Burger Night #5 The Cricketer

After a break for Christmas, Burger Night has made a return.  In our quest for the perfect burger, we all made the (relative to East London) trek out to The Cricketer.  After a brisk 15 minute drive with Noelle, we piled out of the Zafira to see what lay in store for our 5th event.

The Cricketer is the restuarant on the 2 Swans wedding farm, found on the East Cape Resorts Road (enroute to Chintsa, Areena etc).  Its housed in a log cabin, on the hill adjacent to the wedding farm.

Selecting a theme for the night wasn't hard, as you can imagine... but rather than try and source a pair of white pants and one of those hats, we widened the dress code to sporty.

I had a painted face, and as such collected a lot of stares from other patrons, so I didn't spend much time inspecting the decor - rather I made a bee-line for the patio and our massive table (30 + people came along).  Needless to say, there is a lot of cricket paraphenalia, but all tastefully applied.  We liked the coasters in particular.  I also didn't feel like I was at a dated country-club'esque restuarant, so they seem to have found a balance.

Our table was looked after by one waiter, which is an impressive feat.  When you're looking after 30 people delays can be expected, but no complaints about service.

The burger?
Prior to all of this burger sampling, I'd become accustomed to the run of the mill burgers they sell at fast food joints and hadn't realised how much scope there was in patty-production.  The Cricketer patty was great, like something from a vegetarian's nightmare; the large, homemade patty overflowed over the bun.  It was wicket.

The chips?
We had a table of 30... and there might have been another 20 people inside... non Burger Nighters... as such, extending the Cricketer's chip production past its capacity.  Something I really appreciated about the management, was that they seemed to make pro-active arrangements to make sure we all ate at once.  To accomodate the group, we got potatoe wedges instead, which was actually a welcome change.  I left satisfied and full of potatoe.

The location of the Cricketer lends itself to a pleasant evening in the country.  I'd like to apologise to the other visitors who arrived expecting that; we were loud.  I'm quite keen to head back for lunch sometime, I think it would be well suited to a sunny afternoon and an umbrella on the porch.

Total bill: Burger and Wedges + Amstel + Tip R80.

To make a booking (essential if you arrive with 29 friends...) Tel: 083 659 8899, or email to alison@2swans.co.za.  To see it on a map, click here

Burger Night #3 Cafe Neo

The pursuit of the ultimate burger lead us to one of East London's most recent entrants into the restuarant market, Cafe Neo.  You'll find it above the bastion of burgers in Slummies, the Windmill... The telephone number is : 043 722 4531.
It was with interest that I arrived, given the ground-floor heritage in burgers, it could prove to be an interesting meal.

This month's dress up theme was Glamour.  After celebrating International Suit Up Day I resisted the temptation to Suiting Up, in favour of a shirt and tie... and jeans - its Burger Night after all. We saw some awesome committment from the 31 people that rocked up for the eating.  Well played Burger Night attendees.

Ironically, as I walked into the restuarant I spotted a table of suits... realising that they weren't part of our group, it became clear that we had made a major move upward in the social areena from last month's visit to Buccs.  Time would tell if Cafe Neo could unseat Buccs as the current title holder.

We were a big group.  The popularity of eating Hamburgers on a week night seems to have taken off, or maybe our friends just enjoy suiting up, or maybe there wasn't much on TV - whatever the case, we had 30+ attending, and for any restuarant that presents a problem.  We'd been assigned about a third of the floor space, but were dissappointed that our group had to split itself into four groups, tables in relatively short supply.

I opted for a beef burger, the original.  I did spot a couple of chicken burgers and housemate Nic put away a dagwood.  Well played Nic.

The food arrived without much delay - just enough time to become fully eager.  Our waiter, faced with a swarm of mobile patrons did fantastically to make sure everyone had a drink infront of them, and even remembered an hour and a half later that I'd ordered an Amstel - my empty long gone.  Well played Our-waiter.

The Burger?
Interesting point this... bear with me.  I've realised that being an impartial food reviewer is tricky - you experience your meal in the context of the restuarant you're in and then there's the compounding issue of price.  The burger wasn't what I was expecting, given the decor/atmosphere, but it was still good.  Very similar to the offering from Buccs, it was large and the pattie was well sized.  Plenty of garnish too.  More attractively presented and definitely not as messy as the bar.

Chips?
The chips were on the thin side, not crispy - more in line with expectations.  Downstairs you get a punnet of artery busters, but the Cafe provided a more classy, manageable variety.  Portion could have been a little larger, but satisfactory on the whole.

Vibe?
Cafe Neo has a great vibe and the 20-something crowd only had good things to say about the atmosphere, decor and its inherent similarity to all things Cape Town.  Its upmarket, but casual - and you'll feel comfortable so long as you're wearing shoes and a clean shirt.  No small feat.  Pants advised.

This has been our most successful burger night s far.  The venue was great and we'll all be going back soon - Cafe Neo is definitely filling a niche, and doing it better than anyone else in town.

Final bill was R55 for a burger, Amstel + tip.

Burger night #2 Buccaneers Pub & Grill

In order to get more people in on this Burger Night thing, and to avoid it becoming just one person's problem, the onus of organisation is being passed around for each night.  As such, I got landed with Round 2... but it turned out to be a piece of cake... Faceboook, I appreciate you.  One message and a phone call later, and the night was 'planned'.

Daniel mentioned that Buccaneers Pub & Grill has a burger special on a Tuesday, a two for the price of one deal.  It seemed to good to be true and I was a little suspicious of what those burgers might prove to be... but we settled on Buccs all the same.

The theme for the evening was 'Crazy hats'... or 'Hat' of you're an accountant.  There was a mixed turnout, ranging from Beanie's & Caps to Cowboy hats and a faux-mohawk.  It would appear that I know more accountants than I realised.  I may even be dating one... ?!

The evening was well supported, 20 people pitched and we filled the long table Buccs had set aside for us.  I wasn't initially convinced that Buccs was the sort of eatery that took bookings, but they were very well organised and had kept us a giant table, inside.

Our waiter was great and coped with the trickle of people who arrived and made sure everyone had a drink within minutes of arrival.  Biggest bonus of all was the food orders... get 20 people into a room and have them all order at once, add in the complexity of 'Which sauce do you want'... and you invariably get something you didn't order.  But our waiter nailed it.  Everyone got their burger, right sauce, and the wait was reasonable.

Burgers?
The Burgers... large.  Clyde demolished his burger in a matter of minutes... but most people didn't clean their plate.  I finished, eventually... bringing up the rear.  Its definitely a good portion.  I would recommend a sauce.  Without, it might be a little dry.  The difference in price is about 7 bucks, but split in two its negligeable.  I would rate these as large & competent, if you want a value for money burger - this is definitely worth a look. I suspect the Buccs burger will prove to hold its own against far more expensive burgers in the future.

Chips?
The chips were of the 'Dry and Spicy' variety, as opposed to 'Slap'.  Everyone seemed happy, the quantity was good - personal preference as to how much spice/salt you prefer.

Vibe?
Its a bar, unapologetically.  Don't go if you want to have an inexpensive romantic time with your accountant - its not that place.  But for a crowd of 20 it was great.  The other patrons looked happy, we got a couple of looks, but my red tinsel hair could have contributed to that.  Toward the end of the evening it got pretty loud, but it wasn't out of character, so no complaints there.
Total bill: Burger & chips, Amstel + tip... R42.

Burger night #1 Primi Piatti

The journey begins!  Our first burger night, organised by Jules.  Following on from something that started during their medical internship in Pietermaritzburg, the East London edition of Burger night begins.

I wouldn't have thought of Primi Piatti as a purveyor of burgers... but then Primi is quite new in town, and I've only been there once.  In order to make each night that much more memorable, it was decided that there should be a dress-code... or theme.  Tonight was 'Bling it up'... or something along those lines.  The actual dress code turned out to be a bit of a grey area.  I got hold of a wife beater (white vest) and a chain, there was a lot of tin foil jewellery around and some slicked back hair.  Moving on.

Primi had been kind enough to keep us a table and we filled it quickly, a great turnout for the first Burger night.

Our waiter was fairly good.  Not great.  There were one or two mix ups with chicken vs. beef burgers, and one of the burger patties was of the 'Hit the cow with a hot pan' variety.  It was quickly sent back to the kitchen and replaced with a more appropriately cooked one.  We were a big group, and people arrived piece-meal.

Burgers?
The Burgers... Expensive.  Well... its always going to be relative... but thats the feeling I was left with.  Don't hate them for it, the restuarant is great, its an upmarket vibe and I'm sure rent in the mall is substantial.  The presentation is very classy, square plate and all.  The burger design leans toward boutique, rather than bar.  It was a good size, the patties were meaty and there was some great garnish.

Chips?
The chips were crispy, well spiced - I wasn't surprised that Primi had avoided serving large, slap chips.  Chips are always your own preference... I don't have a significant leaning, but at a push I like larger, chuckier chips rather than thinner, crispy ones.

Vibe?
It's in the heart of the Hemingways Mall food court, so plenty of activity around you.  The resturant and Mall merge... I wouldn't say it had its own unique vibe, but it was enjoyable all the same.  Our group was relatively noisy, but no more than the ambeint sounds coming from the mall.

Bill?
Burger & Chips, Coke + tip R85.