Cheese K @ Koeppchen

Hello burger lovers,

The problem with this blog is that after a while, I felt obligated to taste burgers everywhere I ate. The result of this was clear, for quite a while I didn't really feel like eating burgers anymore. I might add that there are clearly several exceptions, as I was still regularly visiting my favorite burger joints.

In May the Bistro-Brasserie Koeppchen reopened its doors in Wormeldange. The restaurant has one of the widest range of Luxembourgish Moselle wines, which is very impressing, but not really important for my quest. An other interesting fact is that the owners are the same guys that run the Fabrik in Mersch (I reviewed their burgers as well). Not only is it a good thing to support start-up entrepreneurs, I find it even better to value their work by visiting their locations.

After browsing their menu and eating there several times, I have to admit that burgers were never my first choice. Their menu features many traditional dishes like Feierstengszalot, Paschtéit or their signature dish: deep fried fish (Friture). (Clearly a restaurant where you can take your parents or in-laws.) Nevertheless, you can choose among 5 burgers.

I chose the Cheese K that comes with fries and a side salad for 12.50€

Evaluation:

As always in a traditional restaurant, opposed to a fast food restaurant, the food preparation takes a bit more time. On the other hand, you wouldn't find that quality waiting staff in a junk food joint. I was actually looking forward to this burger, hoping it would have at least the same quality as the ones I had in their other restaurant. 

Optically the burger looks enticing. The buns are made from round shaped ciabatta bread (as I mentioned on other reviews, I find that a good choice). The nicely cooked beef, a 180 gr. patty, was quite tasty. It was well seasoned and the cheddar cheese nicely melted on top of the beef patty. The iceberg salad was crisp and fresh. The burger sauces were delicious, it was a pleasure to guess the ingredients and to confirm them with the chef afterwards.There are actually two kind of sauces on this burger, a white Caesar's style sauce on top and an orange cocktail style sauce on the bottom bun. The only downside of this burger was the raw onions. Since I am not a fan of raw onions and never think of cancelling them while ordering, I always end up peeling them off the burger.

The french fries were okay, maybe a bit too chunky for me, but some people prefer them that way. I liked the fact that they were nicely seasoned and came in a little basket in the shape of a fryer. Don't forget to order the two kinds of burger sauces as a side, you won't regret it.

/k

I was a bit surprised but more than happy to see that the burger had such a good quality. It is very tasty and the price is very reasonable. While considering the whole package, the ambiance, the location, the choice and the pricing, I can easily give this burger a weighted rating of 8.0, which puts the burger on the third position of my ranking. I find the burger very balanced, it has the right size and I cannot imagine anyone being disappointed. Even when I prefer other dishes on their menu, a burger will always be a good choice. 

And I guess now we know why this burger is called Cheese K, it would have been too obvious to call it Cheese-Klot right away ;)

Koeppchen Bistro-Brasserie
9, Berreggaass
5485 Wormeldange
Tel.: 76 00 46
www.koeppchen.lu

Beef Burger @ Danish Deli

Hello burger lovers,

I just returned from Danish Deli where I’ve tried their beef burger. I know the place since I’ve walked by many times before, trying their Scandinavian pastries. I loved them and that’s when I decided to go back to enjoy their breakfast buffet, delicious.

I was tempted to try their burger during a lunch break as well. The menu reads: Danish Deli beef burger in whole grain bun with melted cheese, bacon and tomato chutney served with fried potatoes, 19€.

 Evaluation:

After a short wait my burger arrived. It looked quite good even if the plate looked a bit empty. The homemade bun was great, maybe the best ones I’ve ever had on a burger during my quest, but the small meet patty was tasteless and difficult to chew. I was a bit disappointed by the fact that I wasn’t asked about how I wanted the meat to be cooked. Their main topping, the tomato chutney, is in my opinion not the best choice for a burger. Some might like it, I don’t know if it is a Scandinavian specialty, but for me it was simply too sweet as a burger topping. Unfortunately the cheese was not melted at all (c.f. picture) and had a strange texture. Maybe the chef should look into that. The bacon was fine and crisp and vegetables were fresh. I even liked their fried potatoes but obviously I am more of a fries kind of guy. I also liked the sauce that came with the potatoes. I really appreciate the fact that Danish Deli prepares most of the ingredients themselves, but except for the buns it didn't give this burger a plus.

/k

The weighted average for this burger is: 6.40

I am more than unhappy to give a score which doesn't fit to my expectations and experiences I've made at their place. Overall I didn’t like their burger very much and neither the fact that it is very pricey at 19€. On the other hand I have a strong recommendation for their breakfast buffet and their cinnamon rolls which are just delicious. Hopefully I will not be banned from there after my review.

Danish Deli

3, rue Beck

1222 Luxembourg (City-Centre)

Tél.: 26 20 17 36

The Dude Burger @ Food Truck

Hello burger lovers,

After a nationwide media exposure I have been asked by many to review the food truck. From the outside, the Food Truck seems to be a success story. But can it live up to my expectations?

First of all I am very happy to finally have a food truck in Luxembourg. In my opinion we should have more than one, but I figure that it isn’t very easy to bypass all administrative obstacles and cope with the regulations. After all, it’s something new for our beloved country.

That being said I will shortly explain the concept of the food truck. Food trucks are quite popular in huge American cities, but Paris and London also live up to that sub-culture. The Luxembourgish food truck is on the road 5 days a week and can be visited on different spots during lunch breaks. I for instance was at Cloche d’Or, but you could also find it in Strassen or Senningerberg depending on the weekday. Make sure to find the schedule on their website.

Given the limited space of a truck they offer quite a wide range of burgers and other fast food like bagels, soups and salads. They claim to process fresh and local ingredients, which is something I really enjoy!

After several minutes of queuing I was finally able to pass my order. Among quite a big offer of burgers I chose the Dude Burger. Their most popular burger has a 100% beef patty (I guess it’s around 200gr), salad, tomato, cheddar, bacon, pickles, an egg, and fried onions. It costs 9.50€, the fries are extra and cost 2.50€.

Evaluation:

A couple of minutes after ordering, my burger was ready and I faced a challenge which I didn't anticipate. Where should I eat? My car wasn't an option as it was in my garage at home, my office was too far away, … Luckily it didn't rain and I could take advantage of a nearby bench and use it as a table.

After unwrapping the burger my first thought was: What a mess, I like it! Optically it reminded me of the “dirty” burgers I had in England. Bad luck that I was suited up, but wow, the burger made quite an impression. As I dug my teeth in it, I had to admit that I really liked it. The toppings were fresh, cheese, egg, salad and pickles were tasty. The bacon could have been a tad crunchier though. The beef was alright, medium rare just the way I ordered it. It could have been seasoned a bit more. Unfortunately the whole burger was only lukewarm, which is understandable if you eat outside in January. Due to the number of toppings I somehow, to my disappointment, didn't really get a taste of the burger sauce. I really wanted to test their “Damn Hot Sauce” but they didn't have any, that’s why I ordered their BBQ sauce with the fries. Speaking of the fries, they were the weakest link on my meal. They were big, saggy and they were lacking of salt, I was missing the punch. The BBQ sauce was alright but I would have preferred a spicier one.

All in all it was a good experience. It was a horror to eat that burger as juice was leaking out. But it was a really good burger which I can recommend to all burger lovers. Actually it is burgers in its purest form, something fast to take away. Fast food. I am more than happy to have an additional alternative on my burger route.

The weighted score is 7,25 out of 10.

Thanks to the lovely member of staff  in the truck who amusingly played along when I mentioned that I was charged too much when paying in € instead of $, as mentioned on the bill. (c.f. pic of bill)

 /k

http://www.foodtruck.lu/

Burgermeister

 Hello burger lovers,

Please enjoy some picture of a show cooking at this' year's pre Superbowl party. Many thanks to Fons for the seasoning advice, merci Bonsi for hosting (best kitchen ever). Olgo and Billy... you are such talented photographers :)

/k

Watt's life Magazine by Enovos

Hello burger lovers,

This one was published in Enovos' Watt's life Magazine in October. So it's not really news, but still. Enjoy!

http://brochure.enovos.eu/wattslife/wl31/

/k

Hot Fabrik Burger @ Fabrik

Hello burger lovers,

A short while ago Fabrik opened its doors to the public. To fill the void of a sheer emptiness between the north of the country an the capital, Mersch should be the new place to eat, drink and party. In this review I will obviously focus on the eating part. But before addressing their burgers I will describe the location and the concept the way I understand it.

The idea behind Fabrik appears quite clever, gather your clients for dinner, and don’t let them leave until the early morning hours. As a matter of fact, on weekends the location is packed, but to me it seems that they are fully booked on weekdays as well. Good for them, bad for the people not having booked a table. The one thing I didn’t like about their concept was the fact that I had to share a table with other people. Not that I am very unsocial, you just can’t discuss private stuff if you have another couple or loud teens on the second half of your table. Others may like it, maybe I have to adapt, or maybe I am just too old. At least you have been warned. Everything seems to be different in Mersch, after all you’re not in the city. 

The menu: It is huge. Fabrik serves burgers, pizzas, pasta, salads and substantial dishes like steak, schnitzels, or half a chicken. I am not a big fan of big menus, but I will admit that they are trying out some dishes and as far as I am informed there have already been made several amendments. Anyway, everybody should be able to find something on their menu, there will be no excuses.

As I was on duty I had to go with a burger. The best choice seemed to be the Hot Fabrik Burger, two patties of 160 gr of beef, two layers of cheese (swiss & cheddar), jalapeños and lettuce for 15.50€. (to be honest I opted for a single patty burger).

Evaluation:

Optically the burger looked incredibly good. The buns were simply great (I know where they’re from and they are my favorite!). The meat was good, the cooking as desired but it lacked a bit of seasoning. The patty was quite thin so it retains the juice in order to keep it moist and juicy. I prefer two thin ones rather than a big one. The vegetables were fresh and crisp, just the way they should be. The two types of cheese were perfectly melted around the meat patty, something I sadly don’t see very often. The fries were excellent, they were not only presented very nicely in a paper cone, no, they were also crisp, warm and well seasoned. They reminded me of the ones I had at Mama Loves You. (Now that I mentioned it, there were clearly some common grounds ;) . The only real downside to this  burger was the burger sauce. The Hot Fabrik burger comes with the “Fabrik-sauce”. First of all that name doesn’t even give you a clue what you get, second of all the sauce wasn’t anything special. In my opinion a good homemade burger sauce can make all the difference, this one is at most average. I ordered all side sauces they had in the kitchen but all I got was ketchup, mayonnaise and the brasil sauce (no clue – not good).

So overall a pretty good experience. I can strongly recommend an evening at Fabrik. Regarding the burgers, with a few adjustments they could have a great burger. For now, it’s just a very good one. My weighted rating is a good 7,81. This is a 4th place just behind Urban City; I guess the different sauces and friendliness of the Urban staff made the difference for me. 

/k

Fabrik

33, rue de la Gare

7535 Mersch

Tél.: 27 40 33 33