A return to Goodman: The Burger

Burgers, burgers everywhere. Every hyperlink you click will take you to yet another write up from another fellow blogger on the humble burger. I mean, how many iterations of a burger can you get? After all, it's just a beef patty between two bits of bread isn't it? Wrong. There are so many permutations that achieving the perfect burger is becoming somewhat of a science. Some claim that it doesn't need to be that hard at all, in fact, they have even petitioned for the famous West coast chain of In n Out to broaden their horizons to the UK. Some have even recreated famous US versions of the burger in their own home. Hell, even I did my own little mission in the US of A to discover what it is about their burgers.

The burgers in the UK simply don't compare. A different attitude, a different approach and frankly, it feels like for many, a burger is just something they feel they should have on the menu without a great deal of thought about what a good burger really is. It's not really surprising that so many lovers of food have taken it upon themselves to discover the holiest of all holy grails in food terms for many, the perfect burger. The Hawksmoor, a renowned steakhouse, is reputed to have an excellent burger. I have yet to try it, but busied myself on a hectic Monday with a visit to another steakhouse, Goodman on Maddox street.

I have already written about the excellent steaks on offer here. It's one of those rare places, a high end restaurant that I keep finding myself coming back to again and again. This time, it was all about the burger. At £12 with chips and numerous choices of fillings at no extra cost, I may even consider this a bargain. Made from prime USDA offcuts, with a bit of chuck thrown in, the burger tastes like a handheld version of their steaks. The patty was juicy and perfectly pink, almost flaking apart as it hadn't been minced into oblivion. I added cheese and bacon, although in hindsight, I think this was an error. The burger was perfectly seasoned and the additional toppings just made the whole burger a bit on the salty side. My only negative point is that burgers need a good pickle, and unfortunately this one let it down with little of the required piquancy.

So there you have it, great steaks and great burgers. It helps that the manager of Goodman is as passionate about his burgers as his customers are. A brief chat revealed that he is definitely a burger man and has a few tricks up his sleeves in this department, which leads me to the question, whatever are Goodman going to do next???

Goodman (website) - 26 Maddox Street, W1S 1QH

Goodman, just good meat

I have been incredibly slack in writing up my posts of late. As a result of laziness and eating out too much, I have far too many posts in draft, each slowly going stale and if I leave them much longer, they will probably go off.

Which is one of the reasons why I feel compelled to write this post and ensure that it too does not go "stale". And what makes this so special? Pure and simply, good meat.

A recent trip to New York made me open eyes to how seriously some people take meat. Burgers and steak are two of the lifeblood which seem to keep the New Yorkers moving. I was so spoilt for choice that I struggled to choose locations for both in my short time there. In London, until recently, I had to settle on the Hawksmoor for my dose of steak. More recently, steak restaurants such as Palm and more noticeably, Goodman, have opened.



So on a dark November's night, myself and the Tweatup crew congregated upon Goodman, a Russian owned steakhouse, specialising in beef of weird and wonderful origin. Most importantly, it is the home of USDA, 100% grain fed cow from the heart of America (Nebraska to be precise).



The nights focus was clearly all about the meat, but we all politely decided to dine like civilised people and ordered a starter each. Whilst others opted for lobster bisque and oysters off the seafood heavy starter list, I opted for some Frank Hederman salmon. I was pleasantly surprised to find it on the menu. My introduction to salmon after a long self imposed abstinence (owing to me detesting the stuff) came about from a visit to @eatlikeagirl's Covent Garden market stall. My first taste of the Frank Hederman smoked salmon that she had brought over from Ireland was delightful and I was converted. The salmon was just as tasty at Goodman and a nice light start to the meal.



So, the main event, prepare for a meat overload. The management at Goodman had kindly prepared a mystery steak tasting for us. 3 different meats of differing cuts, the challenge was to spot what was from where, all with separate coloured flags so we could spot which was which. The first to arrive on my plate was the chateaubriand, easily recognisable but woefully overcooked. Nice flavour but bad grilling had let it down. Thankfully, it was the only steak which wasn't a perfect medium. The "green" was slightly one dimensional but tender and juicy, with the "white" similar in flavour. The "none" had a fair amount of fat running through it which provided the meat with an intense and extremely satisfying flavour.



The stand out for me, however, was the "red". Incredibly succulent with nuggets of fat, this was an amazing steak, with only the "none" coming close in terms of flavour. So where did they all come from? Here are the results:

White - English, from the Lake District
Chateaubriand - Scottish
Green - Scottish, grass fed rib-eye
Red - USDA, grain fed rib-eye
None - USDA, grain fed porterhouse

Yup, I am an American beef lover. There, I have said it. Suffice to say, at the unveiling, past semi identifying what the cuts were, we were totally wrong as to the origins. I know I secretly wanted to love the British beef but when it came to flavour, the USDA won hands down for me. I should also add that we devoured every single side too, as well as a multitude of sauces (a red wine and stilton jus, mushroom, a fiery peppercorn and a smooth béarnaise), all of a high quality.



After all that, all I could face for dessert was some homemade ice cream. A simple end to a quite gargantuan meal. We must have been brought out about 5kg of meat between the nine of us, and not a morsel was left, so good was the meat that we were gnawing at the bones as the waitress tried to wrestle them away from us.

Goodman is a great steakhouse. The food was excellent, as was the service, and that USDA beef really was their trump card. A quick chat with David, the manager, revealed that next on the cards, 2 whole ribs of Australian and New Zealand Wagyu! It will of course come at a cost but the mark up is surprisingly shallow, one of the benefits of having crazy rich Russian owners, I suppose.

I felt slightly guilty that I had enjoyed myself so much, almost like I was cheating on the Hawksmoor. But when I heard that David and the management of the Hawksmoor were "buddies", it made me happy. The gentle one upmanship can only lead to better steak in London, so amen to that.

Goodman (website) - 26 Maddox Street, W1S 1QH