Time for another burger, Belgian Style
Located in a great part of Norwich, nestled in the heart of the Norwich Lanes, stands the impressive Belgian Monk. Named after a Belgian man who was also a monk believe it or not. It has to be up there as one of Norwich's most popular pubs, packing out tables even mid week on a regular basis. The reasoning for this is likely the ludicrous amount of fresh mussels they churn out and the copious quantities of premium Belgian beer available. If there's one thing monks know how to do, it's brew. The question is, can the monk provide the meat? Let's find out.
The Burger
Not just any burger, this one was something with a difference. Authentically put on the menu in the native tongue of Belgium
"En Wild Zwijn Vlees Burger Met Appel, Abrikozen
en Prei Met Bataat Frites"
For those who aren't fortunate enough to be bilingual...
"A Gourmet Wild Boar Burger*, with Apple, Apricot and Leek, Grilled and served in a Ciabatta Roll with Tomato Relish, Sweet Potato Fries and Salad Garnish and Sla"
You read that correctly, the Belgian monk do not serve up your standard burger, the only option is wild boar at a fairly pricey £13.95. Up for anything and enticed by the warning on the menu that boar meat is often slightly pink in colour, I unbuckled my belt by a notch and prepared for a meat off with a difference. Having never had boar before and not really having a huge understanding of the cooking process of a boar burger, I naturally asked for it medium rare. To this request they gladly accepted.
As per usual I started with the all essential burger slice. This was potentially my toughest and most difficult operation to date, intrigued? More on that later when I come to the bun assessment. So after finally getting this in half I noted a fairly consisted pink colouring throughout the burger.
Weirdly enough although the burger was pink I'm not actually sure if that meant it was medium rare. I get the impression it is just the colour of the meat, similar to the pinkish colour of Iberico pork. Even when cooked through it still has a slightly pinkish colour. Either way the burger was quite moist and full of flavour. The flavour of the meat was intense, like concentrated pork, which worked really well with the fruity elements within the meat to cut through this intensity. If anything I feel the spices and seasoning did detract slightly from the boar taste and could of been toned down a tad to possibly let the boar flavour come through even more. One thing that did concern me was the burger was perfectly circular and the completely level appearance of the burger did get me questioning it's production. I literally could of taken a spirit level to this and it would of been perfectly flat. Generally homemade burgers are either slightly irregular in shape or at least vary slightly in thickness across the board. Unless the monk use a fairly hefty burger press I suspect they may buy in their burgers pre-made. It also had an unusual bratwurst like texture, quite fitting for a mainland Europe style burger.
I opted for the addition of cheese at an extra fifty pence and I wish I hadn't of bothered. It didn't add anything to the affair. It didn't have any particular taste and there wasn't enough of it to even get that creamy texture so this was well and truly fifty pence wasted.
As for the tomato relish that did add a very nice acidic tang to the meal, cutting through the rich deep flavour of the boar. Acting in a similar vein to pickles. The only pointer I would add is that there was too much of it in the bun and I did have to scrape a little out. Then again quantity was a notable point with this meal, there was a lot of everything and I struggled to finish it all. Once I'd surgically removed some salsa the dish was a bit more balanced and only required a texture element to hit all the key essentials of the balanced burger yin yang. It needed a crunch, and boy oh boy did I get one...
The sides
This burger came with some sort of strange creamy coleslaw which was very nice. Crunchy and creamy, flavoured with the monk's infamous mayonnaise. The mayo is also the main reason why I like their chips so much. They are standard bulk buy chips but the Belgian mayo just takes them to a whole new level. Sky rockets them to a planet of pure creamy indulgence. It was solely based on this that I actually turned down the hipster sweet potato fries that ordinarily comes with the meal and opted for the standard ones. I didn't want any sweetness compromising the taste.
The salad was very plain and salad like. Not anything spectacular as it was a reserve on the sideline of the slate plate. I'm not really a fan of the old school method of dressing a salads, handfuls of grated carrot plonked on top of plain greenery. That sort of salad dressing should be left in the bygone times of shoulder pads, bouffant hair styles and deconstructing food only to reconstruct it again on your spoon before eating.
Overall
The wild boar burger was nice, though I suspect it may not be homemade which is a huge shame. If it genuinely is homemade then I will happily stand corrected. The salsa would of nicely complimented the dish but it didn't need the amount that was provided. It takes an acquired palate and experienced chef to know when to stop when it comes to food preparation, and this certainly needed that expert touch when it came to assembly to ensure an even overall taste. The bun really was the biggest let down of this, it was so hard and crispy it was not only hard to cut in half but when trying to eat the entire contents kept spilling out when under mastication pressure. In addition, without wanting to sound too pathetic, the crunch was actually so severe that I was worried I'd cut the roof of my mouth and bleed out. So overall it just needs a softer bun and less salsa. Also a plate would be nice, things did keep spilling off of the slate as it lacks a brim. On first taste on a boar burger how did it fair?
4.5/10
The Belgian Monk
7 Pottergate
NR2 1DS
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