Tonight make it magnificent
So, for some time we've had the concept of the burger league tables. There is a Premier League, for quality burgers, and a Vauxhall Conference[*] for the also-rans. The likes of McDonalds aren't even allowed to play.
I thought I'd written up more of the investigative burger-eating trips here, but it seems that to date I've only had one post tagged "burger league". This surprises me. At present there's a bit of a backlog of recommended new burger bars in London to get through; I need to eat more burgers.
I don't think the league tables have fundamentally altered since that last post - though I'm fairly sure that we permitted Haché (recommended by phlebas) to join the Premier League. GBK has of late rewritten its menu in such a way that it sells almost all the same things it used to, but in a way that seems much less exciting; the burgers are still good, but I don't hold it in quite the same affection these days. It's the most convenient quality burger emporium for where I (now) live, but I'm actually not sure when I was last there.
Anyway, popping over to Oxford to visit wimble, one of his suggested eateries was Atomic Burger on Cowley Road. Everything seems to be changing all the time on the Cowley Road at the moment; for those who aren't quite keeping up Atomic Burger is approximately nextdoor to what used to be Gashi Gashi. Apparently it's been there a couple of years.
We rolled up, could we have a table? We could not, they were full, could we come back in an hour? With the most excellent James Street Tavern just round the corner, we certainly could. Again, for those not keeping up, the JST (which used to be great and then became rubbish) has stopped being rubbish and become great again. If you can't choose between their large array of excellent handpumps, they'll do you three 1/3-pint tasters for the price of the cheapest pint. Done.
The inside of Atomic Burger looks rather like someone blew up Forbidden Planet and then stacked the debris back together. Wombles snuggle up to Daleks. C3PO keeps a watchful eye on DangerMouse and Spiderman. Thunderbirds and Sindy dolls and Lego models vie for space. Godzilla looms out of one wall, there is a huge Batman logo, and most surfaces that aren't mirrored are covered in comics. By the time I'd picked up my collectible sticker-album-menu and sat down I was already disposed to fall in love with the place.
The menu is largely full of named burgers - you can have a Johnny Cash, or a Cheech & Chong, or a Jake & Elwood (each is marked out of ten for tenuousness, geekiness and fear). I eventually ordered a Frito Bandito (not significantly geeky, tenuous or scary): a beef burger with guacamole, sour cream, cheese and nachos in it.
The price of a burger includes a side order, making it noticeably cheaper than the likes of GBK (two burgers, two sides of fries, one terrifying thick milkshake with popping candy in it and a bottle of Samuel Adams for <£25). And the fries are actually very good (although the "sci-fries" with garlic and chilli would have defeated me - Wimble is more of a man than I am and ate them without flinching.)
And the burgers? Well.. good bun, with decent structural integrity. Nice toppings, and definitely plausible burgers. I'm not sure the burgers are legally quite Premier League material (and they don't offer any option on how you want them cooked - or not cooked, in my case) but they're clearly a superior offering. I wouldn't be comfortable consigning them to the Conference. I think at least a few visits from the Review Board are in order.
I did manage to perch myself with my back to the TV screen, which was showing snippets of 80s kids shows, cult films and sci-fi oldies. I don't do well with large screens, tending to stare vacantly at them over people's shoulders. Instead I enjoyed the slapdash assortment of music - Wimble noted that a surprising amount of the time various characters, puppets, Cylons, etc onscreen appeared to be lip-synching to the music. As we left, Gonzo was cheerfully singing along to Step On.
[*] Yes, I know it really hasn't been called that for a very long time now.
I thought I'd written up more of the investigative burger-eating trips here, but it seems that to date I've only had one post tagged "burger league". This surprises me. At present there's a bit of a backlog of recommended new burger bars in London to get through; I need to eat more burgers.
I don't think the league tables have fundamentally altered since that last post - though I'm fairly sure that we permitted Haché (recommended by phlebas) to join the Premier League. GBK has of late rewritten its menu in such a way that it sells almost all the same things it used to, but in a way that seems much less exciting; the burgers are still good, but I don't hold it in quite the same affection these days. It's the most convenient quality burger emporium for where I (now) live, but I'm actually not sure when I was last there.
Anyway, popping over to Oxford to visit wimble, one of his suggested eateries was Atomic Burger on Cowley Road. Everything seems to be changing all the time on the Cowley Road at the moment; for those who aren't quite keeping up Atomic Burger is approximately nextdoor to what used to be Gashi Gashi. Apparently it's been there a couple of years.
We rolled up, could we have a table? We could not, they were full, could we come back in an hour? With the most excellent James Street Tavern just round the corner, we certainly could. Again, for those not keeping up, the JST (which used to be great and then became rubbish) has stopped being rubbish and become great again. If you can't choose between their large array of excellent handpumps, they'll do you three 1/3-pint tasters for the price of the cheapest pint. Done.
The inside of Atomic Burger looks rather like someone blew up Forbidden Planet and then stacked the debris back together. Wombles snuggle up to Daleks. C3PO keeps a watchful eye on DangerMouse and Spiderman. Thunderbirds and Sindy dolls and Lego models vie for space. Godzilla looms out of one wall, there is a huge Batman logo, and most surfaces that aren't mirrored are covered in comics. By the time I'd picked up my collectible sticker-album-menu and sat down I was already disposed to fall in love with the place.
The menu is largely full of named burgers - you can have a Johnny Cash, or a Cheech & Chong, or a Jake & Elwood (each is marked out of ten for tenuousness, geekiness and fear). I eventually ordered a Frito Bandito (not significantly geeky, tenuous or scary): a beef burger with guacamole, sour cream, cheese and nachos in it.
The price of a burger includes a side order, making it noticeably cheaper than the likes of GBK (two burgers, two sides of fries, one terrifying thick milkshake with popping candy in it and a bottle of Samuel Adams for <£25). And the fries are actually very good (although the "sci-fries" with garlic and chilli would have defeated me - Wimble is more of a man than I am and ate them without flinching.)
And the burgers? Well.. good bun, with decent structural integrity. Nice toppings, and definitely plausible burgers. I'm not sure the burgers are legally quite Premier League material (and they don't offer any option on how you want them cooked - or not cooked, in my case) but they're clearly a superior offering. I wouldn't be comfortable consigning them to the Conference. I think at least a few visits from the Review Board are in order.
I did manage to perch myself with my back to the TV screen, which was showing snippets of 80s kids shows, cult films and sci-fi oldies. I don't do well with large screens, tending to stare vacantly at them over people's shoulders. Instead I enjoyed the slapdash assortment of music - Wimble noted that a surprising amount of the time various characters, puppets, Cylons, etc onscreen appeared to be lip-synching to the music. As we left, Gonzo was cheerfully singing along to Step On.
[*] Yes, I know it really hasn't been called that for a very long time now.