A bite of BURGR

I relalized I posted a lot about asian food, and japanese food in general, and I will bring more variety in my posts from now on. Also I will import my previous articles onto this blog so bare wiht me on that one.

Last month I went to Las Vegas to enter a gaming tournament called "Evolution 2016" and as this was my first time in Vegas I had to try the food on the strip or in the many hotels. There was one restaurant however which was highly on my list and that is Gordon Ramsay's BURGR. I don't like fast food like McDonalds or Burger King but I do love a tasty wellmade burger! As I am also a fan of Gordon Ramsay I just had to pay this restaurant a visit.....

BURGR is located next to Planet Hollywood and Paris hotel & casino. Do mind that you need to book in advance so go there earlier in the day if you want to have dinner there later. A lot of times there is a nice queue which is a good sign of course. I didnt have to book in advance, I just got in line and after 25 minutes I was brought to my table and the restaurant itself looks pretty nice, good color combinations and the whole place looks cozy yet it can cater to many customers. BUGR looks and feels very welcoming. I like the small flames setup up at the beginning as a signal that here you get the best grilled burgers. also there are mulitple monitors where you can watch sports. I am not so much into sports like baseball so I concentrated on the food.

The menu did have a good list of items, not too much as you can expect from a restaurant where Gordon Ramsay is the orner. I could choose from enough burgers which came with items such as blue cheese, jalapeno peppers, mango and exotic types of bacon. And who doesnt love bacon!? My pick of the day was a Brittania burger which had a nice patty of beef and refreshing mango along with some necesarry greens. Now I absolutely love mango and with the heat of the Vegas sun in mind I also want to refresh myself a bit. This before I would jump in one of the fountains at the Bellagio. Anyway, as I was quite the hungry guy I decided to take some fries on the side. The burger had to be the hero this time I went with plain fries, although they have a nice variety of friench fries to feast yourself on.

It did take some time before my burger came to my table but I dont mind at all. If there is a good reason for it, busy or otherwise, and the food is good in the end I will never complain about waiting. As soon as my burger arrived I noticed the nice presentation. Not too much fancy things, beautiful plate and the burger on it to shine before it gets devoured by this food lover. Take a look at the picture below and you see it looks deliciously appealing!

You really can see  they put a good effort into this burger to make it special, just for me, with fresh ingredients and crisply bun which compliments the burger and its side items. After the necesarry photo I decided to dive in and took my first bite. So my first bite of my first burger at BURGR couldnt start any better......the meat of the burger had that awesome grilled flavour to it, texture was good and that meaty, juicy flavour came out nicely with the lettuce and this is actually the first time I like lettuce on my burger.... Normally at other burger restaurants the lettuce items are soggy and doesnt taste nice but these lettuce on this one was crispy and firm. Last but not least the mango pieces between my burger tasted great and gave me the needed feeling of freshness and made me cool down a bit. Now I ate at Five Guys before, of course I ate at other local burger restaurants in the US but this was a whole different experience. Hands down, this is the best burger I ever ate anywhere in the world so far. I can not put into words the food pleasure, the excitement with every bite that coming to me when I ate this burger.

While I was enjoying myself eating this burger my fries came to my table and again the pressentation looks very nice! They served the fries in a cone of paper and it looks like the way how we serve our french fries at a friench fries & snackshop. 2 small bowls with sauce served as my dipping. The fries were in the right size, crispy and the color looks good. The herbs were used tasted fine and complimented the fries without overdoing it. The portion was good enough, esspecially when ordering a good burger. 

So the burger was heavenly, the fries tasted great but what about the service? This was very good, they make you feel welcome and no question is answered quickly and you feel the take the time to serve you and let you take the right choice. Nice touch is that after your burger feast they give you an ipod where you can give feedback about your stay at BURGR. This is a great way to get a customer's feedback before they leave and put it somewhere on social media. Kudo's to BURGR for doing this.

Wait before I end this post I need to mention the price. Now you know you won't pay MacD prizes at a Gordon Ramsay's restaurant. However for what you get it's not so expensive. I think it reasonable prized. For examply, my burger, fries and a large coke sat me back on about 32 dollars with tip. In my oppinion it's a good price for what you get. Fresh ingredients, great welcoming service in a a cozy ambioance.

Overall it was a great experience, the food was great, service is top notch and I do really really want to come there again. Too bad it is such a distance to travel. Ah maybe next year for EVO 2017

Website:   www.gordonramsayrestaurants.com/burgr/

Once upon a Sumo

So today i finished work quite late and you know its one of them days you are tired and in no mood to cook..... Luckily we food lovers just go somewhere nice to eat right? Indeed!

Its been a while for me to eat good sushi and i never had sushi at this restaurant chain called Sumo. On the way to Rotterdam i found a small version of Sumo called Sumo Express and as it is close to the station I decided to go there hoping for some good 'ol sushi.

When I entered this Express restaurant I immediately noticed it is quite big nor normal size for a restaurant. Its quiet ambiance felt good after a busy day at the office although the decor is something we all seen by now. The waiters were friendly as expected and quick to serve the customers there.

The all you can eat formula is also downsized to only sushi and salads. For sashimi you have to pay a small price (2,95 per 5 slices) which is not bad! The all you can eat sushi course is a fixed price of 17,50 euro for dinner while around lunch time you pay 14,50 euro. These prices are very reasonable and can compete with other sushi eateries.

Okay now the general part is over, lets get down to the sushi shall we?

For my first round I ordered the always good maguro nigiri (tuna), mackerel nigiri and tuna tartar hosomaki. Oh and on the side my favorite tuna sashimi. To pour it down I order some nice Sapporo beer. Now it took a while before the first sushi arrived which is a good sign that the chef takes his time. The presentation is standard for sushi which is a compliment. They looked good and made me wet my tastebuds.... The fish was at good temperature and the sushirice was not too sweet. One downside was that the rice let loose a little bit and didnt want to leave my mouth. Quite annoying I must say just like that small piece of meat between your tooth...now admit we all had that once or twice in our life. alright, sashimi time!! The tuna sashimi tasted great, sea candy which melts in your mouth into a summer fresh and sweet milkshake of tuna happiness... Damn that tasted good!

The first round was over quickly and of course i ordered more. As an intresting piece I ordered the grilled beef with mango maki which tasted very nice and crunchy cause of the beef and at the end of every bit there was the refreshing mango. Hmmm, good job on this item! Also i ordered my favorite spicy tuna maki and salmon with chili maki. Also very interesting but above all it was great! Better than round one with the rice part and flavorful.

The rest of the in total 5 courses i ordered more sushi like the "standard" eel nigiri but also the sauteed eel make which tasted good.

Overall this is a restaurant is good to eat sushi and sashimi. You taste everything ia fresh and presentation is on par. Oh, the portions of each item is good and fits easily in any portion of choice. 5 rounds is more than enough though.

If you love sushi, happen to be in Rotterdam and you dont wanna spend a lot then Sumo Express is a more than good choice. If you find presentation of a restaurant very important then you should consider another place but for me the food is what matters most!

website: www.sushiexpress.com