The Flyer, The Flying Cows - Birmingham, UK

There is just something so magical about street food and food vans that cannot be replicated in a restaurant environment. 'The Flying Cows', travelling burger extraordinaires, are commonly found in and around the Birmingham area, and originate from Warkwickshire, where they run a family farm. I visited them on a Saturday night at the popular Digbeth Dining Club.

The menu was short and snappy; how I like it at a burger joint. The choices included a 'classic', a blue cheese burger, a chilli burger and then 'The Flyer': aged Dexter beef, American cheese, red onion, lettuce, smoked streaky bacon and house BBQ sauce between a freshly baked brioche bun. Yes, please.

This dirty burger was a fine-looking number. Cheese and sauce oozing from the sides, onion and lettuce scattered throughout and the bacon and patty sitting prominently at the forefront, between a fresh vibrant bun. I could barely wait to tuck in.

There was definitely magic dancing around the tastebuds from the first to the last bite here. Starting from the top: the brioche bun was toasted, but remained fresh and soft, holding together each component well, aside from the odd stray piece of lettuce or onion. The remaining salad nicely offset the meats and also added that extra element of freshness and crunch.

The BBQ sauce and cheese were well-proportioned to drive additional flavour, though were both mild in taste, with the former having a welcome tanginess to it.

The highlight of the burger, without a doubt, was the meat. The smoked streaky bacon was thick, juicy and loaded with flavour. The patty was cooked medium well; perhaps slightly longer than I would have preferred. However, the meat to fat content was perfection and the quality shone through with each bite, as expected given it was sourced locally from Dexter cattle within their own farm.

There are a plethora of choices available at Digbeth Dining Club. If you are in the mood for a burger, grab yourself a Flying Cows. You will not be disappointed. This was one of the finer bacon cheeseburgers I have enjoyed, with the highlight being the superb quality and taste of the patty and bacon.

Patty Master Musings:

• My partner ordered from 'Holy Moly Macaroni' across the way from The Flying Cows. She was in heaven for the duration of her meal too.
• If you are not familiar with Digbeth Dining Club... you should be. It runs every Friday and Saturday and houses the best street food in the West Midlands. I would advise checking who will be trading on the night before going though.
• Did I Dip It? No. The fusion of flavours was top notch.

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Ultimate Burger, Boston Tea Party - Birmingham, UK

Boston Tea Party is an independent chain of cafés that pride themselves on a strong ethical background. Each restaurant is unique, with the Birmingham establishment sitting at the top of Corporation Street in what I would assume to be a converted pub.

Before talking about the menu, it is worth mentioning that this café is a great place to relax. The staff are friendly, the venue is well-lit and airy and the atmosphere is brilliant. Settle with a coffee and a cake whilst enjoying a board game or enjoy the full menu offering everything from breakfasts to sandwiches to salads.

For me, I had to sample the wonderfully named 'Ultimate Burger'; a unique beef & bacon patty, Emmental cheese, pickled red onion, gherkin, Boston burger sauce and cos letttuce between a sesame bun.

Vibrant is a great word to describe this burger. Whilst the initial colour of the bun, slightly blackened suggesting overtoasted, was a little worrying, the colours of the red onion, gherkin, cheese and the patty made it glow with an alluring presence. The cross-section was even more impressive really showcasing that unique bacon and beef patty blend.

The bun was perhaps as expected; somewhat overdone on top giving it too much of a contrasting crunch, whilst the bottom quickly became soggy, likely due to the pickled red onions. With that said, it did a solid job in holding the burger together through to the final bite.

Gherkins are always a winner on a burger for me and this was no difference being both fresh and tasty. Even more impressive were the pickled red onions adding a sweetness to the proceedings with every mouthful.

On to the cheese and sauce; the former was delightfully balanced throughout driving a slightly nutty taste. However, the Boston burger sauce seemed to be non-existant; a real shame as this would have further developed necessary flavours to move this burger up a notch. Funnily enough, the lettuce was also nowhere to be seen. A tad strange.

The patty was an interesting one for sure. The beautiful pink colour almost misleads your taste-buds in to thinking you are enjoying a rare-cooked piece of beef, but the unfortunate slightly dry taste reminds you this is not the case. With that said, the bacon blended in was strong but not overpowering making this a generally enjoyable experience. The thickness of the patty was also spot on, resulting in the meat being at the taste forefront of each bite.

I would put Boston Tea Party's 'Ultimate Burger' slightly above average in terms of taste. It was vibrant with strong ingredients throughout, but the lacking burger sauce (and lettuce?) meant there was a little magic missing somewhere along the way. The unique beef and bacon patty blend, whilst an enjoyable change, also felt dry at times, likely due to its requirement to be cooked through. Perhaps not quite the 'Ultimate' burger, but a solid attempt for a café!

Patty Master Musings:

• Before tucking in to our food, I enjoyed a round of 'Logo Board Game' with my fiancee. I wanted Jenga, but somebody else had taken it.
• This place is always busy with a great atmosphere. I have never seen it empty.
• The staff really are great. They are friendly, talkative and genuine, making the whole experience more enjoyable.
• Did I Dip It? I had to a little on the last few bites unfortunately. It really lacked that burger sauce.

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Hot Blue 3.0, The Church - Birmingham, UK

I do not venture to the jewellery quarter of Birmingham anywhere near as much as I should do. In recent years, the area has seen an influx of great new restaurants encompassing cuisine from all around the world.

I decided to visit 'The Church'; a pub with a twist, renowned in the area for its soul food, described on its website as 'down home Louisiana cookin’ meets French Bistro elegance'.

The menu is quirky and includes some interesting meals such as jambalaya, gumbo and the alluring 'soul food fried chicken'. There are also six burgers to choose from suggesting these guys know a thing or two about the patty and bun. A few options enticed me, including the 'Backyard Burger' and the 'Fried Chicken'; the latter in particular given their reputation with chicken.

My server pointed me towards the 'Hot Blue 3.0'; a beef patty, buffalo wing sauce, creamy blue cheese, fresh chilli, lettuce, red onion, pickles and burger sauce. I looked up at him with approval, before confirming the order with a nod. Let's go 3.0 (what happened to 2.0 and 1.0 I wonder?).

Visually, I have seen much better. Most of my reservations came with the underwhelming bun, which unfortunately both looked and tasted like a generic shop-bought product. The freshness was lacking and the bottom was soggy. Judging by previous pictures I have seen of burgers from this establishment, either this bun was substituted or has recently changed... for the worse.

The blue cheese was the highlight of the meal without a doubt; wonderfully balanced and rich in taste. The burger sauce was also a welcome addition, but fell short in volume. As for the buffalo wing sauce, I simply could not taste any. The only kick that was evident throughout was from the chilli's, and even this was rather subtle.

The salad felt fresh, particularly the pickles which stood out. Like the sauces, the salad ratio was lacking, dominated instead by the patty and the bun.

The meat was thick (wink wink) and well-seasoned. Due to its cook time of well-done, the juiciness was underwhelming. Whilst the flavour was still impressive, seeing this burger a little rarer would have complimented it.

I am inclined to believe I went with the wrong decision, perhaps on the wrong day with the 'Hot Blue 3.0'. This was a burger with huge potential that lacked much of the execution required to move it above average. The bun was below par, the sauces were imbalanced and the meat cook-time was overdone. The story was not all bad, however. I enjoyed the blue cheese and despite the cook-time of the meat, it was very well seasoned. By the sound of it, the chicken options are the stronger choice at 'The Church', and that's what I will be trying next time 'round!

Patty Master Musings:

• Great atmosphere and service in this place. There's also a roof-top terrace for summer that I would highly recommend.
• My partner ordered a roast dinner and rated it reasonably well.
• Did I Dip It? I did a little towards the end, though it probably wasn't necessary.

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