*Burger Bear has moved on from this market so tweet him to find out where he will be before you visit!
Admission: Extra points already to Burger Bear as I have discovered that Tom (aka the Burger Bear) is a fellow Springsteen fan!! Wahay!
Tom is the first burger flipper to reveal this to me and it makes me very happy.
However, Springsteen loving aside (and don’t fret I have put it aside for this post) the ‘Burger Bear‘ also makes some of the best burgers, for a reasonable price, in London. I recently headed to the North of London to Harringay Market, where a selection of street food stalls congregate on a Sunday, Burger Bear Tom being one of them.
I went for the Grizzly Bear burger which is a bacon and cheeseburger with Burger Bear’s USP – bacon jam. The burger is priced at £6.50 which I think is a steal – it’s a generous burger and one of the best I’ve tried recently.
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| Grizzly Bear Burger |
The white rolls are spread out in polystyrene boxes with the bottom of the roll squirted with a bit of ketchup and American French’s mustard, then layered with finely shredded lettuce and very thinly sliced red onion and pickled gherkins. These are all prepped by Tom’s assistant and waiting on the side while Tom works the grill.
The patties are then placed on the grill in a ball and left there for a few seconds before being flattened with a spatula and seasoned with rock salt and black pepper. Tom expertly flips the burgers whilst maintaining some Springsteen chat – good work.
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| Burger Bear Tom |
Every element of this burger hits the spot for me – the soft white bread roll (not brioche), is fuss free and reliable, soaking up some juice and holding the weight of the very generously sized patty. The patty is coarsely ground and juicy, but the burger doesn’t cause the amount of mess I was expecting. Over the patty there’s layers of streaky smoked bacon (smoked twice in fact) very crispy and salty. There’s two slices of slightly melted American cheese and on top of that a big dollop of my favourite bit – the home made bacon jam. A sweet, dark and slightly chunky topping that gives each bite some sweetness but not too much – it’s pulled back again by the smokiness of the bacon. Incredible!
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| Two burgers are better than one… |
I’d personally say the bacon jam is so delicious that the ketchup and mustard aren’t necessary in the Grizzly Bear burger, I’d be keen to enjoy the flavours of the bacon jam with the patty, without these extra sauces. However, Burger Bear does also do a cheese burger (known as the Burger Bear) and for this the mustard and ketchup is a good addition.
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| Perfect from every angle |
Other options from Burger Bear include the Angry Bear burger which is topped with the Rib Man’s selection of hot sauces. There is also the Greedy Bear, like the Grizzly Bear burger that I had but with double the patty and bacon!
The Grizzly Bear is one of the tastiest burgers I’ve had, and a fair price too – go visit Burger Bear – now!!
Burger Bear has moved on from this market so follow him on Twitter for updates, @burgerbeartom. Harringay Market is still a great place to head to for lots of other tasty food stalls.