New burger outlets are out to change the way we view fast food .
WHAT'S IN A burger? One could argue as much love care and attention as in any other food, but this is sadly not often the case. I've had my fair share of round meat patties in my time and a burger is certainly not a given. But then neither is a sausage. Having gone to the considerable trouble of making my own, I can attest to too few sausages being made up of nice (which has little to do with prime) cuts of meat.
One man who seems keen to challenge our view of both foods is Jo Macken, the inspiration behind both Jo'Burger and Jo'Banger, the latter having been shoe-horned only the other week into what was Orange Square in Baggot Street. He joins the likes of Real Gourmet Burger in Dún Laoghaire and Gourmet Burger Company in Ranelagh in pursuit of changing the nation's views of fast food being synonymous with bad food.
Unfortunately, if you step outside Dublin, burger-leaning fast food seems to revert to its grim worst. Roll on the day when the revamped McDonalds outlets currently sweeping through the UK (where profits are considerably up and those golden arches are being turned green quicker than you can say organic milk) become a reality here. At least there is some consistency with a Big Mac.
Back in the capital, I am ordering an Orlando (harrisa mint aioli and rocket) at Jo'Burger and enjoying the music, atmosphere and general feel of the place. Despite the quality of the food (considerably better than at Bobo's over in Wexford Street), I still struggle a little with this dining out option. "Fancy a burger darling?" doesn't have nearly the same ring to it as an offer to go out for supper when it could be risotto, a salad or something else entirely.
While America may be the modern home of the burger, it is the UK that has gone into overdrive with the gourmet burger. In London, you now have Burger Shack, Ultimate Burger, Fine Burger Company, Gourmet Burger Kitchen and Hamburger Union. And if you think that is a lot, consider that the last has seven outlets, Gourmet Burger Kitchen 18. Have we all gone burger mad? We haven't really, and if you look at these menus, burgers may form the backbone but chicken creeps in along with salads in a bid to widen the choice. Even Jo'Banger offers soup in its search of a wider remit. They are all about inexpensive casual food and the more of this we get, the better.
The idea that fast food has morphed its way, all trussed up, into the middle classes is a mistake, though. These concepts (roll-outs inevitably go hand-in-hand as financial success requires more than one site) are coming from operators who can see a grown-up restaurant struggling to make ends meet. Skill in the kitchen is hard to come by and expensive - fit-out costs are huge. It's all so much easier when you can rely on a grill, basic furniture and a menu that stays constant. It's just a shame that the style of food remains so limited because most of these places are a welcome addition to the landscape.
Food has never been easy and despite the growth of the casual sector, isn't getting any easier. Indeed, it is becoming more difficult with ever more regulation, and a customer base that is more widely travelled and more demanding. A well-made burger, cooked to order the way you like it, sits up there as a top dish, when it is done with love, skill and attention to detail. Bobo's, 22 Wexford Street, Dublin 2. 01-4005750.
Gourmet Burger Company, 97 Ranelagh Road, Dublin 6.
01-4977821.
Jo'Burger, 137 Rathmines Road, Dublin 6. 01-4913731.
Jo'Banger, 7 Lower Baggot Street, Dublin 2.
Real Gourmet Burger, Pavilion, Dún Laoghaire.
01-2846568.