Worthy of noting straight away is that this Bleecker is an actual dine-in restaurant (as well as takeaway still of course!), unlike its Spitalfields counterpart that is more of a 'hole-in-the-wall' in a line of other food vendors. Whilst the decor is nothing special, the simplicity and humble atmosphere of this burger joint was welcoming and I was happy for a sit-down.
Bleecker's menu is a simple one, consisting of cheeseburgers with or without bacon, a blue cheese burger and the 'bleecker black' which includes black pudding. Cool, huh? After a brief discussion with my server, she pointed me towards doubling up on a bacon cheeseburger to maximise flavour, especially as the dreaded 'council regulations' means Bleecker too cannot serve their burgers medium rare anymore. Oh, the humanity!
One thing you can definitely be sure of with Bleecker is that you'll get a proper dirty burger and the double bacon cheeseburger that was placed before me certainly lived up to that reputation.
Napkins at the ready once again, I tucked in to an impressive first bite. The dominant flavour was the cheese. Unfortunately, this drowned the taste of the sauce so much so that I was unaware there was any on there until I checked the menu description afterwards. I can't really comment on that then!
The cheese-fest also meant the bottom of the bun was soggy, leading to an even messier experience in conquering this meal. With that said, the bun was otherwise fresh and well-balanced with the other components.
Bleecker pride themselves on their meat using rare-breed dry-aged pasture-fed beef. Quality is evident with each bite as a result, retaining a rich flavour, especially when paired with the juicy bacon. As with most dirty burgers, the patties are considerably thinner, so I recommend doubling up for the full experience. As previously mentioned, the cook time was more towards well-done due to council regulations. Whilst this was not a huge detriment to flavour, the meat seemed heavily oiled to compensate.
Bleecker know their way around a dirty burger for sure. The double bacon cheeseburger is a simplistic hit, particularly in the quality of the meat and freshness of the ingredients. With the quality of these patties, I would have reduced the oil content as the unique taste was coming through anyway. In addition, the volume of cheese was a little too prominent throughout, drowning the other flavours, particularly the sauce. Still, this is a solid dirty burger and well-worth a visit if you're in the area.
Patty Master Musings:
- I love the story behind Bleecker burger. Go and read it on their site if you haven't yet. From lawyer to food truck to restaurants -- that's excellent progression.
- I have had the 'Bleecker Black' before and I would rate it above the bacon cheeseburger -- but only if you're a fan of black pudding, of course! Next time, Bleecker...
- This is not a cheap dirty burger, but then apparently nowhere in London is anymore. My double bacon cheese came in at £10 alone. Ouch.
- Did I Dip It? Nope. This cheese party needed no company.
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