Over the last few weeks I’ve had the opportunity to sample the wares of some more of London’s street food delights. Coincidently, all of them are part of the Eat St movement. Actually it’s not that much of a coincidence because I took some annual leave and was finally able to get down to King’s Cross Boulevard.
Anyway, my first vendor was Motherflipper. A friend of mine had tried their burgers recently and given them the thumbs up, so my expectations were pretty high. I decide to resist the lure of candied bacon (still on my dieting stint) and opted for the chilli burger. The meat comes topped with cheddar and a chilli paste that includes chunks of red jalepenos. The burst is dressed with chilli mayonnaise, spinach, red onion, and pickled cucumber slices. I was a bit controversial and added ketchup and mustard as well. Sorry, but if there’s not fresh tomato in my burger, there has to be ketchup. Yes, I do know that the combination of condiments sounds insane, but trust me, it all worked. In fact I really liked the chilli mayonnaise which managed to hold it’s own distinct flavour against my additional condiments. I also liked that the chilli paste brought flavour to the meal, not just heat. It got a bit messy, but really that’s what you want from a good burger!
My next place of culinary exploration was Ana Maes. I have to say I have been dying to try her food ever since I first read about it. Unfortunately ever time I’d come across her she was only only doing her mac and cheese. And while I overheard many comments of delight, it was really the meat I was interested in. This time I was not disappointed. In fact it exceeded my expectations. I was treated to pulled pork with homemade BBQ sauce, sesame coleslaw and homemade chilli beans. Oh my word it was amazing! I loved the depth of flavour of the chilli beans. Punchy heat and a good hit of cumin (just shy of too much). Good coleslaw. The inclusion of the sesame seeds was a little challenging but it did work. Mainly because without the heavy mayonnaise dressing it was really quite a fresh taste, breaking up the intense richness of the beans and pork. Speaking of the pork, it was sooooo worth waiting for. Tender, flavoursome, and delicious! I also really liked the BBQ sauce. I find supermarket jobs a little too sweet but this had a wonderful complex mixture of spices that was just…yum! Ana Mae’s, I’m a fan.
The most recent was Engine. Again I’d been wondering about this vendor for a while. My running group meets next to it before our Wednesday run, so I was visually quite familiar with their food. Having said that, I was hesitant to take the next step and give them a try because, having eaten Big Apple Hotdogs, I wasn’t sure that any other could live up to these standards. Still, this week we stuck around for food after the run, and I decided to overcome my initial reluctance and see how they compared. I opted for the BBQ hotdog served with homemade salted cucumber spears, red cabbage coleslaw and BBQ sauce. The pickles and coleslaw were really good. Absolutely spot on with the cabbage to dressing ratio. And I’m absolutely sure that had I not already discovered Apple Hotdogs, I would have been raving about the quality of the meat. So I guess it depends what the priority is. If it’s the combination of condiments, then Engine is the way to go. But if it’s the flavour of the meat, stick with Big Apple. For me, sorry Engine but Big Apple Hotdogs is still the best!
On a separate note, yesterday to my delight I walked into Wholefoods in High Street Kensington and found the stall at the front selling Big Apple Hotdogs. I got a little bit excited. Needless to say I had to have one (I’d just run a total of 17.5km so I figured I’d earned it). This time it was a beef and pork dog. Condiments available included caramelised red onions and pickled cucumber spears. Oh so good, I was one happy woman! If only they were available to take away and cook yourself…
A Question of Taste 