Very occasionally we venture out to see what the Sticks look like. Having followed Steak & Honour on the Twitters for a while, there were only so many pictures of cheeseburgers in the wilds we could look at before we figured 'Cambridge is nice, right? That would be a bit of a jolly, eh?' Cut to a windy car park in a science park to chow down with the technological intelligentsia of Cambridge and check out the city's mobile burger vendor pacesetters.
The foodPark, nestled in a small lot within the Science Park site, is a diminutive affair on the day we arrive: Only a coffee cart and falafel van join the two dapper-aproned gentlemen calmly churning out burgers from their beautifully rendered white Citroen H Van. It is adorable. There are a handful of seats around a table for those brave enough to take on the fierce winds. There is also a VW van converted into a teeny tiny indoor picnic area for the lucky few to take solace.
The double cheese served up has a Motherflipper-ish character in both presentation and design: cragged-edged patties are covered with sticky outpourings of cheese on a familiar cushion of chopped lettuce, pickles and red onion, all Jackson Pollocked with ketchup and mustard.
The bun is an ace balance between a great chewiness whilst still being light with a soft potato roll-like consistency. It is a super hull supporting beef that is a touch under seasoned and has been slightly overcooked so the meat has firmed up just that little bit more than you want. It is still pleasingly juicy though and pepped up by a decent crust from a well used grill helping to add a thick savoury hit.
The recognisable cheese slices are doubled up and abundantly melted over the meat adding loads of pleasing gooey stickiness. The pickle is also bountiful, throwing a nice piquant stab into each bite, and the lettuce plus onion do their classic crunchy jobs whilst the condiments do there classic saucy ones. Familiar tastes from a conventional burger set up.
But conventional and similar in composition though it is, it doesn't reach the stellar levels that Flipper achieves. Less life-changing, more a respectable go to if you are ever in Cambridge. A decent punt one would say.
- Rob