Recently I've been asked what I think about gourmet burgers, expensive burgers which are quite trendy nowadays. My answer to this question was that an expensive burger doesn't necessarily have to be better than a regular one. To prove, or disprove my argument I decided to pay a visit to L'Annexe, the little sister of the starred restaurant Clairfontaine. The critiques of this French restaurant are just great, and so I was looking forward to enjoy their burger (Hamburger de pot au feu au foie gras for 21€) on their terrace while absorbing the first rays of sun for this year.
Evaluation:
My colleagues warned me that this burger might not be the typical burger that I've encountered in my quest. When it arrived at the table, I realized what they meant. There was no ground beef between the buns, but a beef stew instead, which was completely different from everything I've had on a burger bun before. On top of the stew, there was a layer of foie gras, a popular delicacy in the French cuisine. Underneath the stew were a slice of both pickle and tomato. Next to the nicely presented plate I was served salad in a glass, and a cornet of fries.
Quality-wise this was upper class. The only downsides were the lack of sauce and the quality of the buns. They seemed to be the soft fluffy ones, but at least they were pan-fried, so it was an improved version of the ones I don't like. The fries were delicious, they were homemade, tasty and crisp. Taste-wise I wasn't satisfied with the burger. I wouldn't even classify it as a burger. The foie gras and the special preparation of the meat just don't match my definition of a burger. To be honest this burger shouldn't even be in this rating since it is something completely different, and far away from a real burger. Furthermore this burger had to be eaten with knife and fork while I have the opinion that a burger should be eaten by holding it in both hands. I want to clarify that this is my opinion on the burger and it's not to be seen as a judgment of the product itself.
Nevertheless I've rated the burger the same way that I've rated the other burgers. And that's where you can see a disadvantage of a static rating system: even a burger, which I didn't like too much, can due to its quality ingredients have a very good rating of 7.14
It was the first time I've been to L'Annexe, but I will surely be back to try other items of their lovely menu.
/k
L'Annexe
7, Rue du Saint Esprit
1475 Luxembourg
Tél.: 26 26 25 07