This past few weeks saw me trying out two burger outlets (of the, well, gourmet kind. Kinda) – Handmade Burger Co. and Gourmet Burger Kitchen (GBK) in Sheffield and Nottingham, respectively. I remembered drooling over the menu when I first passed Handmade at Brindley Place in Brum wishing if I could sink my teeth into the varieties of succulent pieces of beef that is on offer in the menu. Much to my surprise recently, both outlets actually serve halal chicken. Better than nothing, no?

Both outlets are pretty much similar in which you have to make your order at the counter after given a table, pretty much what you do at Nando’s really. The burger sizes at both Handmade and GBK are similar, although I felt the sides at Handmade were more sizeable. At Handmade, I chose the Milano which had pesto, mayo, Mozzarella and some rocket leaves – it was nice although I thought the bun was kinda soggy-ish in the middle from the pesto. The rocket did help add some zing to the overall flavour. For the sides, the chips were of the chunky variety, and the serving was generous. I was recommended the coleslaw which was said to be great but it was on the large-ish side so I decided to give it a miss. The bill came at about £14 but it was expected, and in my cards, worth the money spent.

As for GBK, I tried it out last night with some friends whom I’ve not met for a while. For my chicken burger, the Habanero was like an obvious and predictable choice. It was spicy (well, it has habanero peppers made into jam – whaddaya expect) and adding Tabasco was probably overkill. At GBK, I goto to choose whether the chicken was grilled or breaded. Grilled seemed the better (and helathier) choice as breaded was very the KFC. They had a choice of chunky or skinny fries, and for a change, I opted for the latter. I was a tad disappointed as they were shoestring thin, similar to the French Cries crisps in packets. The pièce de résistance was however the milkshake, and I chose my fav which was the Oreo. Price-wise, it was same-ish as Handmade.

The verdict? Well, you can’t go wrong with either eaterie, I guess. I’d probably go for chunky chips the next time I go to GBK, though. Anyhoo, for my next Handmade visit, I gotta try the Cajun or the Smokey Barbecue, and the Pesterella at GBK.

Burgerrrrrrr!!!