Handmade Burger Co: Aberdeen

Recently I visited Union Square's burger bar joint, The Handmade Burger Co, after an extremely hungry boyfriend returned from a three and a half week trip offshore. A little hesitant at his initial suggestion, I decided to go along with what he was anticipating to be the best meal he had eaten in the past few weeks (the food offshore really wasn't the best), and joined him on this man meets burger journey.

Rocking up on a Saturday evening I was fully aware that the restaurant would be busy. Luckily my ravenous dinner guest had phoned and reserved a table, securing a time to indulge in his burger experience.

On arrival, we were greeted exceptionally quickly and ushered to our table by a chirpy waitress. Met with a sticky table and a dirty knife, I was a little anxious we were getting off to a rocky start, however, since previously working in hospitality I gave them the benefit of the doubt and the initial issue was dealt with swiftly. Now the only thing on my mind was the menu.

Opening the menu I was presented with well over 40 different types of burgers, and even for a burger fan, this was a little overwhelming. Toying with myself; beef or chicken, beef or chicken, I decided to opt for a Jerk chicken burger, something I was very much looking forward to. Being a massive fan of pulled pork, (and knowing my boyfriend's love for the stuff too), the smile on my face told him everything when he pitched the Denver chips to me. Six-hour marinated pulled pork smothered in BBQ sauce placed on top of chunky hand-cut chips and then covered in cheese, if chip heaven exists - I was there.

Denver chips

Jerk chicken burger with mango salsa, authentic jerk sauce, mayonnaise, rocket, tomato and red onion

We decided to go for two sides, obviously onion rings was the next top choice, and my hungry guest picked out the Texas chilli cheese extreme (beef) in a brioche bun - as you can imagine it was hot and cheesy, exactly as it stated on the menu. The brioche bun complimented the heat of the chilli cheese, bringing a light, sweet taste to the burger. I'm not a massive fan of hot and fiery; the hottest I go at an Indian is a Korma, so hot foods are definitely wasted on me. However, my Jerk sauce; although slightly spicy, was full of exotic flavours bringing a Caribbean feel to the dish. My burger didn't come with a gherkin which was pretty heartbreaking as I love them, but I managed to bag myself the other half of my boyfriend's. And who said romance is dead!?

Another thing my other half is well-known for, is his love of milkshakes. Dessert, or his mid-meal drink if he's feeling up to the challenge, will consist of a milkshake - providing he thinks the milkshakes are up to his taste test. Opting for a banana bonanza, it made the cut. I decided to be creative and mix-it-up a little by requesting a shake not on the menu (peanut butter and chocolate). I guess the girl behind the till liked my creativity as she gave me discount -  which was very sweet of her and much appreciated. All in all a pretty pleasurable and surprisingly satifying pit-stop for dinner. Just push yourself to pick something you usually wouldn't, its much more fun and worked a treat for me. Next time I'm trying the peanut butter and bacon burger. Mmm.

Banana and peanut butter and chocolate milkshakes

  For now...

Just Julia