Dodgy Burgers and A Decent Roast

Sunday evening and I’m writing. No shock there. I write most evenings. But this is a good Sunday evening. Because there’s no work tomorrow. Suits me, that does. Anyway, what to write about? I’ll figure it out as I go.

One thing that gets right up my nose is a bad burger. I don’t mean one that is off. I mean one that is poor in quality when it comes to taste. Mary and I went to a local pub/restaurant today. Her roast dinner lacked quality. And my burger lacked quality. Not for the first time in the last while.

Here’s the thing. I’m not a picky bugger. I go out for a meal and I want hearty food that tastes nice. That’s it. Decent service and a reasonable price help. But the food itself doesn’t have to be fine cuisine.

We don’t go out to eat that often. Meaning that when we do, we have a reasonable expectation that we are going to enjoy the food. Like anyone does. I avoid highfalutin places. Don’t like ‘em. They make me feel uncomfortable.

We went out for three pub Sunday meals in the last three months. Two in Coventry and one in Ryde, Isle of Wight. I’m not a food critic so I’ll avoid naming the venues.

Both Coventry pubs succeeded in letting me order a burger on a Sunday. I’m not a big fan of Sunday roasts. While the pub in Ryde didn’t. Meaning I had to have a roast. Hmm.

But, the burgers in Coventry were bloody horrible. The meat tasted burnt. The burger buns were dry and tough. And the salad came out limp and pale. My side of chips? They tasted alright. Nothing to write home about. The insipid bowl of coleslaw in both cases tasted… well, insipid.

Now, the Sunday roast in Ryde? I have to be honest. It tasted bloody amazing. I chose pork. Succulent meat and plenty of it. The veggies had that classic Sunday roast taste to them. The roast potatoes were crisp on the outside, soft inside. Top marks. And that’s high praise from a man who doesn’t like Sunday roasts.

The clear winner here was that the Sunday roast took the prize for pure quality, leaving aside my personal preference for burgers.

The other point is that when we do pay to eat out, we want food that tastes good. Like I said earlier. It’s not a big ask. And when we have experiences like the two Coventry examples? It makes me say sod going out to eat.

Now, I know a lot of folk will be saying: they could be one-off occasions. Or that Sundays are not a good day to have a burger. People might also assume that we chose places that don’t have a good reputation (both Coventry pubs do).

The bottom line is simple: we pay good money for good food and didn’t get it. Not a good look for eating establishments. Apart from the place in Ryde. That earned every penny of its bill.

Right, I’m going to write something else. Because it’s a Sunday before a Bank Holiday. So, I can stay up later.