How tasty is the Motherf*#$&r? – 9/10

Last year I discovered this gem in central London. I just got addicted to gourmet burgers. The moment I tried the Dirty Secret I fell in love. Now that I’ve started this blog I had to come back and “re-evaluate” the burger… for science of course.

The burger had

  • Beef patty
  • Pulled pork
  • Emmenthaler cheese
  • Lettuce
  • Pickles
  • Tomatoes
  • Onions
  • Sauerkraut

As I’ve mentioned before I love saucy, messy burgers and the Dirty Secret is exactly that.
You have the secret sauce, the juices from the pulled pork, sauerkraut and the juicy beef burger patty. You will be messy in the end of it.
The pulled pork is brilliant it is exactly what you would want – soft, full of flavour, fresh pork. It compliments the delicious beef patty. The secret to the patty is the sauce they grill it with.  The secret sauce is the masterpiece which combines everything and adds that special taste to the burger. It is mildly spicy (you have different levels of it but I’m a gentle soul) and it really compliments all the ingredients. Everything combined creates a symphony in your mouth.
What I was amazed is that you can still feel the emmenthaler cheese among all the meat and sauces, however, I would still put a bit more just to enhance its flavour.

Sauerkraut and pickles are pushing the flavour in a different direction and I love it. You do get a balance of all tastes and part of the secret is the fact that they soak the bun with the sauce from the sauerkraut.

The reason the burger is 9/10 and not a 10/10 I would say is the tomato and the bun. As a person who grew up in Bulgaria with amazingly tasting tomatoes, I always tend to loose their taste in most of the burgers I’ve tried. I do realise we are in London and getting such ingredient would be difficult but that would be an aspect of the burger I would improve.
I’ve had burgers with homemade brioche buns and it really tends to add to the structure and taste of the dish and sadly this is missing (I understand why). The patty is a bit small for all the things on the burger. It can certainly be improved maybe by putting it on the grill, getting that chargrilled flavour from the bread does marvel to the taste buds.

All and all I love this burger, I love this place and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a good experience in London. Good job Grant Hawthorne

Burger joint venue and overall experience? – 5/10

The African Volcano stand is a very gritty looking place. Nothing fancy it is actually the exact opposite. You have a great friendly staff, the chef that created the recipe is making the burger for you. You see how it is prepared and all the ingredients are in front of you. The burgers a very juicy and full of sauce hence that is why you get a wet napkin so you can clean yourself. You also get a towel you can hang around your neck exactly for that messy experience (loved it)

You have drinks around the venue but a small choice at the stand itself and you don’t get any extras like fries or other sides. You pay for a tasty burger you get a tasty burger that is it.

There are other burgers on the menu from which I’ve tried only one but I’m definitely going back to try them all. Looking forward to it.

Quirkiness level of the experience? – 6/10

Malby Street market is a great place to visit over the weekend. The entire experience is worthwhile even though you don’t get the commodity of comfy chairs. At African Volcano’s stand get to interact with the staff, observe how your burger is made. You can even make it yourself back at home but you need to buy the secret sauce. I personally love the sauce and you can use it for other BBQ preparations.

 

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