And so it came to pass on a Tuesday evening, C looked at me and said 'I need chips'. I, being the charitable husband I am, didn't need telling twice and went to our list of places to try and saw Burger Box - chips and a burger? This was lining up to be a very good Tuesday indeed.
Burger Box is a small Herts burger franchise, with locations in Hemel (the one we tried), Luton, Stevenage and Chesham. Their website said every burger is made to order, which is good to hear as a lot of places you see sad burgers sitting on the grill waiting to be claimed. I should also mention we have tried, for our money, the best burger in the world - the famous Ferg Burger in New Zealand. Incredible meat, clever mix of ingredients, amazing baps. Why do I mention this? Because I think about it a lot. So while I wasn't expecting world-beating at Burger Box - we have high standards!
On their recommendation, I tried the Texan Steak burger - a 6oz beef patty topped with Jack cheese, wafer-thin rib eye steak and smoky BBQ sauce, along with the skin on fries (where this whole adventure started!). C got a crispy chicken salad box (why you'd go to a burger place and order a salad is beyond me, but each to their own) plus some onion rings. With £1 for delivery, that came to £20. We also pre-ordered, as the website said it can take a bit longer than your traditional burger place - while we have no experience otherwise, it seems a prudent thing to do.
This is 'a tasty burger' (c'mon you thought I wouldn't drop at least one Pulp Fiction reference into this?). The freshness was evident throughout all of the food - it wasn't greasy; the skin on chips were perfectly crispy, the burger carried a nice mix of flavours (the wafer thin steak layer was genius, not overpowering but a really nice addition). It felt like it was freshly grilled. C's chicken was juicy and lean, well battered and didn't go soggy, despite the generous dressing on the salad.
For the burger, the bun itself was not big and chunky, but a simple standard burger bun that held together well. The burger patty was also a bit on the thin side, and not cooked as rare as some of the best burgers are. This made the eat a very slight bit dry, but the pickles and cheese satiated that and rounded each mouthful off nicely. The burger was a good hearty size, didn't fall apart in my hands and felt good value. We got a meal deal for an extra £3.50 which gave skin on fries and a drink. It seems a bit steep as there was not a lot of chips for £3.50 and the drink was a can of soda. Incidentally the fries are pictured as wedges with rosemary on the website but this is a bit misleading; they are -luckily- perfect chip-shop skin on thin fries instead.
C really loved her salad. it was crunchy and fresh with loads of gubbins to make it interesting. he had it topped with crispy chicken, halloumi and sweet chilli. I have no idea why you'd get a salad from a burger place, but this was a pretty decent salad. I'd wager the onion rings were not freshly made from scratch on site, but they were not greasy and bland, instead they were light and tasty, and you get 6 for £2.50 which seems ok.
In this price bracket the obvious comparison point is Five Guys (coming to Hemel soon!), which we are big fans of. Burger Box is a really good alternative and actually has a breadth of offering that Five Guys doesn't have. Five Guys can offer free customisation due it's size, but otherwise there isn't a great deal to choose between them.
So in the words of Vincent: "If you like burgers give 'em a try sometime". (I'll stop now).
Service:
Ordered directly through their site, which is super clean and easy to use. Arrived on-time and hot. As each burger is cooked to order, perhaps put an order in in advance.
Quality:
Tasted fresh, good quality meat and ingredients.
Value & Price:
Burgers are premium priced at around £6 - £7.50, but you can taste the quality.
Overall:
EXCELLENT - This is a really solid burger. It nails everything you'd hope for in a premium burger offering. The range and personalisation of the burgers is impressive, and the the steak layer in the Texan was an inspired choice. The freshness that comes from being made to order is evident, and we'll be back when C's craving for chips strikes again!
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