Feature

The Gold Standard of Cheeseburgers

For the first time in 5+ years of checking and testing burgers in Malta and all over Europe, we found one that scored 90+ points in our books. An old age myth says that the Gods of Olympus made men, and then waited for men to create the cheeseburger! The Gods can now come down from the clouds, as we have found a Gold Standard cheeseburger in Malta! That’s right, the first ever MALTAburgers GOLD STAR seal of approval is going to a Cheeseburger!

Never like in 2018, there has been such a peak in quality burgers and a spike in chef inventiveness. Every renown chef and kitchen aficionados are making burgers, even us at MALTAburgers are producing some world shuttering burgers in our kitchen that you can try at home. But coming up with a Gold Standard burger is no easy feat. The Gold is reserved for those burgers that are exceptional beyond belief. Those meat & bread creations that are handcrafted from scratch and display gastronomic techniques that are not usually associated with burger grilling. And now there’s a new standard when it comes to cheeseburgers, a burger of the same calibre as the offerings from Paris New York, Patty & Bun, The Hyde Bar and Burgermeister. And it’s all happening at the Gypsy Jazz. Wait! What and where is that?

The Manouche people originate from Northern India but made France their home. This is where the Manouche craft bakery in St. Julians got its name. Everyone knows them for their finesse in the classical preparation of pastries of all sorts. What you might not know is that a few weeks back, they launched a Bistro concept, with 1 burger on the menu. And today it’s Chef Jonathan‘s turn to cook the burgers for the day. He’s been working for 22 years in and out of kitchens, so he definitely knows his trade. We also spot Bjorn, one of the bistro owners, who spent considerable years running a French bistro in the UK.

The burger process starts with the bun, which is made in-house. Actually, every element of this burger is conceived in the bistro’s kitchen, which is quite sophisticated and chockfull of the latest catering machinery and commodities. The preparation is a lengthy process, with no shortcuts or ready-made frozen goods used. It’s the traditional way of making burgers, and the only way you can earn a Gold Star from us! The Manouche milk bun is organic, and is basically a lighter-style brioche, purposely created to hold up as much of the juices that emanate from the meat within its folds. The bun is sliced whilst cold, for a surgical-like clean cut. It is then covered with an egg wash and toasted on both sides. We peeked stealthily whilst Chef Jonathan spread the bun with butter. That’s just one of the secret touches that makes this burger a notch tastier. The soft, sponge-like milk bun is absorbent and malleable and keeps the burger in shape and our hands clean from the sauce. The inclusion of milk and butter in the fermentation process helps the milk bun to get its fascinating golden brown coloured crusty shell. It has a lightly sweet flavour that counteracts the saltiness of the burger and is also a lot less fatty than other bread. Making a burger bun is no easy feat, but just the texture of this crumb deserves all the praise. Manouche have opted to take matters in their own hands and make their own bun, and they have achieved a more than sterling outcome.

The 200gr patty is made from a mix of fresh chuck, brisket & sirloin. Manouche tried out some 15 different suppliers before settling for the ideal cuts of meat for this burger. The meat is slow cooked in Sous Vide at 55°C for one and a half hours, after which it is caramelised in a pan with raw garlic & thyme, which are also cultivated in the area. The protein is caramelised in the pan, whilst basting in butter, and is passed 2 times, using clarified butter and standard butter at the end. We know that Manouche is also using a small percentage of bread crumbs in the patty itself, to help retain more juices. This works phenomenally as the patty is unbelievably beefy and juicy until the last bite. No burger patty is perfect, but this one comes pretty close. There are two thin luscious layers of tomatoes resting under the patty. These do not only have the right diameter to cover the whole patty but are ripened to that just squeezable depth of tender red to provide acidity and a little extra sweetness.

The patty is topped with sliced onions, slowly cooked in butter and thyme. The final and most awaited element of the cheeseburger is the cheese itself. Manouche are using a combination of Gruyere and Comte, for a wide taste of sweet umami with a somewhat nutty profile. Gruyere comes from Switzerland and has a dense and compact texture. It’s slightly grainy but has a wonderful complexity of flavours. Comte, which is a typical French cheese, is often considered one of the finest cheeses in the world. Its texture can vary from silky, flabby to crystalline. By combining these two kinds of cheese from two neighbouring regions of Europe, you get a unique flavour and scent like no other cheeseburger. This alchemy of cheeses, which is very rich and melty, was indeed the highlight of this burger. Manouche have indeed managed to deliver a complete burger package like no other Maltese cheeseburger has ever dared before. It’s gold material reserved for the upper echelons of burger Heaven. Even if you don’t fancy burgers, and only plan to try one burger in 2018, this should be it… it’s an experience that will stay on your mind for days, and you’ll want to keep coming back again and again, no matter the cost!

Nothing is left unturned at Manouche, even the fries. These are made from local potatoes, hand-cut thin, and seasoned with salt. The fries are blanched at 160°C & left resting for no more than 48 hours. They are second fried in sunflower oil at 190°C and served hot. These are amongst the most delicious and crispy fries we tried out this year, and bring along much potato oomph right to your mouth. How they stay blonde and deliver this level of crunch is a well-kept secret. They are served with a roasted garlic aioli sauce and a true guilty pleasure… a smoked tomato chutney. With such distinctive sauces, who needs ketchup!

No visit at Manouche should go by, without the obligatory pastry or four! They concoct all the chocolate in their kitchen, and it shows. Our favourite is the milk chocolate truffle, but the berry port compote is the bomb. It’s made from an apple crumb pastry, with light cream and jam inside, and is topped with charred cream. They also do a salted caramel eclair with walnuts and cream inside, which is yet unrivalled. If you have a sweet tooth you will be drooling at everything that comes out of the kitchen. We know well, as we’ve been there!

Pirates go Avocado

Are pirates taking over the local burger scene? The answer would decidedly be an affirmative one if we put all our gold loot on the Pirata restaurant in St. Julian’s. 6 Months ago they opened a chic bistro on the busiest road in St. Julian’s and this summer they have almost taken over Mellieha bay. We need to investigate what burgers these pirates are brewing.

The man behind the steakhouse in St. Julian’s is Chef Roderick Vella, who’s a renown name in the local catering industry, as over the past 20 years or so, he’s had a hand or two in most of the top 5★ hotel kitchens in Malta. That’s quite a feat, so we’re expecting nothing less than an imperative outcome. At Pirata, he came up with a cannonball of a burger, jam-packed with the fattiest fruit of them all… the Avocado!

Indeed, this is one of the most loaded burgers we’ve seen so far this year. The potato roll is spread with spicy tomato ketchup and laden with 250gr of USDA chuck roll beef. A portion of herbed cream cheese goes on top, together with avocado slices and grilled zucchini. All this goodness is crowned with a helping of Pirata’s inhouse-aged cured pork neck.

From the very first glance, this burger proposes itself with a strong visual element that few of its brothers can boast of. It’s colourful and striking at first sight, and that’s always a very good start in our books. But how do all these elements work together with the beef? We need to taste!

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) meticulously grades beef at the request of meat producers, so this quality of beef is generally found in exclusive and upscale steakhouses. Anyone who has savoured USDA beef knows that it is delightfully tender and has a magnificent buttery flavour which makes it very distinctive from other meats. It’s usually derived from younger cows, so it has a good percentage of fat content as well as not too many nerves or gristle like other meats. Chef Roderick is using chuck roll to create his burger patty, which yields tender results. The thick patty is slow-cooked for 20 minutes, and a few pokes and squishes confirm its level of juiciness. Indeed it’s succulent at any temperature, full of flavour and has a rewarding fine texture. Any burger aficionado will have a happy day biting into this elegant piece of minced meat.

Sauces and condiments can make or break a burger. Here, the overall gusto is taken up a notch by the addition of spicy ketchup under the patty, which is entirely concocted in the Pirata kitchen. It kicks up the classic and is put in with a precise measure, to just add some zing without overpowering the main beefiness of the burger. Just like a well-balanced scale, there is herbed cream cheese on the other side of the patty! We love this style of cream cheese on a Wellington, as it’s refreshing and very aromatic, and brings a slight savoury French tinge, so it has an excellent home here, sandwiching the beef and contrasting the spiciness of the ketchup.

You usually find tomato and lettuce in many burgers, but if you are in California, avocados are a commonplace burger topping. These ripe slices of avocado add a layer of rich creamy taste and a definitive green kick of colour. The mild, delicate flavour of this ripe fruit – which in this case is cooked and not used raw – also keeps up with the freshness theme of this burger. An additional veggie boost comes from the grilled zucchini. If you hated zucchini as a kid, then you must taste these grilled ones, as they might well urge you to start growing them in your back garden! Zucchinis by themselves are rather bland, but here they picked up the flavours of the grill and have a slight sweet smokiness to them. They are a definitive step up from the usual lettuce and work well in the grand scope of this burger creation.

Every gourmet burger worth its name has a piece de resistance, and here it comes in the form of cured pork neck. Capocollo is made from the top part of the pig’s loin. Pirata get whole pigs, and they age and dry the meat in-house for months. They do their own mortadella, sausage and capocollo. The meat is deboned, salted and even massaged with peppercorns, and left to age for months. This produces a cut full of flavour, which is quite different from bacon. It’s sliced very thin and is a sort of cross between prosciutto and sausage, as it’s lightly spiced. It’s not overwhelmingly fatty as bacon and slightly smoky, only teasing your taste buds to good measure.

The burger comes inside a potato bun sprinkled with onions and pumpkin seeds, which Pirata bake themselves. We love the attention to detail, so top marks for that. Made with high-protein wheat flour, potato starch and vegetable oils, this bun has a supple doughiness, a light crust and is ridiculously buttery. It’s moist, yet substantial in texture. Its yellowish crispy crumb sets it apart from the fluffy sesame seed buns we see most of the time, yet it provides a sturdier bed for the patty and the many condiments of this burger. We’re seeing a rising trend in the use of potato buns in burgers, which we like a lot.

You also get sliced potato crisps and french onions as sides, which were a delicious accompaniment. This burger might induce the perception of being a classic bacon cheeseburger at first sight, but it has been bettered with the veggie power of avocados and zucchini, which do indeed add to the overall texture and creaminess. The toppings are piled high and stacked up all the way up to the bun, which makes for one visual experience, and can be continuously savoured layer upon layer. Chef Roderick has done a sterling job and created a burger unique enough to tantalise those looking for something alternative from the norm. We look forward to seeing further iterations of this burger from Pirata in the future.

The Aubergine & Halloumi connection

We’re always enthralled and overexcited when we come across a veggie burger with a congenial concept… and the burger of this week is such a case in point. Today our radar picked up an extreme reading of veggie activity in St. Julian’s. So we’re heading off to the pythonic Pendergardens complex, where U&Co Social Cafe rests at the very pediments. What’s the concept of a social cafe? This stylish diner is designed is a way to bring people together and move them to interact more in person. In a time where communication and socialising have become totally cyber, here’s someone who’s pushing everyone to get back to the roots, and encourage to share our best moments, eating good food and savouring wine! We’re game for that!

Executive chef Mark Borg has 18 years of kitchen experience under his belt. He spent the last 8 years working on different iterations of his signature veggie burger… and the work does not stop here! At U&Co he also comes armed with a well-equipped kitchen, full of new food-making technology! So what’s all the fuss about? Here’s a veggie patty made from a mix of aubergines, pine nuts, onions, fennel, garlic, ginger, chilli and coriander as some of the key ingredients. The patty is topped with 2 slices of grilled halloumi cheese, and all is served in a wholemeal roll with baby spinach and sliced tomatoes. This looks wholeheartedly veggie and promises to taste equally good too.

Many veggie burgers are made with some sort of combination of beans, but here we have one based on the aubergine, one of the most glorious vegetables, although it’s technically a berry! The aubergine pulp tends to have a mild flavour similar to other fruits like squash, but it has its own uniqueness and is slightly more acidic than squash. Plus, the aubergine is a great candidate for grilling. When combined with the crunchy yet buttery texture of pine nuts, this produces a patty that is pleasantly sweet and delicious. These nuts are high in protein content and give beef a run for its money! Chef Mark seems to have hit the jackpot here and found the ideal blend of aubergines and nuts to grill a crunchy patty with a crispy shell, that is not dry and has a very meaty colour too. It has an overall towering thickness, tantalising taste, tremendous texture and most important of all does not crumble apart at first bite.

The patty is interspersed with spices. The chilli brings in some deep zest and the ginger is well measured without being overpowering. There’s an intricate mix of middle-East-meets-Mediterranean flavours here that work well with the aubergine base and when combined together are quite difficult to find a better match for. The aubergine soaks up all the flavours you pair it with, which makes it an ideal canvas for this burger. All is very sublime and scrumptious!

This year we’ve seen an ascension of halloumi burgers, one tastier than the others. Until recent years, halloumi was a niche cheese even amongst vegetarians, but nowadays it seems to have become a staple mainstream, even in beef burgers. This salty cheese from Cyprus, made from sheep or goat milk, has a high melting point, allowing it to be grilled without losing its form and cool. It seems that our love for Mediterranean food and our eagerness to try new cheese combinations in burgers are the main factors that have brought this expensive cheese in the limelight. It also has a very unique taste, which can’t be easily compared with any other cheeses. Its saltiness works pretty well with the aubergine patty, as they produce an irresistible combination.

All the veggies and cheese are contained in a wholemeal bun, drizzled with a very refreshing herb oil made from olive oil, basil, mint. There are two slices of steamed and grilled beetroot rings on top, which are a very particular alternative for onion rings. We love such attention to detail, as this shows that thought and diligence has gone into the making of this burger. These rings bring a further earthy taste and feel to this veggie burger and are the final touch that seals the deal. There’s also a side of sweet potato chips alongside the burger. These tasty and crunchy orange sticks didn’t stay long on the plate, and they were all gone, long before the burger!

U&Co have produced a veggie burger that will leave even the most veggie-phobic of omnivores coming back for a second and third round at this different take on the classic cheeseburger. They are also launching a vegan menu with vegan wine. 2018 is proving to be a very good year to be a vegetarian in Malta!

Mdina Maltese burger

Our endless crusade for the most Maltese burger of them all leads us to the silent city. Nestled in the bastion walls of medieval Mdina, just a few steps away from Mdina gate, we come across Palazzo De Piro, a typical baroque-inspired grand house from times gone by. This place blooms with history and noble splendour. Built in the second half of the 16th century by Malta’s most revered architect Girolamo Cassar, it was originally three separate houses. In the 1950s, extensive structural changes were made to accommodate a school run by the Dorothean nuns. In 2005, Palazzo de Piro was acquired by The Metropolitan Cathedral Chapter and extensive restoration works were undertaken to create a cultural and artistic venue. The Infinitely Xara group took over the running of the Palazzo in 2012, and opened the Xpresso bistro, situated on the ground floor and the courtyard of the premises, with spectacular views of Mdina. It’s here that our burger informants claim that something very palatable is cooking on the grill.

We know that the Infinitely Xara catering team, led by Kevin Bonello of De Mondion fame, specialises in top class and healthy Maltese delicacies. What we did not know is that along the years, they have covertly introduced burgers on the Xpresso bistro menu! Chef Dorian has been here from the very start, handling the full-specification kitchen, which is very unique in that it also happens to have an incredible view of the Northern parts of Malta.

Their Maltese burger encapsulates staple ingredients from our local cuisine. The 200gr beef patty, made from cuts of chuck, is layered with semi-dried tomatoes. This is covered with a second patty made from a mix of crumbled Maltese sausage, coriander and parsley. Two slices of local goat cheese are melted on top to seal all the meat. The burger is encased in a soft brioche bun and served with French fries and a bouquetiere of fresh leaves.

The well-marbled beef has a very strong and robust flavour and is incredibly tender and juicy as a patty of beef can be. When it comes to beef patties, even the slightest bit of over-cooking can strongly alter the overall enjoyment. But that’s not the case here as the beef is supple, seasoned and cooked the way it should be. Surprisingly, the sausage patty is not unbearably-salty at all, like many Maltese sausage mixes we know of, and is equally appetizing from beginning to end.

The goat cheese adds a nuance of tang that is most welcome and different, and its creaminess seems to work much better with the sausage than other varieties of cheese. When melted, it’s gooey and has an own aged-flavour presence without taking anything away from the meat. Dried tomatoes usually have an intense sweet-tartiness and are much more potent than fresh ones, but these 3 slices of goodness have not been fully dehydrated. They have a good punch of tomato piquancy and help bring out the meatiness of both patties whilst adding texture and acidity, thus accentuating the burger with a nice and exquisite flair. All this produces a burger with an impeccable balanced taste, which is quite uncommon when it comes to Maltese burgers. Indeed, we were overjoyed to be able to relish through it, without exposing our taste buds to a saline overdose! The brioche bun is firm, soft and manageable and does a good job at withstanding the overflow of beef juices. It’s a makeshift wall of sorts and traps all the juices in, whilst holding all the meaty goodness without crumbling apart. And most important of all, it’s sized for this burger, with a gratifying bread to meat ratio.

Xpresso bistro have managed to make burger heads turn and create a thoughtful and luxury version of the classic burger, infused with key Maltese ingredients. But that’s not all. They have also conceived their own Maltese drink, which they call the Mdina cocktail. It’s made from gin, prickly pear liqueur, white wine, soda water and whole berries. It’s colourful and tasty and a perfect ending to an ace Maltese burger.

Excelsioring the Quinoa burger

Hands up all lovers of vegetables & burgers.
Is there any better way to spend a sunny day in July, either than by the pool, overlooking the beautiful Marsamxett Harbour?
Well, now there is! How about a relaxing lunch by the pool, with a Quinoa & Chickpea burger in one hand and a fresh fruit drink in the other?

We know that you’re all thumbs up for such a proposition, so today we’re off to the Tiki restaurant at the Grand Hotel Excelsior. There’s something spellbinding when you’re burgering the 5★ way! But don’t be deceived by the glitzy and extravagant double staircase of the main hotel entrance, the colourful carpeted floors and antique chandeliers & china, inspired by the luxury lifestyle of the Orient. At lunch-time, the Tiki turns into a casual Mediterranean diner, with prices in the same range as Paceville burger bars. Why settle for a ditch with plastic tables and a pale view of tarmac, when you can go 5★ and enjoy the most sumptuous veggie burger we came across this year, in an enthralling Valletta venue, right by the water’s edge?

This hotel also happens to be a relevant milestone in Valletta’s tourism history. The old building where The Excelsior resides today was demolished towards the end of 1992 and reopened à la grande in the last quarter of 2007. The pool area of the Tiki is on the skirts of the Valletta shore and presents a truly unobstructed view of the Harbour and Manoel Island. There are intriguing statues scattered all around and a central fountain, all built in China. These pieces of masonry art lead to the kitchen area where Executive Head Chef Melvin Sammut devised the burger creation of today, together with a whole conglomerate of other gourmet dishes.

The patty is made from a 250gr mix of vegetables based on white quinoa, roasted chickpeas infused with spices, mashed sweet potatoes, chives and parsley. All is enveloped in a panko crust, oven baked and deep fried until it’s golden. The sweet potatoes provide a whole motherload of orange tastiness and keep the patty moist, whilst the quinoa balances all the sweetness perfectly, and at the same time does a sterling job of holding the patty together and up the protein and calcium content. This patty is not going to fall apart into a big pile of mush anytime soon! All this produces a powerhouse patty that is fresh and filling, deliciously mushy on the inside and well-crusted on the outside and flaunts some serious Mediterranean flavour flair. The roasting process and chunky size of the crushed chickpeas help create a light and rich texture and add a layer of depth and heft to the patty. This kind of texture is spot-on for a veggie burger. The panko breading binds everything together in a thin and distinctive crust, without absorbing any unnecessary oil from the frying process.

There should always be a great bun behind every successful veggie patty, and this one is no exception! The potato bun was born in the 1950s in the US, but we have seldom seen it used in the local burger scene. Made with high-protein wheat flour, potato starch and a blend of vegetable oils with a little turmeric for colour, this bun is slightly buttery sweet and has a supple squishiness. Its yellowish crispy crumb sets it apart from the fluffy sesame seed buns we see all the time. The bun is imported specifically for this one burger and the complex, deep flavour makes a whole world of difference as does the very light crust and soft, moist but substantial texture. We think this kind of bun would also make the ideal partner for beef, and we hope that it will be adopted more in the times to come. Both sides of the bun are spread with a hummus paste made in-house. This chickpea-based paste is a bit smoky, nutty and very smooth with the consistency of unfrozen ice-cream. There’s also crispy lettuce and 3 slices of tomatoes at the base, which add a splash of summer colour and a draft of raw vegetable zest.

This very distinctive burger, and our favourite so far this year evolves the concept that anyone can enjoy the comfort of biting into a crunchy, flavourful and satisfying veggie burger, without the need of comparing to its meat brothers. Indeed, this protein bomb of a burger is perfectly poised to keep you full from lunch to dinner. Much thought and attention has gone into the creation of this burger, and the simplicity of the burger itself emphasizes, even more, the complexity of all the flavours. Savoury and flavorful, the umami-packed and vegetable-loaded patty hits the spot on all fronts. The kitchen team at the Excelsior have really excelled themselves and made us experience some of the essence of the tropics through their veggie burger offering.

French time at The Greenhouse

There are those times when the weekend is at your doorstep and you feel like celebrating with a sophisticated, elegant and refined dinner. Maybe something French, to make up for all the stress and intensity of the week gone by. When we think of French food, we envision luxury white tablecloth restaurants and patisseries with pyramids of macarons. But when the French cook at home, they tend to go for simple, comfort food. So why not a suave gourmet burger inspired by French gusto that is full of flavour and chic?

Today we’re heading to upper-class Swieqi, at The Greenhouse bistro. The burger speciality that triumphantly depicts the same name as the bistro was devised by executive chef Davide Giorgione. It’s made from a 250gr patty of Scotch Angus beef, sauteed mushrooms, white truffle sauce and goat cheese. Et voila le jeux sont fait!

Rumen is managing the kitchen area today. He hails from Bulgaria and settled in Malta 9 years ago. We’ve seen Rumen’s work in various top restaurants in the past, so it’s always a pleasure to know that your burger is being handled by someone who lives and breaths cuisine. The burger is enveloped in a bun made by the in-house bakery. The bun is toasted to bring a little contrast to the pillowy soft texture. It has a great springiness and suppleness to it and stays moist until the very last bite. The bun halves are abundantly spread with a mayo and white truffle sauce, a creamy blend with a delicate aroma. Crispy lettuce and 2 slices of tomato form a vegetable bed for the piece de resistance, a Scotch beef patty made from ribeye and cube roll cuts. This beef, sourced from the infamous Scotch Angus cows is firm yet tender, lean and juicy. In Scotland, Angus bulls are customly crossed with other cattle breeds, producing a nice marbled meat, full of flavour, which intrinsically ends up in our patty. This especially shows off through the moist and juicy insides of the patty, and the crisp and charred beef-fatty outsides. It’s exceptionally tasty as well. This meatfull patty is thick, dense and well-seasoned, just as we like them!

The mushrooms are sauteed in butter together with onions, and white truffles added to the mix. Because of the sheer amount of fragrant truffle used, you can smell truffle before the burger hits the table. A small hill of these flavourful mushrooms goes on top of the patty. These are cleverly sealed with perfectly melted goat cheese, creating a feathery white dome, and keeping the truffle-infused mushrooms safe in place until they land in your mouth! There’s some good burger architecture going on here, with no mushroom spill guaranteed! There’s almost as much goat cheese as there is patty, and that is brilliant. This definitely enhanced the whole burger experience as the goat cheese imparts the burger with a salty and slightly tangy taste in every bite, and together with the earthy vibes that come from the truffles and mushrooms, they elevate this burger tenfold. The burger creation is finished off with 3 crispy onion rings on top.

There’s much to like about the angelic ingredients that make up this burger. There’s something fantastique about the combination of barnyard goat cheese and earthy, woody truffles, making this burger so rich that it laughs in the face of its gold-leaf adorned variants. The fusion of tangy goat cheese and mushrooms is fresh, glowing and much decadent! There’s no doubt, whether you like French cuisine or not, this is one of those rare burgers you ought to try today before tomorrow.

Davide Giorgione, who’s also a renown pastry chef has also come up with an Oreo flavoured Tiramisu. How can we say no to this? This dessert of Italian origins is fluffy, sweet, and made from layers of creamy mascarpone cheese and strong cocoa…. and of course, crushed Oreos! The Greenhouse have sprung to the top of the desserts game and are killing it big time here. No visit should go by without devouring one of their desserts.

Top 5 Fries [2018]

Whether you call them French Fries, Chips or Potato Fingers, Burgers’ best friends are loved all around the world, even by vegetarians. The Burger-Fries relationship is known to have started after World War 1, when White Castle, home of the then 5 cent hamburger, found out that returning veterans were asking for fried potatoes. These sliced batons of potato are cut to various thicknesses and then fried in oil until golden, varying from soft to crispy, and most often served with little more than a dusting of salt. And today it’s their day!

Just like every year, we celebrate French Fries Day by turning a blind eye onto burgers and going Potato all the way!

Whilst many millennials keep on arguing over McD and Burger King‘s fries and never bother to try out anything else, we’re restoring the balance in the war between good and evil by touring the whole island and tasting whatever Fries come in our way! Much has changed since 2017. Burger King and KFC‘s hold in the top ranks has dropped down drastically after serving us limp and flaccid fries more than 60% of the time. Badass have been busy restructuring their branding, but whilst others have stepped up their game and elevated the sweet potato, the Badass version lay dormant and fell short of a nickel to make it to the Top 5. This year we’re also featuring the more exotic Fries, the ones with more unusual cuts and flavours.

So, who are the new players of 2018?

Marsaskala area
Mr PotatoHead

Mr PotatoHead is a well-kept secret amongst Marsaskala locals. It’s part of Mo! Burgers and offers fried chips on their own in a cardboard cone. These fresh cut chips are the fruit of our local produce. If you’re into frozen fries, please do go somewhere else. If you want to get a taste of the labours of the “my life is a potato” guy and his many potato farmer friends, this is the place to be. These are thick, generously sized and hand cut potatoes like Grandma used to do them before the frozen food revolution took over. The fries are plentiful on the plate and they taste as potato as a Maltese potato can be. They are fried to the perfect temperature and are not a bit bitter from the amount of skin left on. They are always fried to order so they are hot and have a lot of hearty and savoury depth. These are one of the most heavily seasoned fries we found, but that’s a good thing. For being straight up fries, these are phenomenal!

Mr PotatoHead also have the option of sweet potatoes, and we’re big-time suckers for these! Look at the fabulous colour of those sweet fries! As big admirers of the Almighty Sweet Potato, we were thrilled that they tasted as divine as they look. There’s also 10 different dips and sauces to combine with these fries. We tried the garlic one, with cloves and cumin seeds, and the Balsamic one, made from honey and vinegar. Make sure you don’t miss out on these, as they elevate the fries to a new level of exotic taste.

There’s more to it though, and the name of the game is The Twister Dog. This is a wurstel sausage, with a radially-sliced whole potato wrapped on the outside. All are deep-fried to create a unique foodporn like we’ve rarely seen in potatoland! Mr PotatoHead definitely live up to their name and know their game inside out, so it’s no wonder that they are the undisputed King of Potatoes in the South.

Msida University area
Hangout

There’s always a lot of food buzz around the University area, as the fight for a slice of the students’ stipend rages on. Hangout have managed to come out victorious on all fronts, and apart from the student-friendly prices and genuine food, we believe that one of their secrets is acing the fries game. If it wasn’t for Hangout, NYB would win the French Fries battle hands down. These are premium potatoes with a beautiful crispy texture and a super crunch quality. Indeed, these fries come out with a crunch that lasts long enough for you to finish the whole lot. Their flavour is very potatoey, however, the most distinguishing factor must be the special mix of spices that they are covered with. These spices are imported exclusively by Hangout, and even though they were originally meant to be used with meat, Hangout have experimented and concocted measures and formulas, until they managed to succeed in a brilliant pairing. Infusing flavour in potatoes without the use of sauces is no easy feat, but Hangout has shown that it can be done. No more adjectives needed, it’s well worth visiting just to try them out!

Junior College area
Gyros & Churros

Poutine is a Canadian dish of French Fries topped with gravy and cheese curds. Americans took the concept further, adding regional variations to cater to local tastes. And the evolution continues at G&C and their selection of loaded fries, ranging from cheesy fries with paprika, to the superb pulled pork ones with spring onions, to the pizza loaded fries with slices of pepperoni, salsa and loads of heavenly cheese. These Fries are the real deal for those hungry Junior College students who will not shy away from a hanzirata! This fries dish is meant to be shared between 2 or 3 people, but there will always be those hungry piggies who will eat it all on their own! Obviously, this one is a massive calorie hit, but who cares when it tastes this fantastic. The one we recommend the most has melty cheese and is topped with delicious pulled pork. When you get a forkful of all that, you might even forget about getting a burger as a main! However it’s not suffocated with an extreme amount of toppings, and the ratio of potato to condiments is just right. There are enough potatoes to scrape off the meat, BBQ sauce and cheese; that is, if you ever manage to eat it all! It’s no wonder that G&C have become a foodie landmark for students, and we can envision them eating these fries all day long, starting with late breakfast…

Sliema area
 Just Burger

These are the only fries featured in our 2017 Top 5, that are making a comeback to this year’s hit list. And there’s a good reason for that! Sliema is concentrated to the brim with restaurants of all sorts, all serving fries. These bagged chips from Just Burger encapsulate the purest form and truest feel of the classic French Fry. They have a high percentage of potato content in them as Just Burger imports these exclusively from some Swedish supplier only they know of. Apart from good raw material, the kitchen guys always get the fries crisped to a level we seldom get to experience. They’re crunchy enough to withstand a vortex and come out unharmed! We’ve tested them regularly every few weeks and unlike other express food brands, the end result is always very consistent. They are generously seasoned and aren’t greasy, so they compliment a burger nicely. We suggest you get the large portion and an extra sauce dip from a selection of tasty and exotic flavours. These sauces really increase the taste properties of the fries by a tenfold. You won’t ever want to touch any other Chips!

Bugibba area
Bistroteca

Here’s an intriguing variant on sweet potatoes… round hand-sliced crisps! We rarely tasted sweet potato chips so crispy, light and flavorful! They are crusty and have an all-crunch vibe across all the surface area. Three bites in and we were hooked. They are scrumptiously sweet, solidly salted and the portions are more than generous. We haven’t been this happy since Christmas time! Every time we are in the neighbourhood, it’s a good excuse to savour these appetizing crisps again. There must surely be some sort of magic trick involved on how these are crisped up equally on both sides, as the result is amazing. A definite must try.

We will bring you more Chips News in the months to come, as restaurants and express food joints up their game, and bring French Fries to a whole new level of awesomeness!

Triple Submarine Burger

The straightforward portability achieved by applying a beef patty to a bun is central to a burger’s appeal. It wasn’t until 1921 that Walter Anderson, developed the first bun designed exclusively for a burger. Since then potato rolls, brioche buns and sesame seed buns have been exclusively used for burger making. The round and dome-like bread has dominated burgers for aeons.

Today we’re planning to go big, but we don’t want to do it the conventional vertical way. Oh no! Today, we’re going horizontal! French Baguette, Italian Panino, American Submarine, they are all sandwiches made from a long bread or roll, split crosswise and filled with a variety of meats, cheeses, vegetables, and condiments. That’s burger enough for us! In 2017, France alone consumed 1.46 billion hamburgers compared with 1.22 billion baguettes. So why don’t we see more burgers inside the longer bread varieties?

We head towards the University area in Msida, at Hangout, who opened in late 2016 and was a sudden hit with the locals. The secret? Student-friendly prices and genuine food sourced locally. The place has a simple yet stylish decor and originally offered the option of selecting from a variety of bread, condiments and sauces and build your own custom burger. This has been somewhat downsized as most were spending too much time contemplating what to order! You can still customise your burger from the menu, which features such hits as the Black Beast & the Chicken Schnitzel! When we heard that Jeff, one of the owners, was concocting a baguette burger, we made sure to pay a visit before they close down for summertime for refurbishment.

Dubbed by us as the Triple Submarine Burger (TSB), this is the beefy child of a sophisticated French Baguette and a 3-tier muscled Burger. The bread is 30cm long and houses lettuce, sliced tomatoes and Leicester cheese at the base. The bread is light, with a great crunchy exterior. The Leicester is very similar to Cheddar cheese, although it’s crumblier and has a mild flavour. The cheese is left in its natural form and not melted. The three 90gr patties are made from a mix of knuckle & chuck beef, together with Maltese sausage. The meat is sourced locally on a daily basis, so it’s fresh as it can be. These are not the standard beef patties that Hangout use in most of their other burgers, but are more of a special edition! The Maltese sausage casts a strong sense of flavour to the meat mix and is surprisingly not too salty, like your butcher’s Maltese sausage mix. The meat is topped with 4 pieces of thick bacon. They have a very good crisp to them and bring along that paradise smokey flavour to your taste buds. As every bacon worth its name, it’s covered with bbq sauce. If you like your burger well-sauced, you’re in for a real treat here, though the TSB is not a messy affair! All is sprinkled with crunchy onions, which add even more texture and crispness to the burger build.

We’ve all seen huge vertical burgers made with 3 or more patties. This is the perfect horizontal representation of that. If you want to call your burger Long, this is the real deal, so please Burger King take note of how things should be done! It seems like the long bread was designed to house the patties and condiments, as everything fits beautifully like a jigsaw puzzle. It’s one of those burgers that must be experienced first hand to truly understand the level of awesomeness. Some burger eaters like to take off the top bun because sometimes the bread to meat ratio is too unbalanced. That’s not the case here and having 3 patties spread across, lets you enjoy the bread all the way. Hangout say that this was made to share, and sized as a serving for 2, but we know not a few people who won’t think twice and eat it all on their own! Without a doubt, Hangout have managed to leave behind all competition with little ease, and right now they have the longest and meatiest submarine burger in Malta.

Maxi Nacho Burger

[Unfortunately Jamie’s closed down in late 2018, after Avotaco took over the Msida area by storm]

Here’s a big existential question: what if a Mexican had invented the burger steak in the 1880s? It would definitely look different from the bread sandwich we know today. And that’s exactly what popped up in our minds today, whilst hanging around for lunch at Jamie’s in Msida. This exuberant food shop with a beautiful view of the Msida marina has carved its own niche in the food-packed neighbourhood, by offering all sorts of Mexican street food, together with the classic express food (Noodles, Tortellini, Curry rice and even Timpana) we all love. Everything has a vibrant taste of homemade food, thanks to owner Yan and chef Liam, who are always serving patrons with a happy smile. The place has only been open for 3 months, but it’s buzzing with insatiable clients eager to experience a taste of authentic Mexican cuisine without breaking the bank. If you love the Tacos from Amigos, wait till you taste the real thing at Jamie’s!

Jamie’s has a varied burger menu, but this week we’re looking for unique and eccentric. So Yan has devised a burger patty sandwiched between tortillas and nachos and filled with classic Mexican flavours. It’s meant to be a hybrid between a Quesadilla and a Taco. A quesadilla is a closed flour tortilla which is filled with grilled cheese and a mixture of spices and vegetables. A taco is a rolled corn tortilla with a variety of fillings, including beef, pork, chicken, vegetables and cheese, and garnished with salsa, avocado and guacamole. Since this creation has no name yet, we’re bold enough to christen it The Maxi Nacho burger!

The base is made from 2 grilled flour tortillas, which are alternatively spread with Guacamole and Refried beans, which is essentially a paste made from Borlotti beans. The Guacamole has a good avocado texture and a delicious punch of lime with a slight heat from the peppers. Two 6″ round nacho corn tortillas go on top. The nachos are fried to perfection and are glistering hot and crispy all the way through, exactly as one would expect. On top goes the hero of the day, a 270gr Angus beef patty, which is covered with melted cheddar cheese. The patty is pressed in-house from chuck and ribeye cuts and is well packed with coarse ground meat. It has been craftily modelled flat and wide, to fit perfectly within the diameter of the tortilla and nachos, and it’s one of the largest patties we’ve ever seen. A large mountain of Pico de gallo salsa and Jalapenos goes on top. There’s a lot of jalapenos which are reasonably spicy. The Pico de Gallo is made from chopped tomatoes, peppers, onions, and cilantro and is really fresh and tasty, and is the perfect alternative for the more classic tomato slice we see in many burgers. All this is covered with melted Nacho cheese. The juices from the jalapenos and the Pico tomatoes intermingle with the cheese and produce an extra kick. Before the burger is closed, the other half of the tortilla and nacho are covered with sour cream.

Indeed this is one of the sauciest burgers we’ve ever laid hands on and is as messy as it can be! Tacos are generally eaten without utensils, and luckily this one comes in its own wrapping, which makes it possible to enjoy without any spill. Despite its XL look, we managed to eat it all with no regrets! The guys at Jamie’s have really excelled themselves by showing creativity and inventiveness, and at the same time, all the condiments display a whole palette of vibrant colours. This melding of the iconic American burger with faithful Mexican flavours, creates an arsenal of texture, zing and spiciness in one burger package. We’ve seen burgers with nachos and Doritos inside, but The Maxi Nacho burger is a hands-down winner and will definitively be on our summer menu, week in, week out. Hasta la vista!

Greek Gyro Burger

Opa! After testing a number of lamb burgers over the past weeks, we started to feel that slight disinterest towards Greek food. That was until some students from the #MALTAburgers Guild of Burger Eaters reported of a burger-style Greek Gyro around the Msida school area. The burger game at the Junior College area is single-handedly dominated by NYB. Will the Gyro Burger prove to be novel enough to attract the always-hungry college students? #MALTAburgers went to investigate.

Gyros & Churros opened in February 2018, in the same premises of the now defunct White Arrow, one of the most iconic students’ snack bars from yesteryear. DJ Cyprian Cassar & tattoo artist Matthew Agius have taken over the place, stripped it inside out and renovated it into a slick and modern eating place. There’s a pool table for nostalgia purposes, cool stools, cast iron furnishings and lots of brick walls. Even a 90s kid would love this place. The concept of merging Greek and Spanish street food is leading-edge, and so far it has proved to be a hit with students as the place is always buzzing with youths. And the contemporary decor helps too!

The traditional Gyro is a sort of pita sandwich stuffed with meat that has been slow roasted on a spit and shaved thin, kebab-style. The wrapped meat is generally chicken, beef, lamb, or pork and is paired up with tzatziki sauce and all sorts of veggies. The more modern, and less traditional Greek/American Gyro loaf tends to be a combination of beef and lamb, generally with a ratio that favours beef. And that’s the case in point here, as the Gyro burger is made entirely of beef. The goal was to create a combo that has all the classic flavours of the Gyro, yet ticks all the boxes of the crucial elements that make a burger: meat, condiments and sauce, encased in bread. The patties are made from 50gr of local beef. You get two of them in every Gyro. Chef Mark Mallia gets ready with his conveyor belt BBQ grill. The patties are grilled and finished in the oven, depending on the requested temperature. The meat has a light seasoning that evokes that Gyro-like flavour. Gyro meat tends to be densely packed, but when it comes to burgers, a more loose, coarse and crumbly texture is more adequate. Here, the beef has been minced to a level between coarse and fine, which kind of achieves a cohesive texture of Gyro loaf. The char marks, browning and holding consistency of the patty is gold champion level. Chef Mark definitely knows how to nail his meat!

The pita is a flat and hollow bread that is slightly leavened. It’s mostly based on a mix of flour and water, but G&C have their own recipe that yields lighter than usual results. It’s freshly prepared on a daily basis and then grilled on the spot. There’s no tzatziki or pickled pepperoncini in this burger. Instead, there’s a capacious amount of cheesy burger sauce spread all over the pita, made from mayo, ketchup, chilli and herbs. Crispy fries together with slices of tomatoes go on top. Everyone knows that no burger should be consumed without fries, so G&C want to make sure of that, by craftily amalgamating the fries inside the burger itself! The patties are topped with caramelised onions, that provide crunch and introduce a slight element of sweetness. All these elements unite all the best bits of a gyro loaf worth eating: juicy meat with herb seasoning… with a hamburger! All is enveloped in a branded wrapper, which is a God-send and avoids unneeded spills.

The Gyro burger seems to have found a favourable audience, seeing that G&C are now also offering burgers in their more traditional bun form! And for those who like to nibble on fries, one by one, G&C have you sorted out in a big way. They have a selection of loaded fries, anything from cheesy fries with paprika, to the superb pulled pork ones with spring onions. If you like spice, then go for our favourites, the pizza loaded fries with slices of pepperoni, salsa and loads of heavenly cheese. It’s no wonder G&C has become a landmark for students, we can envision them eating these fries all day long, starting with late breakfast…