Pet’s plates

Just Burger
Plaza Shopping Centre,
Bisazza Street, Sliema
Tel: 2133 2232

Food: 7/10
Location: 5/10
Service: 8/10
Value for money: 7/10
Overall: 7/10

When you’ve been shopping in Sliema for what feels like hours, searching through stacks of clothes may begin to feel like an insurmountable task. When your vision becomes blurred and dizzying rows of clothes no longer seem to excite you, you may be on the verge of a nervous breakdown (getting to and navigating Sliema’s heaving streets on a weekend can do that to you).

Or, more than likely, you are simply hungry and in desperate need of refuelling. And when hunger struck last weekend I was inside the Plaza Shopping Centre. I looked down into the foyer expecting to see the familiar red and yellow fast food joint packed with squawking kids, but something was different. A new burger place – aptly named Just Burger – has opened downstairs, taking the place of my least favourite fast food chain.

My fellow shopping buddy was only too happy to stop, dump her army of bags, sit and eat and so we made our way down to see what all the fuss was about. The place looked distinctly foreign and, in fact, it is a group of Swedish nationals who have created this new franchise of burger bar. I love a good burger and the place looked promising. I ordered a classic cheeseburger, shopping buddy took the cheeseburger with bacon and why not share a vegetarian burger? Yes, three burgers for two ravenous women, but the veggie burger would balance out the methane emissions we were subsidising. Not to be in the way of bustling shoppers, we chose to sit in an inner room off the Level 0 foyer.

A great burger represents instant comfort food; messy and satisfying. It is something so quick and uncomplicated to make but that is all-too-often badly made. Three minutes into hacking away at a grey, granular patty, your mouthfuls become increasingly more laborious and, once the heat has completely left the burger, you realise that you’re practically chomping a dry piece of leather. Such is the case with most fast food burger chains. At Just Burger it is fast but not (worryingly) instant food that you will receive. And why should fast food entail precooked, preheated or frozen ingredients and a resulting meal of unspeakably low quality? We waited a happy 15 minutes until one of the friendly, young staff brought over our burgers.

If done right, a burger can be a thing of beauty and, thankfully, this icon is here to stay

They looked incredibly enticing, starting from the vehicle for the meat itself – the bread. Holding all the grease and juice firmly inside, the bread bun was nice and bouncy and not the sweet, crumbly rubbish you find in supermarkets and many fast food chains. My cheeseburger was delicious.

All burger patties are made in-house and the minced beef was well seasoned, succulent and pleasantly chewy. It had been cooked correctly to medium, with a nice sear and just the right shade of pink once you bit through, but they will cook the meat according to your liking. Besides the finely sliced onion, fresh salad and chopped gherkin, my burger was oozing with good quality cheese and that essential mayonnaise, ketchup and mustard combination dressing that seems to make a burger all the more appetising. I wanted even more of that. Shopping buddy’s burger was even better than mine.

There was a selection of vegetarian burgers to choose from and for our plant protein of the day, shopping buddy and I shared the chickpea one which was slightly dry and flaky. Despite being less exciting than the other two, it was still a good burger overall. The chips were made from genuine potatoes and were crispy. There was no plasticine-like quality to these fries.

Just Burger have a lovely selection of dip sauces and we shared a parmesan and mayo one which was grainy and salty and yummy. And I haven’t even mentioned the milkshake – a thick, creamy delight. There were good portions of everything and we were satisfied with our meal. Just Burger brought out the gourmand in us and we literally wolfed down our burgers.

Why, you may ask, had a simple cheeseburger worked me into such a tizzy? The answer is simple. In Malta it can be extremely hard to get a truly good one. If done right, a burger can be a thing of beauty and, thankfully, this icon is here to stay. The strongest burger culture is found in the US and it was, in fact, in New York where I developed a newfound appreciation for the burger – while trapped inside my hotel room with a hurricane raging outside.

As the city went into complete shutdown mode, the burger joints and steak houses were some of the only few eateries resilient enough and mad enough to remain open in order to feed hungry locals and disgruntled tourists like me. And thank goodness for that. As the power cut and all life came to a standstill, my burgers comforted me and I returned to Malta as large as a house.

As deliciously simple as a burger can be, it can be overworked, preened and primped to the point of ludicrousness. Over the years, various chefs have set themselves the task of insanely embellishing the ordinary burger, thus competing to create the world’s most extravagant burger. Standard ingredients for such ‘glamburgers’ normally include a Kobe Wagyu beef patty, black truffle brie and a quail or duck egg. Sounds good so far? Now add a generous spoonful of Beluga caviar, lobster, some venison if you dare and, finally, encase the burger bun in edible gold leaf.

These prized delicacies constitute some of the most expensive ingredients in the world but here they are all choked together into one gross, sickening combination. This really is taking gluttony to a whole new level. The current record setter as regards the world’s most expensive burger is a London restaurant in Chelsea. Their towering creation will set you back well over a thousand euros – and will likely provide a side of indigestion as well.

Shopping buddy and I had really enjoyed our lunch and found that we had actually been sitting for a very pleasant hour. My only complaint has nothing whatsoever to do with the food but rather with the location. It can be quite dark and dreary on the windowless ground floor of the Plaza. Although the seating is brightly coloured, the room we sat in was poorly lit and it felt at times a bit claustrophobic, like I was eating in a basement.

But as for the food, I overindulged and enjoyed every single minute of it. Just Burger does one thing – and does it well. Good quality ingredients come together to build a great tasting burger and, even though they serve fast food, it is real food nonetheless. Incidentally, it works out to almost the same price as any run-of-the-mill fast food chain. I am already eager to return in order to try the salmon burger or the halloumi burger... or the monthly special burger.

Just Burger have an establishment in Paceville, with its Sliema counterpart having opened only recently in July. I dearly hope the quality and standard of food prevails, however, far they may expand the franchise.

You can send e-mails about this column to petsplates@gmail.com.