The High Flyer, The Flying Cows - Birmingham, UK

Venue: I've already raved about Flying Cows once before here. Since then, these guys have only gone and won the '2017 British Street Food Awards' for best burger. Usually hanging around Digbeth Dining Club, if you're local and haven't had one of these burgers yet, you need to have a word with yourself.

The Burger: I previously reviewed 'The Flyer'. The newer award-winning burger is aptly named 'The High Flyer': aged Dexter beef, cheddar cheese, Swiss cheese, diced red onion, club sauce, glazed smoked streaky bacon in a seeded brioche bun.


The Good: Y'know what? Everything. Everything is good here. Sometimes you just know when you pick up a burger it's going to be perfection and 'The High Flyer' is just that.

The aged Dexter beef is tender and succulent, paired perfectly with the smoked streaky bacon. The cheese is quite heavily applied, though due to the thickness of the patty, does not overpower the taste. And the club sauce, a typical burger sauce concoction, rounds off this perfect bacon cheeseburger.

The Bad: Nothing.

The Summary: The Flying Cows took their already incredible burger 'The Flyer' and perfected it with 'The High Flyer'. Everything about this bacon cheeseburger excels, from the meat to the cheese to the sauce. Make the journey and check these guys out. You won't regret it.

Patty Master Musings:

  • The team are also a great bunch of guys, which is so refreshing. Can absolutely see the passion with every burger.
  • The 'Toro Loco' burger is also as good as this one. In-fact, just get them all!
  • Did I Dip It? Absolutely not.

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Cheeseburger, Burger & Beyond - London, UK

My social feed is often full of ‘Burger & Beyond’ posts, with stunning towering burgers beautifully arranged. Located in Camden at the street food establishment known as ‘Kerb’, these guys are rocking the London burger scene. Instead of drooling over one of these bad-boys, I decided to get myself down there and see what the fuss is all about.

The cheeky little truck overlooks the canal in the rustle and bustle of the markets in a sea of fantastic street food vendors. The menu is about as simple as it gets, pleasing me greatly. Aside from the ‘Cheeseburger’, you can get yourself the ‘Hot Mess’ (cheese and heat) or ‘The Cliff’ (brisket, cheese and Pancetta bacon).

I wanted a classic, so I went down the cheeseburger route and chucked a bit of bacon in there: 45-day aged beef patty, double American cheese, pickled onion, smokey mayo and bacon between a fresh bun.

After a short wait involving me pining over the glorious smell all around me, the burger was served within a tidy branded box. Let’s eat!


The patty was cooked medium well (asked for medium rare) and was well-flavoured, though perhaps slightly too salty. Believe me, that’s quite rare for me to say too as I’m normally a salt-fiend. Still, the quality of the meat certainly shone through.

The bacon perfectly complimented the beef with a deliciously smoky flavour, zig-zagged across the meat in all its crispy goodness.

The cheese was quite heavily applied on to the patty (it is double cheese afterall!), driving substantial flavour, though slightly draining the smoky mayo taste out as a result. Whilst this is not a huge problem, the burger does not offset the flavour with anything else e.g. burger sauce or ketchup.

The biggest disappointment for me was the bun. I can’t help but feel like I was unlucky with this one, but the edges around the lower half of the bun were stale making it incredibly crispy, somewhat hindering the overall flavour. I can only imagine this was a one-off issue, however, as the rest of the bun was fresh and balanced.

Perhaps the stars did not quite align on my visit to ‘Burger & Beyond’ as the magic was not entirely there. Whilst the ‘Cheeseburger’ was deliciously flavoured with high quality meats, the patty was slightly overdone on both cook-time and salt. In addition, the stale bun, though likely a one-off, can’t be overlooked when assigning a rating. Maybe next time I’ll go for ‘The Cliff’ and my mind will be blown. Let’s hope so.

Patty Master Musings:

  • I can't emphasise enough how much I enjoyed Kerb and the surrounding food markets. Camden truly is an incredible place for food and drink.
  • Did I Dip It? This cheese-monster needed no dipping.

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Spicy Miso Burger, Bachi Burger - Vegas, USA

Venue: Bachi Burger is raved about by the burger fanatics of Vegas. Off the strip, this Asian-inspired restaurant has a buzz about it that I simply had to check out.

The Burger: The 'Spicy Miso Burger' may well be the most experimental number I have ever encountered. With Angus beef, onions, Shishito pepper, mayo, lettuce, roasted garlic, Swiss cheese, fried egg and an apple vinaigrette, I was highly intrigued to sample the magic.


The Taste: I would love to know the thought process with a creation like this.

Starting at the beef, this custom blend of Angus beef was a winner, excelling in taste through high-quality well-seasoned meat. The cook time was slightly overdone as I asked for medium but received closer to well done.

The kick came through the peppers and garlic, surprisingly not overpowering, however, despite the 'spicy' labelling. In-fact, the fried egg offset any kind of heat very well, though I do struggle with the ooze of a yolk throughout a burger.

The apple vinaigrette was simply not potent enough in the burger, perhaps intentionally given its unique nature, but it would have built upon the dynamic flavours. In-fact, the same could also be said for the lack of mayo and cheese: neither really showing up on the tastebuds prominently enough.

The bun was right up there with the freshest I have tasted, whilst also holding everything together.

The Summary: Points for originality with the 'Spicy Miso Burger' for sure. Bachi Burger know how to put a burger together with a unique Asian twist. The good came with the delicious meat and intriguing flavours throughout, rounded off with an excellent bun. The negative came with the slight overcooking of the meat, as well as the lack of prominence of the apple vinaigrette, mayo and cheese. Still, it is evident that quality and creativity thrives in this restaurant and I'd love to go back on my next visit to Vegas.

Patty Master Musings:

  • I also ordered the truffle fries which, frankly, I couldn't stomach. Very potent stench that just didn't bode well.
  • We were very well looked after by the knowledgeable and friendly staff.
  • Did I Dip It? Not necessary with so many different flavours bouncing around.

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Double Double Animal Style, In-N-Out Burger - Vegas, USA

There is a charm to In-N-Out that does not exist anymore in the modern burger chain. It has the vibes of a 50’s throwback rustling up fresh burger goodness for its loyal customer base. I can only imagine this is what McDonald’s would be like had Ray Croc not taken the helm. And that in it self is the reassurance that this place is special. This is a chain that has not franchised, not sold out, but instead retained every last value they stood for on day one. It shows with its employees, it shows in the atmosphere and good grief it shows in the food.

Coming from the original line of fast food restaurants, you order at the till in In-In-Out and wait for your order to be called out. In this way, it’s like any other fast food joint. Hell, even when the food lands in front of you on a red tray, the expectation is simple fast food. When you take a bite, however, you realise it’s so much more…

I ordered a 'Double Double Animal Style' with fries and a drink. It came to a modest $10, just about the cheapest you’ll find a large meal for on the Vegas Strip, without eating complete garbage.


Just holding this burger in your hand is enough evidence of where the similarities end between In-N-Out and every other average fast food chain out there. The freshness of the ingredients, especially that tender bun become abundantly clear.

The ‘Double Double Animal Style’ comes with two mustard patties, lettuce, tomato, two cheese slices, onions and ‘spread’, served between a toasted bun.

I’m a classic burger kinda guy. Fancy ingredients and highly stacked burgers can be fantastic when done right, but winding it back to the essentials and doing it well is just as exciting. The ‘Double Double’ at In-N-Out is perfection of the ‘classic burger’.

Starting at the patties, the mustard infusion (one of the key changes when making your burger ‘Animal Style’) takes the flavour a tier above, but does not overpower. Yes, the patties are served well done and are the classic XX sizing, but the flavour does not suffer, especially with that mustard coating.

Lettuce, tomato and onions sit well in any burger, but help build that fresh feeling to the ‘Double Double Animal Style’. Paired with the fresh toasted bun, there’s a prevalent theme here; one that feels alien when you’re in a fast food joint. Can it really be that fresh?!

Between the cheese and the spread, the flavours are just beautifully balanced. The latter feels like a simple burger sauce concoction, whilst the American cheese oozes over the sides of each patty.

The key to this burger is balance and freshness of ingredients, paired with simplicity. The In-N-Out ‘Double Double Animal Style’ burger is, without a doubt, the best fast food burger I have ever consumed and deserves a perfect score for that reason alone. What I’d do to have one of these in England...

Patty Master Musings:

  • I planned to hit In-N-Out once during my trip. We ended up there almost every single day.
  • Did I Dip It? Good grief no.

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Guinness Bacon Cheeseburger, Hard Rock Cafe - Vegas, USA

I’ve done my fair share of Hard Rock Cafes and if there’s one thing I’ve learnt about them it’s that the Americans do them best. Despite the chain originating in London, the service industry in the States trumps the UK on every level, perhaps due to the glaring issues of minimum wage found across the pond. Regardless, it’s a welcoming experience knowing you will be looked after properly during your meal.

I was to saddened to learn that the Hard Rock Café located in front of the Hard Rock Hotel off the strip had closed, though understandably so given its location. Instead, I ventured to the Hard Rock Café on the strip; the second largest in the world behind Orlando, Florida.

Before we move in to the food, let me say that this is an awesome establishment. The memorabilia is fantastic and if you get the opportunity to go to the top floor, make sure you do it. Every Hard Rock has unique memorabilia on offer and the Vegas restaurant houses some of the best, for obvious reasons.

The menu didn’t remain open for long. The Artisan Fries are always a given, therefore it’s just what burger to enjoy and spotting the new ‘Guinness Bacon Cheeseburger’ made the process a simple one. It included the usual half-pound patty made with Angus Beef blend, topped with Jameson bacon jam, Guinness cheese sauce, crispy lettuce and vine-ripened tomato. I’m always pleased to be offered how I want the meat served too, something almost unheard of in the UK now. Medium rare, please!


And it was served a perfect medium rare. Yes! Points for this alone as the juiciness of the meat shone through, though it was unfortunately too salty on the occasional bite; likely unevenly seasoned.

The bacon jam was just fantastic. This is an increasingly popular choice in burgers nowadays providing the wonderful usual taste of bacon and pairing it with a unique sweetness. The whiskey taste from the Jameson element of the jam was just enough to tweak the flavour, though still felt more prevalent than the Guinness.


Without a doubt the cheese sauce was delicious, though I would have liked it to be a bit more prominent on the burger, particularly that unique Guinness infusion.

The ‘Guinness Bacon Cheeseburger’ is a solid regular addition to the already impressive Hard Rock menu. There is no doubt in my mind that I would order this again for that delicious bacon jam alone. Despite the drawbacks in the unevenly seasoned patty and slightly imbalanced cheese sauce, the ‘Guinness Bacon Cheeseburger’ is a top choice.

Patty Master Musings:

  • Bacon jam, baconnaise, bacon, bacon, bacon. Bacon!
  • Alcohol in burgers seems to be a growing trend. Providing it does not overpower, I love the possibilities.
  • Did I Dip It? Absolutely not. Bacon JAM!

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