Captain Americas Hamburger Heaven

Where it all started...

Captain Americas, this is where it all began, the downward spiral in which I tumbled quickly down into burger perfection, only to be tormented upon reaching the flaming grillpocalypse at the bottom with unbearably overcooked meat. What am I going on about and what does this have to do with my review you might ask? A long time ago, in a place far far up a flight of steps I had my first ever medium rare burger. Captain Americas took me on a rollercoaster ride of pure taste. It was like a party in the mouth to which a socially acceptable number of people were invited, and maybe Darren Huckerby too. In the months to follow the meat became more and more overcooked, promises of medium pink burgers ended in disappointment and an overall not that good dining experience. My love had ended just before it had truly began. 

Until the day when I heard a rumour that Captain A's had cursed the health inspector and cast his and slash or hers draconian views aside (I'm still certain that's an excuse and it's not a real person).

So, the burger

I went for the deluxe: 'the classic, melted cheese, lettuce, onion, dill pickle, and mayonnaise, with crispy bacon as extra. Totalling a whopping £11.20 for a half pounder plus the 65p for bacon. It was a Saturday why not treat myself, and my word that was a lot of food for minimal sterling. After selecting a burger the waiter lunged straight in with the all important question 'how would I like it cooked?'. Ticket to taste sensation booked. Now let's get one thing straight, the bun, the dressings, they are all fairly standard middle of the road, bought in from makro* would be my guess, all the focus is on the meat. Which, is high quality, well seasoned and pink as hell! It's an American diner so for that I don't want fancy brioche, I don't want onion marmalade, i don't want chips served in a small pot on a large plank of wood and certainly don't want to look presentable and civilised whilst on a date. This was packed to the brim, overflowing and messy. Just what you expect with American food. So the burger slice produced a 10/10 cooking on the burger, the half pounder is essential as the rest of the burger isn't anything spectacular so you need as much meat as possible, never a bad thing! (unless you're vegetarian of course). The pickles cut through the rich meaty texture perfectly whilst the good amount of lettuce added a well needed freshness. Overall it was a very well balance piece of eating and really accentuated the burger. Now a point worth mentioning, although the flavour of the bacon was incredible, it was not in fact crispy at all. If you advertise it as crisp, make it crisp. Grill the thing until it's like a Jacobs cream cracker.

Too messy for instagram...

The fries

Not the best I will admit, again I'm guessing some sort of mass purchased makro style fry. These would be ok if they were fried until insanely crispy and seasoned whilst still piping hot and slightly oiled. Unfortunately they were a tad anaemic, and not seasoned at all. Genuinely think McDonalds could of achieved higher. One thing they did win on was quantity, though limp they were edible and in vast quantity. It took me a solid 10 minutes of eating to discover my plate.

...Salad

A pile of lettuce, tomato, onion and cress. A palate cleanser maybe?

Overall

I have to also add we weren't offered drinks at all during our meal, so service was not quite there. I know it was a busy Saturday, but the place is tiny so not really an excuse. If I was to judge burger alone I would opt at possibly an 8.5/10 purely based on the 'patty' itself. however taking other aspects into consideration I'm having to knock down a few points.

7.5/10

Captain Americas Hamburger Heaven

4 Exchange street

NR2 1AT

*Makro: A bulk buy wholesalers of some description, they sell everything anyone could possibly ever need in ridiculous quantities at fairly low (tax free) prices for businesses.

The Warwick Street Social

So here we go, the first review, and my word it was a corker to start with...

The Warwick Street Social burger, aka the WSS burger. Chargrilled Beef Burger, Cheese, Harissa Aioli, Burnt Onion Ketchup, Onion Rings, Brioche Bun and Skinny Fries all for a fairly reasonable £13.50 of your hard earned cash.

Let's start with the ordering, as per I requested medium rare (if you've never tried it you must, it's so much juicier and more succulent and requires minimal chewing). Requesting this is a good test for a few reasons:

1. It tests the chefs ability as a cook to properly cook a rare-medium burger, it requires exact temperatures and skilled cooking to ensure the meat is to the right temperature to serve but not overcooked
2. It showcases the freshness and quality of the meat, if the meat isn't fresh, it shouldn't be served medium rare

Now it's worth noting that WSS did refuse to cook my burger medium rare, flat out no. The reason came down to the illustrious 'health inspector'. I've heard whisperings of this creature before, rumours of their presence ruining the meals of all those who crave tasty succulent burgers. Whether this is an excuse for the two points I noted above or if this is a real thing I cannot be certain. However, as a result of asking, the waiter did recommend Captain Americas as they will serve rare to medium burgers (review of this to come shortly).

The Burger

I was assured the burger would not be overcooked at the least, and to my surprise, and maybe the staffs as well, my burger was perfectly pink in the middle. I would say a solid medium. This was confirmed by the classic method, the burger slice. Straight up cut down the middle, allows for a full assessment of the structure and build of the burger. In terms of taste, an explosion of chargrilled goodness. Juicy well seasoned meat that tasted similar to licking a true american BBQ, complimented perfectly with the super soft and slightly charred brioche bun, adding a hint of sweetness to the beefy affair. All of this soft pillowy goodness was counterbalanced perfectly with two crunchy, crisp onion rings. They looked to be breadcrumbed and irregular shapes so definitely homemade, not that standard bulk frozen multipack stuff the haters put out. I'll be completely honest the harissa aioli added nothing. Whether it was a case of not enough was in the burger or it was just bland aioli I can't tell as I couldn't taste it. There is also the option that it is just a gimmick to make it sound better on the menu, who knows? This burger gave the feeling of pure indulgence and only needed a touch of lettuce to add a new element and raise this burger to new heights and cut through the rich flavours. A leaf or two of baby gem or batavia, just to add that freshness and give a slight feeling of a healthy meal. The onion ketchup tasted great, like an insanely thick french onion soup. It tasted great with the fries but I lovingly smeared mine all over the upper bun to add an extra layer of sweetness to help cut through the meaty chargrilled overtones and balance the palate.

The Fries

Solid fries, caught a glimpse of potato skin every now and then so you know they are proper ones, perfectly seasoned too and so crispy you could use them to harpoon your date if it starts to go south. None of those McDonalds anaemic fries here. They come in a small (and I mean small) metal serving pot. Makes the plate look nice but they taste so good you just want more.

Overall

The burger was the most chargrilled tasting piece of meat I think I've ever had and really speaks for itself. Yes it does need to have a bit of additional salad inside to compliment but I can look past that. This is a slightly upmarket kind of bar, with pints looking around four whole sterling pounds and cocktails starting at seven fifty. As a result the burger is a touch 'dainty' and wasn't enough to fill me, dessert was required. The bill came a little higher than your average burger meal but it is a great bar with good honest service and most importantly, good food!

Rating 7/10

The Warick Street Social
2 Warwick St, Norwich, Norfolk, NR2 3LD

The beginning

Welcome one and all to the Burger Man

A brief summary of what I'm all about, I love burgers. This blog aims to set out the weak from the meaty when it comes to all things beefy. I'll be heading all over the great city of Norwich taste testing and reviewing all manner of burgers to ensure that when you lot go out for a one, you get the best!