Restaurant: The Garibaldi Hotel
Address: 19-21 Baliff Street, Northampton NN1 3DX
Chosen burger: Me, Myself & I
Consists of: Double 7oz House Beef Burger, Salad, Cheese, Bacon, Firecracker Sauce
Price: £9.50 (+ £2.00 skinny fries)(+ £3.00 onion rings)

Gentlemen, the burger adventure of a lifetime has seen the Northampton Gents tackle a range of burgers in their journey to uncover Northampton’s finest burgers. We’ve partaken in a fair few so far, with some narrowly missing the coveted five stars and others seeing the five stars only as specs on the distant horizon. So it was with great excitement when the Northampton Gent decided to take a trip to the Garibaldi Hotel to put the new craft beer pub to the test. Their brand ‘Meat and Greet’ has been on the burger scene for years, serving high quality burgers at festivals all across the UK. ‘Meat and Greet’ is now serving out of the Garibaldi’s kitchen so we were keen to put their burger through its paces. If you do not know about the Garibaldi Hotel yet, check out our review here.

Meat & Greet at Festivals

After a perusal of the menu, the Me, Myself & I was screaming out at us from the page. We do not know if it was the double house burgers or the De La Soul reference that drew our attention, but it was a decisively quick and easy decision.

The Garibaldi Hotel Burger, Fries and Onion Rings

So let us begin with the patty. The Garaibaldi Hotel cook all their patties as pink unless asked otherwise (but why in the world would you do such a thing) and source their beef locally from Sywell. The quality of the beef is undeniable and is the Garibalidi’s own secret blend of beef brisket and shoulder. The patties were not overly seasoned so as to let the beef’s marvellous natural flavour shine through and managed to be juicy without falling into the depths of greasy. The beef was also cooked to perfection, with a flush of pink inside so as not to impair the flavour of the quality meat. Soft, succulent and tender, the two 7oz burgers were truly a thing of beauty and it is clear that both time and effort had gone in refining their recipe.

There is always a risk that when patties are that good, attention to the rest of the burger has been neglected. Most fortunately, this was not the case. The bun, again locally sourced, achieved that ever so elusive, perfect beef to bun ratio. It contained the plethora of beef and toppings and made the burger manageable to handle and consume. In our time, we have seen many a bun succumb  to juicy-ness of patties and sauces, leaving them soggy and sodden; fortunately the Me, Myself and I bun are not one of these buns, with the bread keeping its integrity throughout.

With so much beef in the burger, it can sometimes prove problematic getting the balance right; each element of the Me, Myself & I however worked tremendously well together. Each ingredient chosen enhances the overall experience without any singular aspect overpowering the others. The firecracker sauce cut through the beef and injected a hint of spice which is pleasant on the palate without being overly powerful. The fresh salad includes red jalapenos which add another hint of mild heat along with a pleasant sweetness. The cheese, satisfyingly melted in between the two patties, provided a level of cohesion to the burger whilst the creamy, mellow tones helped soften the mild kick of the sauce and jalapenos. The salty bacon was thankfully on the crispier side –we are rather unforgiving to undercooked bacon – giving a slight crunch and extra bite to burger, which worked considerably well in contrast to the soft patties. With so many different flavours all complementing and working with each other, the balance of the Me, Myself & I is a triumph.

So, did the Garibaldi Hotel manage to meet our high burger expectations? Well, we are pleased to report that they were. And then they were exceeded. The balance of each element of the burger and the quality of each ingredient used shows that a lot of attention and care has been put into creating their recipes. It is this attention to detail that separates a good burger from a great burger. The onion rings were large and crispy whilst the fries were slightly more undercooked than we would have preferred, but did not detract from the overall experience. So with such praise, the question you must be begging to know is, did it achieve the much sought after 5 stars? Well gents, we can confirm officially the Garibaldi’s Me, Myself & I is the Northampton Gent’s first 5 star burger. That’s right, after a long and arduous search, we have found a burger worthy of the coveted 5 stars.  It is one that we would recommend you go and partake in and with the Garibaldi’s ‘Burger and Brew’ Monday, you can get this most wonderful of creations at half price when you buy a beer (our personal tipple is a Meantime IPA). Remember where you were this day gents, for this is a day that will echo throughout the ages.

The gentleman’s rating: starstar

 www.thegaribaldihotel.co.uk

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