ok ok...so shoot me, ya! when i'm not stuffing myself with cupcakes i generally eat quite healthy but when i heard from a friend about the REAL gourmet burger cafe in Dun Laoghaire i simply had to go and check it out and eat a nice healthy burger (well that's what i convincingly tell myself all the way to the restaurant - i mean how can a gourmet burger be anything but healthy!) when we arrived it was early evening and although there were a few busy tables generally the place was quiet and we were able to choose a table in the outdoor section and bathe in the rays of sun. my mouth seriously started to water when we were handed the menu - there were beef, lamb, venison and chicken burgers on offer and under each different kind of meat there were very interesting varieties. i decided on a 'holy moly' which was a beef burger with swiss cheese, red peppers, chilli and jalapenos...and hubby settled for an 'oriental' which was a chicken burger with chilli, ginger and lemongrass sauce. we ordered a portion of chips with rosemary salt and a chilli relish for dipping and while hubby selected the safe choice of coke for his drink i decided on an apple and raspberry soda...
and it was pink! i love pink drinks and this was very refreshing...definitely tangy, perhaps could have been a tad sweeter but still drinkable.
the 'holy moly' was very nicely stacked up on the plate - so much so that at first i couldn't figure out how i was going to get my mouth around it (i managed somehow...it's a tough job, but someone's gotta do it!) and it was delicious! the beef burger itself was soft and succulent and the combination of cheese, red pepper, spicy chilli, hot jalapenos and crunchy lettuce with the succulent beef just gave such an array of flavours and textures in the mouth that one had to stop oneself from madly devouring it and instead focus on enjoying the gastronomic experience held in your hand! i loved every inch of it!
the 'oriental' which was a chicken burger seemed to pale a little in size when compared to the 'holy moly' and although hubby said he enjoyed it, he didn't seem as enraptured as yours truly. he should have gone with a beef burger. for me chicken burgers are never going to match up to their rather beefy brother counterparts!
the chips were delightful - homemade style with the skins still on the potatoes but thinly cut. the rosemary salt was a fantastic discovery and added such a lovely aromatic flavour to the chips. the rosemary had been fried with the chips and the texture of it was light and crisp so that it kinda melted in your mouth as you ate the chip. fabulous!
the chilli relish was rich and red...a lovely complement to the chips and although it had a 'kick'...well after 18 years of living in Asia and eating 'sambal'...no irish chilli is EVER going to match up! sorry guys...
and finally a nice bowl (handle-less mug?) of cappuccino to finish off the meal - nice and frothy and smooth coffee. total bill came to a little over 30 euros. well? what do you expect for gourmet, dahling? but in my opinion money well spent on the satisying of a craving for a REAL burger.
Real Dun Laoghaire, The Pavilion, Dun Laoghaire. tel : 01 284 6568
5 comments:
I've wanted to eat here for a while but there's no way I'm going to be out in Dun Laoghaire any time soon, wonder is there one in town anywhere?
yup rachel, there's one in ballsbridge area. their website is not up and running yet but they have the addresses of the two locations there. definitely worth a visit!
those stacking are amaing lovely so well executed! lol!
hey big boys oven...the stacking was amazing...i was too scared to cut it!
There is one in Ranelagh I think!
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