Gourmet Burger Kitchen (Lounged)

[Alex K]

Edit: Just received (noon, 1/12/06), a telephone call from a GBK representative - I'd sent GBK a separate e-mail saying that I hadn't had so good a meal as I'd hoped for, and outlining my dissatisfactions.

The representative: Indeed the burgers are centrally prepared (see below), although not frozen; and it is the uncertainties of handling between a butcher-of-origin and a restaurant kitchen that preclude cooking one's burger anything redder than "medium rare". -- Alex K

--

Last evening's visit to Gourmet Burger Kitchen on Lordship Lane in East Dulwich - a disappointment.

The buns, the toppings - first-rate. But the burger...

I asked for mine to be done very rare. "We can't, sir," I was told. "Health and safety."

This was a bad sign. "We can't vouch that our beef is recently prepared or cleanly handled. We suspect" (or worse, know) "that it's riddled with filth that must be burnt out of it."

A proper "gourmet kitchen" should be able to serve hamburger meat prepared to the same cleanliness and freshness standards as steak tartare!

And indeed, the texture of the pinkish burger, when it arrived, was no different from that of what one is served at McDonald's. The meat was over-ground and too compacted.

I suspect that it was prepared at a central facility, frozen, and shipped out to the franchised GBK outlets - necessary for "quality control" and absolute death to fresh-cooked REAL quality.

That's why, for me, chain franchises are bad news, and why my partner and I will be heading back to the Sea Cow for our next evening out at dinner on Lordship Lane.

[Guest]

Not the "evil franchise" crap again! So its just franchise/chains that are crap? Explain why when I went to Liquorish last night my burger bun was so stale that I thought I was chewing a squash ball and my burger tasted rancid? Why did they serve a piece of white toast advertised as "crostini"? Is that chin ponce or independent ponce?

By the way I hate to shatter your illusions but the seacow is a chain! Muppet!

[Alex K]

Well, Steve, you made me laugh. No, of course any independent restaurant can serve bad food, and your evening at Liquorish illustrates that point.

Chain restaurants with central-facility food preparation use such a facility to foreclose any DOWNWARD variation in the "quality" of the standardised product. That central-facility food preparation also forecloses UPWARD variation in that "quality", however. GBK can't vary its burger preparation to let me have a rare burger.

Franchised chain restaurants with individual-facility food preparation, like the Sea Cow, let you order your food as you might like it cooked. If I want my - how about tuna? - just off sashimi, I can get what I want at the Sea Cow. No chance of that at Harry Ramsden's.

Can we agree that the point of difference may be the site of food preparation? I hope so. Can we agree that chain restaurants are more likely to prepare food at central locations than are independently owned restaurants? Again, I hope so.

[Guest]

This whole argument about chains is getting a bit absurd. The fact is I'm sure you both know what the other is getting at! So why argue?

[Alex K]

No intention to argue here; no language employed that might be considered personally abusive; and, in fact, only one exclamation point, relative to "steak tartare". 8^)

Jus' tryin' to be a sunbeam, that's me.

[Guest]

Why doesn't GBK just trot across the road and ask William Rose to make their burgers for them? This would encourage local trade and would enable them to inspect the preparation of the burgers whenever they wanted.

[Guest]

Hi, I read on a blogsite that someone had a funny tummy after eating at Gourmet Burger Kitchen. It's quite an interesting blogsite about the area - lifeindulwich.blogspot.com. (I'm not promoting my own blog by the way.)

[Guest]

I went to GBK on Saturday for the first time and I thought the burgers were fantastic. But my gripe is that you have to go up to the counter to order and pay for your food and then pay for every drink you have as you order it. And as there were 10 of us it was a real hassle. So it's basically a fast food restaurant but charging regular restaurant prices. So not somewhere to go to for the dining experience. Plus no puddings!

[Domitianus]

What surprises me about GBK is the completely soulless nature of the staff. As might be expected the staff appear to be young East European women who, unfortunately appear to be completely devoid of personality. Young East European women can have personality and humour - just look at the girls in Mon Petit Chou!

[snorky]

Im a veg, so cant comment on the burgers, but its F*ckin expensive for a meal.

and I stuck the skewer into my cheek last time:(

and got into an argument with the staff when they offered me some blue cheese sauce on ordering, then tried to charge me a couple of quid for the privilige.

[Keef]

Worst thing about the place is the "white noise"... It's got awful acoustics, and I came out feeling a bit dizzy and nausious!

[Domitianus]

Snorky, if you plan to stick a skewer in your cheek again, let me know. I have always wanted to see one of those Indian fakkir things in person. People have often told me I am a bit of a fakkir so I am wondering if I have a latent talent.

[JoeChuff]

i totally agree, this is such a stupid practice. I went once and actually thought the food was very good, but every single other thing about that place put me off.

[DirtyBox]

The one in Clapham is excellent, the one in LL seems to use inferior meat as when I went there last it had quite a lot of grisle in it. I do object to paying ?2 or whatever for a tiny paper 'sample' of mayonaise though!

[Parker's Folly]

I agree with most of the above, but I also find these places extremely cramped. There's hardly room to swing a cat in there and even out on the "terrace" I see they've managed to squeeze in 5 tables - great for eavesdropping maybe, but not if you like a quiet and confidential conversation with your loved one.

[Domitianus]

I had a burger there yesterday and the burger was fine but the chips were minging!

[benjaminty]

If you like burgers, you wouldn't go to GBK. If you like value for money you wouldn't go to GBK. If you like to eat in a warm and comfortable environment with friendly service you wouldn't eat in GBK. I'd never go back there ..... once was enough.

I've a burger lover it has to be said and for my money you simply cannot beat the burgers at the Magdala (unless I'm kaing them myself from William Rose mince) - no vested interest in Magdala, I simply know what I like.... I've even tried to find out from the chef what she puts in them .. but to no avail! :(

[panda boy]

Just for the record the burgers in the Bishop are fantastic, probably the best around. Each one freshly made from minced fillets of beef, so you can have it cooked rare. If a 'Gourmet' burger place informed me they couldn't cook a burger rare then i'd be a little confused as to why they call themselves a gourmet kitchen? (Apart from the obvious marketing reasons...)

[mockney piers]

Hach? in Camden is the best I've witnessed. I realise it's a bit of a trek for those fortunate enough not to work there, but next time you take your teens to buy a pair of Doc Martins, it's well worth a pop in on Inverness St.

http://www.londontown.com/LondonInformation/Restaurant/Hach/d525/

[Alex K]

And at the Bishop you can actually have a rare burger?! Yowza! I'll give them both a try.

We rolled out the gas grill (oh, shush, we walk to work, our bit of backyard cookery is a carbon toeprint, no more) Friday afternoon and did just what BENJAMINTY recommends: Our own burgers, just off tartare, with William Rose mince. Heaven.

[Keef]

Home made burgers are the best, especially with generous amounts of hot pepper sauce thrown in to the mix!

[macroban]

Not doing so well?

[Keef]

Wow I didn't realise just how big a chain they were. My old flat mate used to work in Tootsies in Canary Wharf, and now I come to think of it, they are pretty much exactly the same!

[kford]

It's still the best of the 'good-for-you' burger joints, and infinitely better than McD's or BK in terms of quality and brand. Maybe it's just the way this particular franchise is run, if the Clapham one is still keeping up standards. Not being able to offer rare burgers does suggest that the patties are prepared off-site however.

Time for Wm Rose's to set one up.

Hnd home made are the best, as Keef says. Nice with a bit of ginger, red onion and coriander mixed in. Yum.

[Al&Em]

IMHO GBK is the best burger around - everywhere else I go afterwards just doesn't match it for taste....