Southwestern @ Bagels & Burgers

Hello burger lovers,

I've decided to grant a second chance to Bagels & Burgers. If you need more information about this burger joint, just take a look about my previous review.

This time I ordered the Southwestern Burger with their country potatoes (still no fries) for 9.6€.

Evaluation:

After a short wait my burger was served. The Southwestern burger had lettuce, tomatoes, onions and bacon as toppings. I had no doubts about the freshness of the vegetables, but the bacon was too sloppy and not crisp at all. The beef patty had a relatively good taste but I am sure it was frozen. Nevertheless it was seasoned well, and one of the highlights of the burger was that it came medium rare. Both of the sauces weren't my taste, there was the french mustard and the hot sauce which wasn't hot at all. I didn't like the country potatoes that much. They didn't look fresh and were not my taste. For the buns I simply want to quote myself: The buns looked good, but they were the same fluffy ones as usual, and they were not even toasted! As you know, for me that's a no-go!

Exactly one year after my last review about Bagels & Burgers I still have the same conclusion. There is much potential, but they simply don't use it. The restaurant should offer more sauces, and they should also replace their buns. The price and the choice is fair, but their burger stays an average burger.

For this one, I give them 6.35.

/k

Bagels & Burgers

12-14 Boulevard d'Avranches
1160 Luxembourg
Tel.: 26 29 65 26

Smuggler's Hamburgermenu @ The Smuggler's Inn

Hello burger lovers,

Recently I've had the opportunity to test a burger in an area where I usually don't find myself that often. I got several messages on my FB page that recommended The Smuggler's Inn in Diekirch. You can find the Inn at "Camping Op Der Sauer", a place which seems to be highly visited by locals. I ordered their only burger on the menu, the Smugglers Hamburgermenu with additional toppings of bacon and cheese. The Hamburgermenu included a bowl of fries and was priced at 10,5€. 

Evaluation:

To be honest, the presentation of the burger was a bit strange to me. It came on a funny plate and the vegetable toppings (pickles and tomato) were on the side in separated compartments. The fries came in a big  bowl, which was a good solution, since the plate wasn't overloaded.

Starting with the fries, I didn't like them, they were too chunky and did not have much taste. The cheese was nicely melted, but it seemed to me that it was that processed cheese which you can use for your home made croque monsieur. Don't be shocked, that's all the negatives I have for today. The bun was excellent, as far as I remember it was made from ciabatta bread and it just tasted really good. The beef patty was really good aswell, I am not sure if it was 100% beef, there might be a part part porc in it, which is a good solution to alter the taste and avoid the patty becoming too dry. Additionally, there were fried onions in the patty. Actually, at home I prepare my burgers in a similar way. (Believe me, they are great ;) ) The bacon was crisp and had a wonderful taste! I would have been happier if I had a wider selection of sauces (at the moment only Ketchup and Mayonnaise), maybe even homemade sauces. That's something Smuggler's Inn should look into. 

All in all I had a nice dinner. I was satisfied with the burger and it was great value for the price. If you're in the Diekirch area, go to The Smuggler's Inn and have that burger!

My weighted average is 7.01

The Smuggler's Inn
Route de Gilsdorf
Diekirch
Tel.: 80 85 90

Hamburger de pot au feu au foie gras @ L'Annexe

Hello burger lovers,

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

Big Tasty Bacon @ McDonald's

Hello burger lovers,

After my holidays I was gathering my colleagues and told them that we are going to try a different burger. Of course they were very happy about it, and joined naively. They didn't know that I was about to take them to McDonald's. After they found out, they weren't happy, but I told them that it's not me making the rules of the quest, but the quest itself.

Anyway, I heard about the Big Tasty Bacon burger, and I've been told that this would be an extraordinary burger. In a meal the price was 8.40€ which was good, since I've only had a restaurant voucher with exactly that value and wasn't carrying any cash at all. I wanted to top the meal with additional ketchup, but simply couldn't afford it... there's a first time for everything I guess.

Evaluation:

After a short wait, I got my burger, fries and diet coke and tried to find an empty table. I don't often go to McDonald's, but I was shocked at the fact that this restaurant always seems to be cramped. There were mostly students, but also young mothers with their little kids.

The Big Tasty Bacon, with 840kcal, was optically no surprise, but didn't look anything like in their advertisement.

The meat was too dry and had a taste which reminded me of cardboard, furthermore there was too much "tasty" sauce on the burger and the bacon was crispy but had not much taste. The sauce, the main feature of a fast food burger, was okay. It seemed to be made of mayonnaise and mustard which is in my honest opinion not the worst combination. The lettuce and tomatoes were pale but alright, nothing spectacular though. The raw onions which are not my favorite ingredient were tasteless, good thing in this case. I think I have to admit that I am fan of their fries though, they were hot and crispy.  You must be familiar with my opinion about the sweet soft buns.

If you want to know more about my opinions of McDonald's please read my review about Mc Donald's Big Mac.

This burger wasn't bad, but if we talk about McDonald's, I think that the Big Mac stays my favorite, at least if you don't consider their seasonal specials. I also found that with 8.40 € the Big Tasty Bacon was overpriced, since I left the restaurant hungry.

The weighted rating is 5.08

/k


McDonald's
address: everywhere