 "Burger mania hits the country")
The evolution of the burger
From Nirula's Big Boy succulent lamb burger to McDonald's crunchy McAloo Tikki to Wimpy's Chicken in a Bun, the 1990s were defined by a burger that was no frills, yet full of (double layered) promise. Diners in the city had to make do with these assembly-line chicken or mutton burgers, because the original American hamburger was hard to come by for various political and religious reasons. While the case remains similar on that front, the burger has had a bit of an explosion in the Indian culinary scene in the past year. After Johnny Rockets, Fatburger and Burger King making their way to Indian shores last year, this year has seen even more restaurants hopping on to the burger bandwagon. As a reformed vegetarian for most of my life, burgers have never held the kind of infallible sway over me that compels people to file into day-long queues on opening days of burger chains. But for the burger enthusiast who just has to try out the newest and wackiest burgers in town, there are now options galore.
Carl's Jr.: Chicken tikka masala
Carl's Jr., the latest American entrant, has on offer the Mango Jalapeno and the Tikka Masala burgers that have rich, intense flavours and juicy flame grilled chicken, but the original "big juicy Californian taste" fillet burger is rather dry and chewy. They have also developed a line of vegetarian options including a yummy char-grilled paneer topped with tandoori sauce or mint sauce.
Wendy's: The Baconator
Wendy's, the beloved American burger chain opened its first outlet in Gurgaon recently, and its signature Baconator (below) has been creating waves. Made with a minced chicken patty instead of the original beef, the burger is topped up with oak smoked bits of bacon that are juicy but not overdone, cheese, mayo and barbeque sauce. Wendy's trademark square brioche buns are soft and light, their patties slathered with popular sauces such as ghost chili and smoky chipotle. The Spicy Aloo crunch also deserves a mention, with crunchy baby potato strips, chilies and an Aloo ka Tuk masala flavour.
Barcelos: Black and red burgers
After Burger King's "Kuro Burger" range that created waves in Japan earlier, Barcelos, the South African restaurant, recently launched black, red (above & top) and white burgers in its first restaurant in New Delhi's Khan Market. While Burger King buns were blackened by bamboo charcoal and McDonalds' with squid ink, Barcelos has used red, yellow and blue food colours to create its own variant. Barcelos claims its black burger is healthier, having been made from "roasted wheat , cocoa powder , spinach extract and organics food colours." Having tried the mutton black burger, I found the buns soft, the patty fairly juicy and the peri-peri seasoning mild, but it can be spiced up according to need.
If you are one of those looking for true-blue (read: beef/buff) burgers, there are a few restaurants carrying the torch for authentic and gourmet burgers dressed up in bespoke sauces and cheese:
The add-ons to the burgers sometimes present even greater temptations. Carls Jr. packs a punch with wasabi fries plus unlimited refills on soft drinks and pints of chilled Kingfisher for Rs 99 - a first among fast food chains. Wendy's has chicken chili with kidney beans (above), and bacon cheese fries - thick, hand-cut, single-fried and perfectly-seasoned fries with oodles of cheese and bits of bacon.
To beef or not to beef
"Where's the beef?" has been Wendy's catchphrase since the 1980s, but as they say, when in Rome… America's favourite fresh beef quick service restaurant decided to drop beef from its menu for the first time ever.
"We thought hard about whether to do beef but it was a simple decision. We felt that the market for beef is not deep enough in India," says the Wendy's spokesperson.
A burger purist and food and hospitality entrepreneur turns up his nose at the whole business and has this to say: "A burger by its very definition (according to the Oxford Dictionary) is as follows: A flat round cake of minced beef that is fried or grilled and typically served in a bread roll. So if it's not got beef or buff in it, it's not a burger."
Carl's Jr. has gone the extra mile and removed all red meat from its menu - though it does hope to bring lamb, turkey and fish to the menu in the future.
The burger purist blames the peculiar combination of vegetarianism and aversion to beef that has "caused the industry to get desperate to create 'burgers' that are 'easy to swallow' (politically/culturally). Now restaurants that are internationally known for combining pulled pork with beef on a burger are resorting to putting 'chicken tikka' between two pieces of bread and calling it 'a burger'," he says.
To such burger purists, Wendy's says it will keep customers' demands in mind, as "Who knows what the future brings."
From Nirula's Big Boy succulent lamb burger to McDonald's crunchy McAloo Tikki to Wimpy's Chicken in a Bun, the 1990s were defined by a burger that was no frills, yet full of (double layered) promise. Diners in the city had to make do with these assembly-line chicken or mutton burgers, because the original American hamburger was hard to come by for various political and religious reasons. While the case remains similar on that front, the burger has had a bit of an explosion in the Indian culinary scene in the past year. After Johnny Rockets, Fatburger and Burger King making their way to Indian shores last year, this year has seen even more restaurants hopping on to the burger bandwagon. As a reformed vegetarian for most of my life, burgers have never held the kind of infallible sway over me that compels people to file into day-long queues on opening days of burger chains. But for the burger enthusiast who just has to try out the newest and wackiest burgers in town, there are now options galore.
Carl's Jr.: Chicken tikka masala
Carl's Jr., the latest American entrant, has on offer the Mango Jalapeno and the Tikka Masala burgers that have rich, intense flavours and juicy flame grilled chicken, but the original "big juicy Californian taste" fillet burger is rather dry and chewy. They have also developed a line of vegetarian options including a yummy char-grilled paneer topped with tandoori sauce or mint sauce.
Wendy's: The Baconator
Wendy's, the beloved American burger chain opened its first outlet in Gurgaon recently, and its signature Baconator (below) has been creating waves. Made with a minced chicken patty instead of the original beef, the burger is topped up with oak smoked bits of bacon that are juicy but not overdone, cheese, mayo and barbeque sauce. Wendy's trademark square brioche buns are soft and light, their patties slathered with popular sauces such as ghost chili and smoky chipotle. The Spicy Aloo crunch also deserves a mention, with crunchy baby potato strips, chilies and an Aloo ka Tuk masala flavour.
Barcelos: Black and red burgers
After Burger King's "Kuro Burger" range that created waves in Japan earlier, Barcelos, the South African restaurant, recently launched black, red (above & top) and white burgers in its first restaurant in New Delhi's Khan Market. While Burger King buns were blackened by bamboo charcoal and McDonalds' with squid ink, Barcelos has used red, yellow and blue food colours to create its own variant. Barcelos claims its black burger is healthier, having been made from "roasted wheat , cocoa powder , spinach extract and organics food colours." Having tried the mutton black burger, I found the buns soft, the patty fairly juicy and the peri-peri seasoning mild, but it can be spiced up according to need.
If you are one of those looking for true-blue (read: beef/buff) burgers, there are a few restaurants carrying the torch for authentic and gourmet burgers dressed up in bespoke sauces and cheese:
- Legendary Burger at Hard Rock earns its legendary status with a 10 oz juicy buff patty, seasoned bacon, melted cheddar cheese, crisp fried onion rings and pickles.
- MoBar Burger (right) at Monkey Bar is a thick yet tender buff patty couched in a black bun with a slice of cheese, topped with crispy bacon, lettuce and onion.
- The Houston at Johnny Rockets, is a whopper of a burger, with buffalo tenderloin topped with pepper cheese, iceberg lettuce, tomato and the chain's spicy sauce.
- Chilli's' Bacon Burger, called a 'Big Mouth Burger' is not for the faint-hearted - with a rich tenderloin patty, generously topped with strips of smoked bacon, cheddar, mayo and lettuce.
- Chunky Tenderloin Burger at Smoke House Deli has mildly spiced tenderloin in a cheese sauce along with sauteed onions, with crisp onion rings atop it.
The add-ons to the burgers sometimes present even greater temptations. Carls Jr. packs a punch with wasabi fries plus unlimited refills on soft drinks and pints of chilled Kingfisher for Rs 99 - a first among fast food chains. Wendy's has chicken chili with kidney beans (above), and bacon cheese fries - thick, hand-cut, single-fried and perfectly-seasoned fries with oodles of cheese and bits of bacon.
To beef or not to beef
"Where's the beef?" has been Wendy's catchphrase since the 1980s, but as they say, when in Rome… America's favourite fresh beef quick service restaurant decided to drop beef from its menu for the first time ever.
"We thought hard about whether to do beef but it was a simple decision. We felt that the market for beef is not deep enough in India," says the Wendy's spokesperson.
A burger purist and food and hospitality entrepreneur turns up his nose at the whole business and has this to say: "A burger by its very definition (according to the Oxford Dictionary) is as follows: A flat round cake of minced beef that is fried or grilled and typically served in a bread roll. So if it's not got beef or buff in it, it's not a burger."
Carl's Jr. has gone the extra mile and removed all red meat from its menu - though it does hope to bring lamb, turkey and fish to the menu in the future.
The burger purist blames the peculiar combination of vegetarianism and aversion to beef that has "caused the industry to get desperate to create 'burgers' that are 'easy to swallow' (politically/culturally). Now restaurants that are internationally known for combining pulled pork with beef on a burger are resorting to putting 'chicken tikka' between two pieces of bread and calling it 'a burger'," he says.
To such burger purists, Wendy's says it will keep customers' demands in mind, as "Who knows what the future brings."