to life. Even now if we are cooking a Sunday roast we will make extra and be sure to have baguettes on hand to make the ideal leftover lunch. It never occurred to me at the time to try a cheeseburger “au jus” or in gravy, and I…

I first started to track London cheeseburgers in 2012. It wasn’t long after that when I started hearing about these amazing cheeseburgers being served from a portable kitchen, which is a nice way of saying “an old van”. I could never seem to connect with the Bleecker mobile due to time or location conflicts. Bleeker’s burgers started to appear regularly in “London’s Best Burger” lists and so have been top of my “want to try list” when the pandemic hit. Their DIY kit has given me a chance so read on to find out how it went. The Bun: 15/20 A…

If you are hit up Google for burger recommendations in London, you will find a variety of “Top ten” or similar lists published by a wide range of media sites. Patty & Bun will likely be on the majority of those lists, especially if they have more than a few entries. Their “Oh Gawd” spicy burger last summer was really good so I was excited to try their core offering of the double DIY kit where you can make either the Ari Gold or the Smokey Robinson. Read on to find out how they were. The Bun: 15/20 A…

To be honest I still question why it has taken me so long to get to a Patty and Bun burger for review. When the Pork Belly burger was released it was certainly an opportunity to try Patty and Bun with one of my favourite meats, Pork Belly. Being lockdown the DIY was naturally the way to go, this is how it went. The Bun: 19/20 Quick submission: I completely messed up toasting these buns! I did not realise that I had not done them going through the steps for this DIY and so I was quick rushed with no…

Perk’d Up and DumDum Doughnuts have pulled a special and a half to the DIY market! Croissant Doughnut bun with a Buffalo Salted Caramel Sauce two of the components that boggled the mind when deciding on ordering this DIY. Part of me would say no, just do not do it, this is a freak show; the other half of me relished the opportunity to try this burger. This is how it went! The Bun: 16/20 Beautifully packaged in an individual box this dumdum croissant doughnut looked the part that is for sure. The texture was a little tougher than I…

Black Bear Burger is one of my favourite Burger restaurants. The Black Bear, I had just before lockdown in the UK last year and remained one of my favourite burgers throughout the year despite the various DIY Kit offerings entering the market. Would this DIY Kit match up to the classic burger served in the small restaurant in Brixton? Have a look see. The Bun: 14/20 Like the Black Bear review previously I have to take points away from category. Scoring 15 last time in the Black Bear review in Brixton it is actually scored slightly worse today probably because…

Having Cheeky Burger local in a ‘pop up’ meant I had to take the opportunity pre lockdown number 3 to go and grab a couple of their signatures. I opted for the Elvis and the Hot Daddy. How did they fair in the Cheeseburgerme breakdown of components? Check it out! The Bun: 19/20 Cannot fault this bun in the slightest. Soft, tasty brioche with a nice little shine was ever inviting. I think they must have steamed this bun because it just seemed to be like absolute heaven biting through and it just blending with the other components like butter.…

I first got to try Shake Shack about 10 years ago in Dubai, but it was a work stint in Hong Kong where I became a big fan. The KY Style concrete (their term for an extra thick shake) is a mix of frozen custard, waffle, peanut butter, banana and maple sauce. Best breakfast ever! Anyways, with Covid keeping me from enjoying it in person, I was pretty excited to order their DIY kit. It did not disappoint, read on to find out why I liked it… The Bun: 18/20 This is my new gold standard for how a bun…

While strictly not a cheeseburger, the Philly Cheesesteak sandwich is a delicious cousin. After all, both have chopped up meat that is fried, covered in cheese and served on a bun. However, it is a much rarer cousin. While Britain has embraced burger culture over the last decade, and is now embracing proper BBQ, the cheesesteak has proved elusive. So, when the opportunity to try out Passyunk Avenue’s DIY kit arose, we jumped at it, and are very glad we did! Read on to see why we liked them so much… The Bun: 18/20 The hoagie rolls come partially…

Having Cheeky Burger local in a ‘pop up’ meant I had to take the opportunity pre lockdown number 3 to go and grab a couple of their signatures. I opted for the Elvis and the Hot Daddy. How did they fair in the Cheeseburgerme breakdown of components? Check it out! The Bun: 19/20 Cannot fault this bun in the slightest. Soft, tasty brioche with a nice little shine was ever inviting. I think they must have steamed this bun because it just seemed to be like absolute heaven biting through and it just blending with the other components like butter.…