The real question was: where, out of the many great lunch spots in Bristol, could suitably represent the wonderful Bristol food scene for my big brother?
After considering a few of my favourites- Yumi and Bill's both put up valiant fights- I landed on somewhere I had never been before, but had been winking at me for quite some time from it's convenient location on Whiteladies Road. The Burger Joint's name was temptation enough, but this place also lays claim to 'the best burgers in Bristol, probably the best in the world!'. With a statement like that the decision was a no brainer.
The restaurant has a light, bright, non-fussy decor with a simple colour scheme and slight nod to the old school American diner. The Burger Joint injects a little bit of fun into the ordering process, a subtle but refreshing touch to the standard burger bar. I secretly hoped the pile of pencils on the table meant we would be treated to one of those colouring-in books of our childhood that used to make 'grown-up' restaurant meals bearable. Alas, alack, 'twas not so. What we were treated to, however, was the menu of my dreams.
There are a selection of tasty looking starters to choose from, but we decided not to dilly dally and get straight to the point. To start off, you choose your meat. Of course they have their 6 oz prime beef burger, as well as a delicious sounding welsh lamb & mint option, not to mention venison and wild boar. A formidable spread indeed. Despite its meaty groundings, veggies are well catered for with a veggie burger and mushroom burger both available. Playing it safe for my first time, I chose the beef and hurried onto the next part of the menu.
Next step: choose your toppings. These are 80p each or 3 for £1.95. Now this was the truly hard bit. Deciding to be good and stick within the 3 topping deal, we began the complicated and harrowing process of selecting and flavour matching our topping choices. I had a hard time coming to terms with the fact that BBQ pulled pork and blue cheese simply do not work together, but ultimately decided to forgo the cheese. I'm sorry, but pulled pork AS A BURGER TOPPING?! My love of blue could not even topple this one. In the end I plumped for cheddar, guacamole and, of course, the BBQ pulled pork.
Queue, step 3: choose 2 free sauces to go inside your burger. Again, the choice is upsettingly good. Choose from the conventional- ketchup, mayo, burger relish- to the exotic- tarragon & lemon mayo, wasabi mayo, tzatziki- to the bizarre- apple sauce, and even peanut butter (although if you opted for one of the chicken burgers I imagine this has potential to make a mind blowing chicken satay-burger hybrid). Settling on chilli sauce and mayo, we hurried onto the 4th and final step.
Sides. A free side, no less. I don't think I need to tell you that there was a very fine selection, but as a big sweet potato fan, the sweet potato chips made my decision that little bit easier.
With over 8000 potential combinations available, a custom made burger is guaranteed for even those with the most bizarre tastes. Grabbing our pencils with greed, we ticked off our final answers on the option form, handed them to the waitress and let the anticipatory drooling commence.
After a short wait, the beasts arrived. This part almost defeated Cookson entirely, but he managed to compose himself shortly after this photograph was taken and step up to the plate (wahey).
There's something about the ungainliness of a burger which somehow adds to its beauty. Take my wonderful creation. Melted cheddar oozed over the beef, whilst the pulled pork and big blob of guac sat proudly within the soft toasted bun.
The patty was succulent and well seasoned, while the intensity of the cheddar was mellowed by the freshness of the creamy guacamole. The pulled pork added a whole new sweet, meaty dimension to the burger and is something I will 100% be trying again. The only change I would make would be having extra BBQ sauce instead of the mayo, as the guacamole added the cooling element and the BBQ sauce was really delicious.
The sweet potato chips were very good, although didn't quite match up to GBK's sweet pot chips with bacon aoili, which must contain some form of illegal substance to be as good as they are. A well deserved runner up title won either way.
It isn't ridiculously cheap, but definitely not overpriced. For an average burger with 3 toppings, 2 free sauces and a free side, you'll pay roughly £10. For what you get, this is actually pretty bloody reasonable.
A great little place with great big burgers. Even if my 5 female housemates cannot tempt James into a return visit, The Burger Joint definitely will. Now if you will excuse me, I'm off to see if there is any way blue cheese and pulled pork can find an agreement.
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