Burgers im Glück

 From my long blog absence, it would seem as if I haven't been taking advantage of the re-opened economy here in Germany. Au contraire - I have actually been out and about, and eating my heart (and waistline) out. So much time was spent eating, actually, that I haven't even had time to document them all. 

So before my waistline gets bigger than this blog, let me get cracking on my most recent Food Moment. 

Which was to Hans im Glück, a burgergrill bar,  a stone's throw away from Fischmarkt, in the heart of Erfurt city. As you can probably guess from its name, it's a burger joint, freshly opened this summer, and one of its newest branches in the whole country. 

I'm not a huge burger-eater; from my earlier blogs, you can tell I'm a pasta and fish fan. But it doesn't mean I will pass up a chance to test out what is, apparently, a REALLY good burger. 

And so, here I am - sitting outdoors (as per current pandemic SOPs), enjoying the summer breeze under a wide beach umbrella, at a table set for two. With my burger. 

Burgers came with a choice of beef, or chicken breast meat. I always prefer beef as a meat patty, so beef it was for me today. The menu also allows one to order the burger on its own, or in a lunch or dinner set (a choice of sides of fries or salad, and a cold drink) at an extra cost. I wanted to focus fully on their burgers, so decided to leave the set for another day (maybe). 

Burgers come with your choice of bread - Vollkorn (wholemeal), Dunkelbrot (dark/charcoal bread) or Brioche (which is the classic bread type for burgers). I opted for Brioche to get a classic first experience at Hans im Glück because, after all, if the classic doesn't succeed, how could any modifications on the original work, right? 

There are about 8 or 9 types of burger "flavours" to choose from, and my choice was a Burger Pfeffersack (pepper sack). From its name, it is a prediction that this bread-meat combo would have a significant amount of pepper in it. And it was my choice because where I come from, burgers always have a dash of chilli or hot sauce for that extra "zing". And a zing I miss in the burgers here, which are often not chilli or pepper spicy at all. The Burger Pfeffersack seemed to be the closest I could get to having a spicy zing in my burgers, so yes, it was time to give it a go. 

First impression, it is impressively full of ingredients. I had fluffy bread buns on the top and bottom, which weren't dry or crumbly in the least. Nothing puts me off more than dry bread that crumbles when you bite into them, so this was a fantastic introduction - made me look forward to meeting the rest of the meal, if you know what I mean. 

I lifted my bread to see the surprises underneath, and ta-daaa, I was not disappointed. 

Let's see if I can correctly pin-point what my burger was made of: above the patty were brown mushrooms and salad, smeared with a mix of mayonnaise and some salad dressing sauce (I suspect).  Under the patty were slices of raw tomatoes and onions, and more salad leaves. 

For one burger, that is already a lot of ingredients, not counting the actual meat patty, so yes, I'm impressed. The superstar in a burger is always its meat patty, so to see it decorated and enhanced visually just made the superstar a whole lot more attractive. It's like the sidekick in an action movie who exists to make the action hero look better. 

In this burger movie, I was all ready to test if the superstar could hold up on its own. My verdict? 

It could. And did. 

The meat patty was nicely firm without being too hard, grilled perfectly (slightly crisp on the outside without being dried-up inside) and a nice, comfortable size.  

Size is important when it comes to food, and more is definitely more. A too-small portion or size gives the impression of stinginess, and for a business that sells food, nothing brings business failure quicker than being stingy with portions. I was thrilled to see that this restaurant, at least, had meat patties that weren't small. They weren't huge, but they were not small and compact. For that, I was happy, which is what "im Glück" is all about. 

The whole burger is held together by a wooden stick, which I found to be superbly useful in holding the whole concoction together while I happily attacked it. I could then, at least, maintain some semblance of order on my plate instead of having my platter looking looking like it was the aftermath of a crime scene. 

A unique choice of burger is the Heumilch Burger, which I found out is Hans im Glück's version of a Cheeseburger. More creamy and cheesy (but of course) in taste, I have to say it is a delectable clash of cheese, meat and vegetation combined with the pleasing wholemeal flavour of the breads. 

This burger is seriously just as good as the Pfeffersack - asking me to choose between the two is not possible at this juncture. The biting peppery taste of the Pfeffersack is absolutely tantalizing, but this Heumilch can definitely stand up to it. 

Final word? Hans im Glück is definitely in my list of equitable eating places, worth a visit and then some. In other words, if you get hungry whilst walking around Erfurt, dropping into this restaurant won't let you down. 

Prices are reasonable too, and they have beers and soft drinks (super cold and perfect as thirst-quenchers on warm summer days and nights!), and super-friendly servers who make customers feel oh, so at home in the restaurant.  

 

Would I return? Yes. After all, I still have that lunch/dinner set to test out.