jalapeno

Cinco de Mayo Burger

Cinco de Mayo weekend, the fifth of May, is here, so let’s indulge on tacos, burritos and margaritas! That’s the proper way to celebrate, right? Or do we have another case of St. Patrick’s day here? This holiday was originally meant to celebrate the Mexican army’s 1862 victory over France during the historical Franco-Mexican War. While this is a relatively minor holiday in Mexico, it was the Americans who evolved it into a commemoration of Mexican culture and heritage, particularly in areas with large Mexican-American populations. Many people outside Mexico even mistakenly believe that Cinco de Mayo is a celebration of Mexican independence, which was declared more than 50 years before the Battle of Puebla in 1862. Indeed for many native Mexicans, May 5 is a day like any other. It is not a federal holiday, but there are military parades and other festive events. Native Mexicans don’t overdose on tacos, guacamole, tostadas, enchiladas and tamales on this day. That doesn’t mean we can’t though! Add to that Paloma with tequila, mariachi music and sombreros and we have a jubilant Sunday.

In the past years, we’ve seen a drastic increase in local eateries that propose taco-based menus, more than often including sky-high piles of nachos drowned in cheese and colossal fishbowl margaritas. These couldn’t be more different than true Mexican cuisine. From food trucks turned restaurants with the obligatory hefty price tag, to holes in the wall combining canned ingredients, and the likes of Lovely Malta advertising them as freshly made! And there are even those Texan & Mexican mish mash menus that have little in common with traditional Mexican recipes. We’ve seen and tasted them all. At the end of the day, we always end up at La Vida in Sliema for our Latin American fix. The fact that they have a peppery Mexican burger on the menu, might have something to do with that too!

We’ve already visited La Vida last January where we witnessed a sensational Spanish Fiesta brimming with food and wine. Cinco de Mayo is a very good justification to clear our schedule and commute to the busiest part of Sliema, to experience typical Mexican cooking, packed with flavour, colour and spice… La Vida is the brainchild of David and Elaine, a sweet couple from Australia and Ireland. They visited Malta on many occasions until three years ago they bought the corner place in Sliema and realised their project of passion. They named it La Vida, which literally translated from Spanish means life. This corner restaurant is just off the seafront at Ghar id-Dud and looks akin a humble yet homely affair. It’s unostentatious and promises modestly-priced food and friendly vibes. The place has proved to be such a popular haunt, that they are shortly opening another one at Carob Tree in Spinola. And above all, every visit to La Vida is not just a burger affair, it’s a 360° food experience. This time we will be indulging our taste buds with delicacies from Mexico & Latin America.

Mexican flavours run the gamut, from the highly complicated to the purely simple. Mexican cooking truly covers two ends of the spectrum. Something as a tuna tostadita, which is not complex at all is the perfect way to start our culinary journey. We tried two types of tostaditas, one with a hot chipotle sauce, and one sprinkled with sesame seeds and marinated in lime, which turned out to be our favourite. Both are made from fresh cuts of sashimi-style local tuna, which is exquisitely salted. These have a crunchy and toasted flat base made from bite-sized, blue corn tortillas, and are smouldered in tasty guacamole. The taste of blue corn tortillas tends to be superior to wheat ones and they have no gluten to worry about! They also provide a colour base that is different, verging on the eye-catching. In Mexico and other parts of Latin America, toasted flat tortillas are customarily served as a companion to seafood, so this tuna version is more than fitting and appealing.

Many affirm that it’s the traditionaliest of all traditional Mexican food, the tacos, that have opened countless minds and palates to experience real Mexican cuisine. A taco is a corn or wheat tortilla folded around a filling. There are no basic rules when it comes to the variety of fillings that can be used, and this allows great versatility and variety. Maybe this, combined with the fact that tacos must be eaten without utensils, are what makes this food so customary Mexican. La Vida have quite a few tacos to choose from but our favourites are the pulled pork one, made from local pork that has been marinated and slow cooked for 24 hours, served on blue corn taco shells, with guacamole, pickled onions and garnished with pea shoots; and the Western Mexico inspired fish one with guacamole, onions, coriander and dressed with smoked mayonnaise, and wrapped in a soft white corn tortilla. These fish tacos are made from local white fish marinated in achiote oil and garlic and cooked on the plancha. Both taco shells are gluten free.

Some think that Mexican food is heavy and is all about yellow cheese. Others associate it with fast food. But it’s definitely not. Mexican cuisine offers something for just about every palate. So if you’re feeling more exotic you will definitely like the tempura prawn taco, with chipotle mayo and bean paste. This one is precisely spicy, fragrantly fresh, colourful and full of bright flavours. Vegetarians will find a plethora of options in authentic Mexican cooking. It doesn’t have to be all rice and beans. Imagine a taco filled with either cauliflower nuggets with seaweed, or with roasted carrots, peppers and onions in a tomato base. These are strikingly crunchy despite being vegan. La Vida has a whole vegetarian and vegan menu which we’re sure we will have the possibility to elaborate on in the near future.

Moving a bit further away from Mexico, but still cruising around the Latin American region, we spot Patacons on the menu. The patacon is one of the most popular Colombian dishes made from fried plantain, which is a fruit from the banana family with a very unique flavour profile. Ripe plantains have a firm texture and they are fashioned into a basket and frozen to form a very hard pastry shell with a particular starchy flavour. These authentic Latin Caribbean fried plantains are topped with a juicy prawn cocktail, drenched in a lush sauce made from Courvoisier, a brand of cognac from France. They are crispy, full of sea flavour and beautifully seasoned. The sauce, in particular, elevates the prawn’s fresh flavour by a tenfold. These patacons heaped high with prawn delights are a hearty meal in itself. No utensils please, just use your hands, as they are meant to be consumed!

Often dubbed as one of the best breakfasts in the world, the Arepas are deep fried pockets made from a cornmeal and salt dough. These are Venezuelan style arepas which are a bit thick and are handmade one by one in the La Vida kitchen. We loved the chicken with avocado and the squid with prawn arepas, which are filled to the brim with these tasty ingredients. The fleshy octopus filling tastes charred and salty and is done to just the right level of tenderness. These crispy flavour bombs are definitely one of the highlights of the whole menu. No visit to La Vida should go by without consuming an Arepa or three!

Good food is never too much food and after this whole conglomeration of Latin American delicacies have been consumed and dealt with, we’re big game for the atracción principal, which is the Mexican inspired burger we originally came for. The 150gr patty is made from ground beef, flavoured with Mexican seasonings including chilli, garlic and paprika. Nothing gets us excited like a hearty, spicy and brawny burger patty that has a touch of heat and stays tender as you bite through. The patty is seared on the grid and finished in the oven.

Unsurprisingly enough the first Mexican element comes in the form of jalapeno peppers, which are carefully layered on top of the patty. The pepper is ubiquitous in Mexican cuisine. Jalapenos, serranos, habaneros and chipotles, to name just a few, all get their moment to shine in different dishes, with heat levels ranging from mild to mouth-on-fire. The green jalapeno used here is picked early in the ripening process, before turning red, and it has a fresh, crispier taste. Capsaicin, the chemical that gives chillies their heat, is concentrated around the seeds, and that’s why some like to “cheat” and remove these! The overall chilliness of this burger ensemble is rated at a very mild level so it can be consumed by all, even those with the most sensible of taste buds.

The bun is layered with Pico de gallo made from chopped tomato, onion, cilantro and lime juice and is the perfect alternative for the more classic tomato slice we see in many burgers. Everything is covered with a load of creamy guacamole and salsa which produce an extra saucy kick to the overall burger flavour. Quite surprisingly there’s no cheese inside this burger, but the combination of flavours is tasty enough that we didn’t miss it that much. The burger is encased in a bun, which is perfectly toasted so it holds all the condiments comfortably inside the bread. The Mexican burger is accompanied by a side of vegetarian nachos, covered with melted cheese, salsa and more guacamole.

La Vida have created a straight forward yet creative burger full of hot personality, that’s a joy to experience, even on a hot sunny day. Even though it does not sport a sombrero, it looks the Mexican part all the way, tastes mucho spicy and smells divine. It definitely ticks all the boxes we were looking for in a jalapeno-themed burger. David and Elaine have convinced us once again of their eatery, thanks to the authenticity of their food and jubilant vibes. Even though burgers are not part of the traditional food experience in Mexico, we believe that every country should have its own national gourmet burger in 2019, and we think that La Vida has succeeded brilliantly in laying the first steps in creating one.

Squashed & Buttered

2018 is soon coming to an end, yet we persevere on our search for Malta’s premiere burgers made from vegetables. What’s great about veggie burgers is the opportunity to create something unique, with endless flavour combinations, from black bean to rice to exotic vegetables. In 2017 we’ve tried, tasted and tested 19 different vegetable-based burgers, discarded the bland ones and incinerated the cheaters made from frozen soy patties, and barely found 5 to build a hit list. Making a gratifying veggie burger is no child’s play. Was 2018 any different? Whilst others take a shortcut and copy, paste & link lists of 13 random vegetarian burgers they found through Facebook search, just for the sake of plopping commercial adverts on the side, we took our time and went around the Gzira & Sliema area to hunt for new burger offerings. This part of Malta is particularly dense with foreigners working for gaming companies and language students, consequently giving birth to an array of healthy & veggie-friendly eateries. And wherever there is good food, there’s always a good burger. Or so we thought.

We checked the usual suspects (Grassy Hopper, Dr Juice, J’Oli, Eeetwell) but only came across average to OKish burgers at best. We were underwhelmed. We were going to throw the towel and scream defeat from finding any prominent veggie burger, when we came across the Balance Bowl, a hip and trendy eatery hidden between blocks of apartments, that opened its doors some 3 months ago. Founded by three passionate foodies that met in London, these Charlie’s Angels of the veggie world visited Malta regularly before deciding to give a new spin to their livelihood and set up shop here.

Amidst bowls full of green pesto, Asian veggies, pasta, chickpea curry and even an unlimited salad buffet bar, we were lucky enough to stumble across a new burger on the menu they devised just a few days back. Going by the name of The Squashed Tahini, this burger is made from a whole Butternut Squash round as a patty. The concept of not using a mashed patty is very bold here, but make no mistake, it’s not done for novelty’s sake. This is marinated for hours in soy sauce, garlic, pepper and oil and left to cool down before it’s covered in a water & flour paste, breaded in panko and deep fried until it’s glistening and golden. The effect of panko really outshines other breading mixes here. Panko is made from white bread that has no crust, as opposed to the whole wheat variety, and here it creates a crispy, flaky and crunchy texture like no other veggie burger we tried out in Sliema in the last few days.

This patty was inspired by one of the most popular local vegetables, and Ewelina, the top woman in the kitchen, says that they wanted to elevate the bright butternut squash to celebrate locally sourced produce. Indeed this patty is a bomb full of fall flavours, with its sweet zest and soft pumpkin-like texture at the core. It’s so flavorful on its own, that you don’t even need to add much to it. But guess what? There is much added! That comes in the form of Tahini and Hummus which provide more than a kick of spice and flavour flair.

Tahini is a dense paste made from crushed sesame seeds, with hints of lemon juice and a gentle garlic note. This sauce is a staple throughout the Middle East as a dairy-free alternative to cream sauce. It’s a sort of peanut butter, except it’s more nutty and creamier, with a whiff of lemon that adds the right amount of acidity for a zingy, savoury taste. Take some chickpeas, add tahini and you have Hummus. If you love Middle Eastern cuisine you know that hummus tastes different between eateries. Some have a strong lemon flavour, some have an overwhelming garlic flavour, and some hummus has a spicy tone. It’s the tahini that creates this wide variation in flavours. Making hummus without tahini is like making mashed potatoes without butter! You just don’t do it. The hummus here has a thick texture with a smooth consistency and very earthy tones. The chickpeas are ground to a good firmness which create a more natural taste. It’s flavoursome and well balanced, and that hint of garlic complements the overall nuttiness of the hummus mix, elevating its flavour profile. And there’s generous portions of the spread too. We can checkmark our bean and veggie intake for this week!

The wholegrain bun which is sourced locally is filled with veggies like lettuce, onion and tomatoes, all grown by Maltese farmers. These are topped with crunchy, tangy and pickled jalapenos. All this vegetable goodness sums up to a burger that has the power to appeal to the general burger-loving audience, as it has the right balance between flavour and lightness. After eating it, you’ll still feel like you can eat another one with no calorie remorse. And if you can’t have enough of the tahini and hummus inside the burger, you also get a dip on the side with more tahini, hummus, lemon and garlic, and a portion of nachos to munch your way through it all! Whilst we were there, we washed it all down with a super juice made from carrots, apple, lemon and ginger. That’s some green overdose to our usual beef burger regime!

We have to wholeheartedly agree with Balance Bowl that healthy food doesn’t have to be boring and the Squashed Tahini burger is living proof of that. Is it the most flavoursome vegetable burger in Gzira & Sliema? We have to acknowledge the thought, labour, serenity and love that has been put into making this burger. This one has managed to put a flavoured twist when we gave up all hopes and made us feel positive for all the right reasons. We’ve had quite a few sunny days this December. Next one up, we’re heading again to Sliema for another Squashed Tahini burger. And so should you!

Hot Spicy Hank

When you are hit with that undying crave for American food, there’s only a handful of local places that can satisfy that itch. Henry J. Beans, who have been operating in Malta since 1995, are the original Americana. Curiously enough, the franchise has no American heritage as it was born in the UK. Yet their burgers have been nicknamed as Malta’s Legendary for the past 23 years, making Hank’s (as this place is known amongst regulars) a surefire spot for consuming all sort of comfort food and a pint of beer with friends. December seems to be prone to such gatherings more than any other month of the year, with Xmas and all, so rather than be disappointed by those Hard Rock guys for the umpteen time, we decided to check out what Hank’s been up to since our last visit.

This restaurant rarely changes shape and form, which is not a bad thing since the theme is very timeless. So imagine our surprise when we spotted a new burger on the menu! Good old Hank has sneakily added a new burger, without too much fanfare and parading! Looking closer, we can notice that a good part of their menu has been overhauled or fine-tuned, but that’s a story for another day. Today we give you Hank’s Hot Spicy burger!

We’ve seen a good share of spicy burgers in 2018. And even though the end of the year is trickling by, we still haven’t seen them all! Do we live in the age of Spicy? This age is bristling with good and evil. Good hot & spicy is the lip-tingling burn of well-balanced pepperish food. Good spicy is meant to add an element to the dish and not become the dish itself. Bad spicy grabs each of your taste buds and issues the pain of ten thousand needles. Or one thousand, if we don’t want to exaggerate. Bad spicy makes burgers angry in our books.

Just like its other legendary burgers, the new Hot Spicy is made from a 230gr patty of minced and blended cuts of ribeye, chuck roll and tenderloin. Unlike other franchises, the patties are not imported but are prepared at the Corinthia St. George’s kitchens, which is a very welcome approach. This same beef blend goes into all the burgers on the menu, and what we love most is the lavish and earthy tones that create that urging craveability from the first bite until the last. The fat from the ribeye adds some of that distinctive and rich flavour that this finer grain meat is more known for. This patty is indeed chockfull of beef aroma, maybe also thanks to the buttery and sublime texture of the tenderloin and is enveloped in pockets of juices. Seasoning is on point, and the char is not only a visual consideration but a palatable bonus too. Furthermore, the patty is spread with garlic butter, for an extra layer of gusto, and totally covered in jalapenos, which we presume make up the Hot part of the burger’s name. Chef Eric, who’s preparing this burger today, wants to make sure that you get 1 or 2 jalapenos with every bite. There is a thickness of a slightly nutty Emmental cheese on top, which melts beautifully and seals the jalapenos in place instead of having them cascade from the sides as soon as you take a good hold of the burger with two hands, squeeze and bite. That’s a sign of devilish construction!

The burger is served in an expertly toasted sesame seed bun which is made locally for Hank’s and layered with the obligatory mix of lettuce, tomato slices and onions. These add a slight vegetable snap to go along with the cheese’s creaminess. This bun has a good density and is a good candidate for a burger-bun, but the most noteworthy element here is the very spicy sauce, devised in-house by Chef Eric, and made from sriracha, Tabasco, black pepper and mayonnaise. This is spread bountiful on both halves of the bun, making sure you can’t get away from it! Names don’t come any bigger in the world of hot sauce than Tabasco and Sriracha, and here you get them both! This sauce lives up to its name, as it definitely brings your focus on the spiciest element of the whole burger. The heat is there, together with that powerful vinegar tang from the Tabasco, and the chilli and garlic flavours from the sriracha. This is the kind of heat that can be enjoyed by the novice spice eater, or overdosed on by those seeking the thrill to test their taste buds’ endurance. The plating is completed with coleslaw (a good spice cooler) and steakhouse fries served on the side. Pair your burger with a Blue Label ale, to make sure to extinguish any overbearing spices!

The burger is as large as we remember from past Hank’s offerings. Even so, it’s priced at around €12, which takes us back to a time before Badass started jacking up prices, making many of today’s burger offerings more within the €15 to €20 price range. When you can make a beef burger this good for such a decent price, you can’t but get two thumbs up from us. When done well, a spicy burger like this is the best example of good spicy. The heat brings out the bold taste of the beef patty, the creaminess of the Emmental, and the refreshing properties of the lettuce and tomatoes. It will have you reaching out for a cold beer instead of the fire extinguisher! This burger left us happy beyond any doubt, instead of angry with a burnt tongue.

CCC

While Chilli Con Carne (CCC) burgers have been around since the 1920s, we are of the impression that they tend to be an oddity on local burger houses menus. And there might be a reason for that. If the chilli is overdone and packs too much heat and flavour it will obviously overpower the beef, so few do dare to risk. But Just Burger wants to gamble all with their November burger speciality, and who are we to stop them?

After regaling us with the chilliest burger-eating contest earlier this year, Just Burger are at it again, this time, attempting to build a spicy burger that can be enjoyed by all. The burger is made from a base of rucola, their signature 140gr Angus beef patty covered in melted cheddar cheese, jalapeno slices, and a copious portion of the expected Chilli Con Carne.

The main characteristics in a good CCC are tender beef, spicy yet balanced flavours, a satisfying thick texture and that unique sweetness that sets every CCC apart from the rest. This one has its own distinct sweetness derived from the rich mix of kidney beans, onions, Tabasco and garlic inside, that strikes you as a front note and surprises your palate immediately. This brisk flavour is enhanced with a homely texture and a deep reddish-brown colour. When it comes to the heat factor of chilli, you want enough to grab your attention, but not too much to set your precious taste buds on fire, that you can’t enjoy the other flavours between the bun. The heat does get your intentness, as it should, but it’s not overpowering. It has a nice kick to it, without being overly hot, but possesses that slightly sweet tang which lingers long after each bite. The jalapenos are crunchy and have a moderate kick that helps soup-up the spice scale. One bite of this burger and you’ll wonder why it took you so long to try a CCC burger!

Even though there’s a copious amount of CCC, this is not an overly messy experience, and there are no overflowing condiments or sauces coming out from all sides of the bun, so one can take a moment to indulge in this flavorful burger, and maybe delve into nostalgic memories of both burger and the blend of chilli and cheese which is a very satisfying combination to eat. Indeed this burger is an absolute joy to consume as it has that magnificent taste of a chilli cheese steak sandwich. Maybe the meaty patty helps a lot to create that feeling. There’s a moderate saltiness to the whole burger, but the overall mixture of flavours from the CCC, jalapenos, beef and cheddar definitely works here.

Just Burger are also renown for their crispy fries. Indeed they are the only burger house that made it to our Top 5 Fries hitlist, 2 years in a row! And there’s a good reason for that! These bagged chips 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 Scandinavian supplier only they know of. Apart from the good raw material, the kitchen guys always get the fries crisped to a level we seldom get to experience. They are generously seasoned and aren’t greasy, so they compliment every burger nicely. There’s also a whole army of sauce dips from a selection of tasty and exotic flavours. These sauces really increase the taste properties of the fries by a tenfold. Our favourite sauces are the very spicy habanero, the wasabi & garlic mayos, cajun, parmesan, bearnaise, spicy bbq and tarragon mayo.

Just Burger have done it again and delighted us with a burger creation that we would otherwise only dream about. So get in line, there’s no need to push & punch your way to the front, there’s enough chilli con carne & crispy fries for all this November!

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!

That Hot Burger Affair in June

Bianco’s has been serving pizzas and burgers in St. Julian’s for the past 11 years. This family business is run by 2 cousins who are very passionate about their food and have poured themselves into it from day one. If you’re an avid party goer, you might have already tasted Bianco’s food at ClubGrub at Numero Uno. When we heard that they do a Chilli Cheeseburger, we immediately headed to St. Julian’s to see what’s popping.

Head Chef Antoine comes from a family with a vast culinary background. He’s very at ease at Bianco’s, who operate on an open kitchen basis. Is it true that chefs make tastier food when they see their customers enjoying the food? We will soon find out!

The patty is made from 220gr of beef which is infused with Cajun spices. The beef is imported, and the patty mix is ground from 2 different cuts of meat, to yield a good lean/fat ratio. This produces a very chunky and thick patty, which is always a joy to behold and bite into! The beef is grilled to the desired temperate and finished in the oven. There’s a wholesome lot of beef flavour present here, and all is seasoned very nicely, bursting with saltiness and charred gusto from start to finish. The patty is served on a twiggy nest of lettuce and topped with caramelised onions. These onions add a sweetness and tenderness to counterbalance the chilliness of the burger and enhance the taste of the beef. There’s a whole load of sliced green jalapenos, which are held together with melted mature cheddar cheese. Jalapenos are the most popular hot peppers around. The green jalapeno is picked early in the ripening process, before turning red, and it has a fresh, crispier taste. Capsaicin, the chemical that gives chillies their heat, is concentrated around the seeds, and that’s why some like to “cheat” and remove these! But who’s nitpicking, we are here to experience a chilli burger, so it’s best to consume it as is!

The burger is finished off with a big slice of red tomato on the very top, like a red flag signalling a heatwave warning! This is the kind of tomato that provides a tangy & acidic bite with a touch of sweetness, creating a classic rich flavour. Many are accustomed to eating burgers with lettuce and tomatoes on the bed of the bun. And so the controversy arises! Should the tomato go on the top or at the bottom? Tomatoes are slippery and the cheesy texture usually helps to hold it in place. It’s basic food architecture! The juices from the tomato also tend to drip onto the beef and create an even juicier punch.

The burger is encased in a brioche bun, which is perfectly toasted so it holds all the condiments in the bread and not on your shirt! The bun is still squishy and melts in your mouth, without falling apart, especially when eaten the proper way any burger should be eaten: with 2 hands!

The overall chilliness of the burger ensemble is rated at a very medium level, so it can be consumed by all, even those with the most sensible of taste buds. The chef has made a very astute decision in providing a very hot chilli paste as a side. This is made in-house and can be added to the burger, at your own leisure. Superhumans will definitely throw it all in, but the rest might just add a thin spread or two. There’s another side, a coleslaw salad, which has the function of refreshing your tongue if you happen to bite more spice than you can chew!

The burger’s best friend, the fries, are present in the form of sliced sauteed potatoes, with the option of sweet potatoes, which we always go for when it’s available.

Bianco’s have created a very creative burger full of hot personality, that’s a joy to experience, even on a hot June day. It looks the part, tastes totally chilli-full and smells divine. It ticks all the boxes we were looking for in a Chilli burger and proved to be a very hot love letter for any burger eater. If you’ve been contemplating to move over from the classic cheeseburger you’ve been ordering all your life, this chilli burger is the one you should try on your next burger adventure!

Spicy Summer Strife

7 June was a hot day. In Sliema, things were a 100° hotter as the Spiciest Burger eating challenge of the year was taking place. And guess what, Just Burger is in the news once again!

We’ve recently witnessed a number of spicy Burgers popping on menus all over the island. KFC have 3 Zingers with varied levels of spiciness, Hard Rock Cafe have the Atomic with a concoction of spicy condiments and Hugo have the 911 Burger with salami. But all pale in comparison to what Just Burger have craftily created for this challenge! Apart from the beef patty, which is a supersized 200gr version of the renown Just Burger patty, the burger is an unstable spice bomb. The beef is topped with slices of Mexican Edam Cheese, infused with red hot peppers. Two large habanero poppers stuffed with chilli cream cheese go on top. The bun was spread on both sides with a load of Tabasco, habanero mayo sauce and a jam made from jalapenos, onions, peppers, chilli, vinegar and Harissa (a hot chilli pepper paste). You think that’s more than enough spice in one meal? Wrong! Even the fries got the hot treatment as they were sprinkled with garlic powder, cajun spices and Tabasco. The fumes emanating from the freshly fried fries caused burning and watering to our eyes!

How do you prepare yourself for such an scorching eating challenge? Some told us that it’s best to consume a banana beforehand, whilst others insisted that it’s best to tackle the challenge on an empty stomach and eat the spice as fast as possible to give as little time to your taste buds to succumb to the heat.

The rules were simple: you have 15 minutes to eat all the burger and fries, and an additional 10 minutes of waiting time before consuming any beverage. This was more than enough to scare the bejesus out of most burger eaters! Yet 6 competitors, coming from different corners of the world, had the balls to rise up to the challenge! Alexander from Sweden ate the whole burger and fries in 3 minutes, without breaking a sweat. He’s been training hard, and until the day before, he was eating ghost pepper poppers! Maltese muscle man Ralph was the runner-up, taking 5 minutes to consume the burger. Jeremy from Canada came third with a respectable 6 minutes. Four of the competitors are the whole burger, whilst 2 ate a modest 90% of it before the time was up.

This was a one-of-a-kind specialty burger that was built exclusively for this challenge. It was made to be ultra spicy so that the common man in the street would run away upon face to face confrontation! Yet it was possible to consume it without dying on the spot! If you missed the challenge you missed your chance to prove your worth as a burger eater! Until the next burger challenge…

Rockin’ The Atomic burger

We’re always ecstatic when any restaurant introduces a number of new burgers on their menu. But when Hard Rock Cafe rocks their way with 4 new burgers in one go, our burger-senses go haywire! Since opening its first restaurant in Malta towards the end of 2000, Hard Rock have always kept a consistent quality when it comes to burger food. We had to check them out on day one, which happens to be one August summer day. It’s not your standard Maltese summer day though. It’s one hell of a summer day, or to be more precise, one with a temperature of 43°C, sporting an almost-combustible Lucifer heatwave! The perfect burger to enjoy on this one day must definitely be The Atomic, a concoction of spicy fried onions, hot pepper jack cheese, chillied sriracha sauce and flaming fried jalapenos! That’s a burger name that pays homage to the heat intensity of the Maltese summer of 2017! This burger promises to be hot & fiery and coupled with the outdoor temperature, and we are risking to be reduced to ashes after 3 bites. Or maybe not?

The Atomic burger was conceived in the Las Vegas Hard Rock Cafe kitchens and gets its name from the nuclear testing that goes on at the Nevada national security site, in the middle of the desert. Nevada has seen a good number of bomb & nuclear device testing since the 50s. Let’s see if #MALTAburgers can safely diffuse The Atomic, and get out unscathed.

The first layers on top of the toasted bun are arugula and sriracha mayo. There’s a reason why Hard Rock has put Arugula in this burger. While the paler variety of Arugula leaves have a mild flavour, the darker ones taste more pepperish. It’s a level of pepper any infant can handle, so everyone is safe at this stage. The sriracha sauce tastes of mayonnaise, chilli, vinegar, garlic, lime juice and some soy sauce. This is not the secret recipe that Hard Rock use, it’s our own personal guess work! It’s a good level of spice that welcomes you to what is to come next!

One level up, we find a sliced tomato and the signature beef patty. The tomato provides a tangy kick to brighten up the flavour of the grilled beef. The patty is made from 225gr of Hard Rock’s proprietary blend of certified Angus beef. It’s the same patty used in all Legendary burgers. The temperature is medium, but it’s not of the almost-raw & uncooked-pink variety. The kitchen people have managed to do a well cooked-through patty while keeping the right level of moist, just the way we like it.

The next levels of the burger are the most impetus ones on the hotness scale. There is one whole level of sliced jalapenos, lightly fried in a batter. These peppers have a slight tart flavour that contrasts with the sweetness of what tastes like a beer batter. These jalapenos are the spiciest element of the whole burger. You are either wo/man enough to eat them as they are, or just drop them… which would go against the whole concept of The Atomic! As if that is not enough, the jalapenos are smothered in 2 slices of Pepper Jack cheese, which is a Monterey Jack cheese flavoured with spicy peppers and herbs. You might want to cheat and remove the black pepper dots on the cheese using your cutlery, but the pepper jack only has a light spice to it. Lucidly it’s complimented with the smart sweetness of fried onions that go on top. There’s a whole bunch of them, so they provide a crispy element while making this burger look towery.

You get no onion rings on top of The Atomic. It wouldn’t live up to its name if it were so. Instead, you get 2 whole peppers! They are encrusted in a beer-batter of the same variety of the sliced japaneos, found some levels down. The peppers are more akin of poppers. When it comes to peppers, they can either be lacking in heat and similar to bell peppers or so hot that they create a raging inferno in your mouth. These are rated somewhere in between, and very tolerable to eat as they are! They can be sliced in half, and the seeds scraped away. Why? Green Jalapeno chillies get hotter by age until they turn bright red. The smoother the pepper, the younger and milder it is. We think this is the variety of peppers that Hard Rock are using, as they have a kind heart and a bit of mercy for sensitive tongues. The seeds inside also contain a good level of the hotness. Remove them, and you might even eat 3 in a row without a flinch. Either way, prepare to order 2 or 3 cocktails plus a hose of water because this burger will set the insides of your mouth to hot-mode!

The Atomic has a lot, and some more, going on. It’s made up of a lot of well-thought out components that provide, both sweet and salty elements, with a “tiny” bit of spice. All these ingredients work together and create an experience bursting with flavours that taste over the top but in a beautifully-done concept. The concept goes another extra mile further to what we are accustomed at Hard Rock Cafe. Indeed this time around we also have the option to choose between 3 different varieties of French fries, done in a very artisan way. Each French fry can be paired with a different dipping sauce. Fries option are Chilli Seasoned, Parmesan Romano or Herb & Garlic Fries and can be paired with Chipotle Garlic Ketchup, Garlic Aioli and Chimichurri Mayo sauces respectively. The seasoned chilli fries we tried with The Atomic are crispy and flavourful.

Hard Rock Cafe have come up with a bomb of a burger with The Atomic. It packs enough heat to please fans of spicy food, yet it does not blast your tongue if you have sensitive bud tastes. We’re very intrigued by the new Hard Rock burgers on the block, and we will definitely be back to test run some more.