The famous Friday burger.
We had our first little tickle of Street Kitchen back when a freshly brewed Patty & Bun concept, merging existing SK ingredients with some of Joe Grossman's brain blends, was being trialled at their Hatch in Doodle Bar.
That was a whiles ago, so long that it almost feels like it happened in sepia.
Since then Joe's fledgling concept has gone on to blow up big time, with the first bricks and mortar commanding near-permanent queues and a hotly anticipated second recently opening by Liverpool Street station.
The Kitchen haven't been idle though. Two years later, they still serve out of that Hatch every Friday. We've clocked some of their TV spots on the Food Network whilst waiting for repeats of Man v. Food to start. And they now have two fucking epic retro Airstreams straddling Bishopsgate (an eight minute walk from each other) serving up burgers every Friday lunch time.
When the sunbeams between the buildings onto Devonshire Square, the shiny silver trailer zaps blinding rays around the place like a foodie glitterball. Awesome. Despite the cringey shouts of 'Oui Chef!' emanating from the serving hole, the team banging out the selections of the day are organised and burgers arrive quick.
There is artistry in the creation of Street Kitchen's product. Presentation is clearly high on the list of priorities for them. Removal from the box unmasks an impeccably proficient looking burger.
You can't miss the familiar luminous pink onions on top of the patty, pumping out a tenacious pickle sharpness that is countered and complimented by a thick, creamy mayo cut with a slight mustard tinge.
The cheese is well melted, but arguably there is not enough of it to add a flavour or textural impact and what is there is too centralised on the patty. However, the patty itself has a good medium pink middle and is pleasingly beefy. And placement of ketchup on the bottom adds a sweetness, backed up by the sweet notes of the impressively pretty and springy brioche, the result giving the burger a nice layering of taste from top to bottom.
Make sure you hold the box under the burger when you eat it. The round lettuce leaves (an unnecessary addition) act as a funnel for extricating the gushing red juices from the patty. Any unguarded clothing at the end of said funnel will suffer as a consequence. City dry cleaners rejoice.
Street Kitchen have always produced a worthy, solid burger. Can it compete with the capital's current big-hitters? We're not sure.
But it is still good enough to recommend? Yeah, why not.
It's a restaurant burger, served on the street, and that does make it unique.
- Rob.