Byron Burgers B-Rex
Review of Byron Burgers B-Rex
Website: http://www.byronhamburgers.com/
What they say:
Inspired by our head chef Fred’s memory of his first ever hamburger, it proved terrifyingly popular. So, like all the best B-movie monsters, it’s returned – and this time it isn’t going anywhere.
Our classic hamburger patty is topped off with an onion ring, plus crispy smoked bacon and not one but two slices of American cheese.
Jalapeños add plenty of kick, while sliced pickles, finely-chopped white onion, BBQ sauce and a little mayonnaise bring it all together. This is a beast of a burger, and it’s coming to a Byron near you.
Price: £10.50 for the burger only.
Calories: Unknown.
It’s 9:20pm on a dark Monday night in February. Torrential rain pounds the car as we head back to Cheltenham from Bristol.
We’re still a good 40 mins away from BLHQ as the thermometer pings a warning that it is 4 degrees Celsius outside and visibility on the M5 is at an all-time low. A thought runs through my head “why did we do this again?”
I’ll show and tell you why. It’s because of this… the mighty B-Rex burger from Byron Hamburgers…!!
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| Byron Hamburgers B-Rex… |
As part of the Byron Burger Club we scored a free B-Rex this evening at their fantastic Bristol The Triangle restaurant.
We won’t talk about the interior much as we covered that in the Flaming Iceberg review but I must say once again the staff were impeccable tonight.
They are friendly without being too much, and knowledgeable about their menu. Plus as I have said before anywhere that says “find where you want to sit and I’ll follow you” gets a massive thumbs us from us.
Anyway, the Byron Burger Club.
We joined it a month ago to score a bottle of their free Hot Sauce when we had the Flaming Iceberg. This time the deal was sign up on Thursday 19th February at 12:30 to get one of approximately 3,000 free B-Rex burgers.
Having been warned on my previous visit that these get snapped up very quick as they are on a first come, first served basis I did manage to acquire a ticket.
The ticket (+ ID) allows the bearer one free B-Rex – later on I would find out that this was limited to only 50 people at their Bristol location.
So a year after the B-Rex was first unleashed as one of Byron’s most popular specials ever, we were there a week before it is set to return, but just how did it measure up?
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| More immaculate than a Madonna LP… |
Immaculate presentation. Truly immaculate. I came into the office the next morning saying to the people that live within a drive away from Worcester “you are definitely going to have to get into Byron when it opens in Worcester.”
After finishing the B-Rex I was asked if it was better than the Flaming Iceberg.
At the time, I couldn’t pick a “winner” but having driven away and thought about it further I think the B-Rex just about shades it. I’ll explain why…
This is the ULTIMATE bacon cheeseburger. The Ultimate Supreme bacon cheeseburger perhaps. There really are not enough superlatives that can be thrown at this B-Movie inspired burger from head chef Fred at Byron.
It’s like John Hammond has taken the DNA from every single popular burger ingredient to develop this amazing, hybrid burger creation.
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| It Came From Outer Space… |
Let’s analyse each specific component to try and understand the wizardry (or Science) going on here…
6oz hamburger – in my opinion the perfect sized beef patty.
Not too big or small, just the right amount to give you a satisfied feeling once you’ve eaten it but not so full you feel like you’ve eaten a mini-challenge.
Tonight this was cooked “medium perfect” with a slight natural flame-grilled taste. Not heavily seasoned either and bold enough to stand out amongst the toppings.
Onion ring – this gave the B-Rex a battered, buttery element to it. I wouldn’t say the onion shone out as much as the fresh onion did but the coating of the ring did just fine.
Bacon – a couple of crispy slices which were cooked just how I like bacon on a burger. Beautiful, on what could only be described as the best damn bacon cheeseburger (deluxe) I’ve ever tasted!
American cheese – the classic triple threat of beef vs. bacon vs. cheese and this was adorned with two slices of the good stuff. Nothing major to write home about but just adds to the awesome-ness of the Rex.
Jalapeños – now there were a good amount on-board and these hit you with a tang and slight warmth. Good addition in terms of the texture of the burger which brings us to…
Sliced pickles – quite thick cut and quite possibly the game-changer on the B-Rex.
OK they’re not loved by everyone but you bite through and get the crispy bacon, the slight chew of the beef, the creaminess of the mayo/cheese but then a satisfying snap/crunch almost of the pickles.
Provided real depth to both the texture and the flavour – remove these at your peril…!
Finely chopped white onion – again how could an ingredient that is so simple, so cheap and so basic work so well? It does.
After everything that we’ve described above floods your senses with raptor-ous joy these small pieces of fresh, chopped onion cut through providing yet another tantalising sensation on your palette.
BBQ sauce/mayonnaise – not a massive fan of mayo but you really cannot tell it is there. The BBQ sauce is good, does not dominate everything on-board and provides a semi-smoky tone throughout.
My only observation that the bottom bun does struggle to cope a bit with the amount of sauce used and I’d probably recommend a couple of napkins instead of just the one provided.
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| The mighty B-Rex returns… |
Overall, the B-Rex is an outstanding deluxe bacon cheeseburger and the presentation requires another mention.
I was so glad the burger was served the way it was.
Instead of being distracted by an unnecessary mound of fries next to it an elegant wedge of pickle was all that was required to accentuate the B-Rex.
The burger proudly stood to attention in the centre of the tin plate/dish. A gleaming stack of meat and bun, as if to say “look at me and how perfectly I’ve been put together. I am impeccable. I am beautiful. Now eat me you filthy bastard.”
Was it worth the near harrowing journey back for the driver and more importantly the passenger? I’ll let you decide…
I’ve read a few negative comments online about Byron recently which I don’t quite understand.
OK at £10 for just the burger alone this is quite steep in some people’s eyes (alright mine was free tonight as part of the Byron Burger Club) but I truly believe you get what you pay for. And if you are blessed and have a Byron in your neck of the woods I would definitely recommend getting amongst this when it returns.
The B-Rex is available at all Byron restaurants from Tuesday 3rd March.
Burger Lad®
