Category: Food & Drinks

The Burger Hub is another one of those places I never tried because I absolutely hated their branding. With places like Burger Boutique and Slider Station, the bar has been raised when it comes to the design of burger joints in Kuwait and the fact that Burger Boutique and Slider Station are local creations just like Burger Hub means there is no excuse for bad design. If we put aside the ugly logo, placemats and the confusing menu, whats up with the interior design? Its just really awful, and the bathrooms are even worse. The whole thing put together just makes it look like Burger Hub were trying really hard to be different and stylish but the result just makes them look like wannabes. Having Slider Station a few doors down isn’t helping either. One thing they got right and the most important aspect of this review though was their burger.

According to their placemat their most popular burger was the La Rose Burger which consists of the beef burger covered with caramelized onions, mushroom sauce and swiss cheese. So I placed an order for that with a side order of fries and waited. When the burger arrived I wasn’t impressed by the presentation. It came in a small metal pan that had white paper on the bottom and the burger on the top which looked pretty cheap.

I really came into the place already with a negative impression and nothing there was really helping me change my mind until I started eating the burger. Wow what a shock. Everything about the place was telling me this burger was going to suck but it was just delicious. When I first saw the bread I expected it to be hard but it turned out to be very soft and although the burger was really juicy, the bread never got soggy. The beef patty also tasted great while the mushroom sauce wasn’t overdone and the cheese was just right. I couldn’t believe I was not only liking the burger but loving it.

But not all is perfect, before I could really start to enjoy the burger I had already finished it. I guess for a 12 year old girl on an Atkins diet the burger is actually a good size but for me I wished it was ever so slightly bigger. I also wished the onions were more caramelized since some of it still tasted raw. Overall though the burger was really impressive and thats why I am giving it a 4 out of 5 which actually ties it in first place with their neighbors, Slider Station. I will definitely be going back again, they have a really large collection of burgers which I think I am going to have fun going through. Now if only they can revamp their identity.

The Burger Hub is located on the Gulf Road opposite Seef Palace.
The cost of the La Rose Burger was KD2.600

Although Totally Fish has been open in Marina Crescent for two years now I never passed by to try it. It was one of those places I kept hearing negative stuff about mostly that it was too expensive and that the food wasn’t really good. But last night I felt like having seafood and decided to pass by Totally Fish since it was nearby.

I was with Nat and we ended up ordering Salmon Croquette and Prawns Cake for appetizer while for the main course she had a Salmon dish while I had Balloul. The appetizers were pretty ordinary and we wouldn’t order them again. We also didn’t like our main courses that much, Nats salmon had too many flavors, none of which was Salmon while my Balloul was just really forgettable. The biggest surprise was the fact that the prices weren’t expensive at all. The Salmon Croquette was around KD1.500, while the Prawns Cake around KD2.500. The Salmon was for KD6.750 while the Balloul was KD6.500. The portions were also surprisingly big.

Even though we didn’t enjoy any of the dishes I am still going to go back. Its common to order the wrong dishes the first time at a place and since their location is good, the staff friendly and the prices very reasonable, they are worth a second visit.

Definitely an April Fool’s prank, its not only cheese burger and beef stroganof water but theres also fish & chips, hotdogs and more! [Link]

I’ve never liked Applebee’s because I never had a good experience there. Whatever I ordered I ended up hating and their menu just didn’t have as much variety as I wanted. Yesterday I passed by for the first time in over a year ago and things have changed considerably since my last visit. The menu has a lot more interesting stuff on it and probably the most shocking thing of all, I actually left the place satisfied and thinking about going back.

They had four burgers on their menu but I decided to go with the cheese burger since the other options were a classic burger with no cheese, a cheese burger with bacon, and the last burger was I think a Hawaiian burger with Pineapple (gross!). All the burgers are made using a 100% Angus Beef and cooked medium well.

My burger arrived 10-15 minutes after placing my order and after a few bites I realized that although the Applebee’s burger isn’t good enough to be a contender for the top spot, it was a pretty good burger. It tasted and smelled like it was grilled on a backyard barbecue which is a good thing because barbecued burgers always taste good. The burger was not super thick but was still very juicy and the cheese melted perfectly. Now one thing I found weird although it didn’t have an effect on the taste was that it felt like I was biting into a steak and not a burger. I don’t know if thats normal with Angus beef but it just felt weird.

Overall though there wasn’t much wrong with the burger. It didn’t have this “oh I need to have another one right now” taste to it which is why it didn’t score any higher. But it did score pretty high because I’m giving it a 3.5 out of 5 which puts it inline with the Fuddruckers burger. That alone is an achievement.

Applebee’s is located on the Gulf Road, Mishref and Souk Sharq.
The cost of the Angus Cheese Burger was KD2.150

Previously Reviewed:
Bredz
Fuddruckers
Hashi
Johnny Rockets
Munch
Prime & Toast
Slider Station
Sheraton Hotel
The Little Oven
Wimpy

A few readers recommended I try the Hashi Wagyu burger so yesterday for lunch I passed by them. I had never been to Hashi so I was looking forward to trying them out.

The interior of Hashi looks like a warehouse thats been vandalized by graffiti which is a nice idea although one that I’ve seen before. They had two burgers on the menu and I decided to go with the Wagyu Beef Burger which is made from freshly ground Wagyu beef hamburger filled with wasabi creamed mushrooms.

When the burger arrived it reminded me a lot of the Munch burger. It was small and the bread looked generic so at first glance I was thinking to myself “not again”. Luckily the similarities stopped there because the burger tasted better than Munch. The meat Hashi use is of better quality and juicier. But, being better than Munch isn’t really a compliment, I felt the herbs mixed in with the beef really overpowered the burger and the small bread made things very sloppy. They also had tomato and iceberg lettuce which felt out of place, I don’t even know what it was doing there since the waiter told me there wouldn’t be any lettuce or tomato in the burger.

I no longer have patience for burgers that don’t have the basics at least right. Is it really that hard to make a good burger, come on people! I am going to give this burger a 2 out of 5. Now burger review aside I think Hashi is one of the cheapest sushi places in Kuwait. I ordered an 8 piece Lobster & Crab maki and it cost only KD2.750. That I think was the most expensive maki they had and on Fridays its even buy one maki and get one free. So I will be going back again to try some more makis but I won’t be having their burger again.

Hashi is located in front of Salhiya Complex.
The cost of the Wagyu Beef Burger was KD5.950

Previously Reviewed:
Bredz
Fuddruckers
Johnny Rockets
Munch
Prime & Toast
Slider Station
Sheraton Hotel
The Little Oven
Wimpy

I’ve been wanting to try out Macaroni Grill ever since I found out that their Spaghetti and Meatballs with Meat Sauce dish was voted the worst pasta dish in the US for having over 2400 calories. They opened up at The Avenues awhile back and tonight I finally got the chance to try the place out and its pretty cool. Since I got food poisoned from Johnny Carino’s I’ve been looking for a replacement and I think Macaroni Grill is it.

The service was very good, the atmosphere inside the place was very cozy and most importantly the Spaghetti and Meatballs dish was amazing. It really doesn’t taste like 2,430 calories! I’m definitely going back there again.

Red Bull is going to release its own cola drink to compete with Pepsi and Coke. But unlike Pepsi and Coke, the Red Bull Cola will be made of 100% natural ingredients and cost slightly more. I’m not a big fan of the Red Bull energy drink but I think I might like their cola. I don’t have a clue if this is even going to get released in our region but I know someone in the marketing department at Red Bull in Dubai so I’ll ask them once they show up on my MSN messenger. [Link]

Update: I just spoke to my friend, the Red Bull Cola will be launched first in Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Great Britain, Ireland and Las Vegas next month. In the Gulf it will be a year later.

I’ve got a thing for hotel burgers. I guess its because burgers are the safest thing on the menu to have when traveling because no matter what country you’re in and you order a burger you know exactly what to expect. Now I don’t want to review all the hotel burgers in Kuwait so I decided to go with the one hotel which has never disappointed with their food, Sheraton. Some people say they’ve got the best shawerma and I wanted to see if they had the best burger.

They only have one burger on the menu and I ordered it medium well. When the burger arrived I think around 15 minutes later I was surprised to see that instead of one larger burger the dish was made up of two medium sized ones. They’re too big to be sliders but too small to be a regular burger, strange size but I didn’t care. The burger had cheese, tomato, chopped up lettuce and what looked to my like mayonnaise, I added ketchup myself and took my first bite. The beef tasted really fantastic and was cooked perfectly even though it was pretty thick. The only problem was everything else. The bread started falling apart half way through because it was getting really soggy and that made it very messy to eat. In the second burger I decided to remove the tomato in hopes of solving that problem but still, half way through the bread started getting soggy and falling apart again. I concluded it must be from the mayonnaise but I didn’t have a third burger to try my theory. The cheese although there and melted beautifully was nearly non existent taste wise. I think the cheese slices they use are too thin resulting in it melting better but not having enough presence to actually make a difference.

I think the Sheraton burger is the best hotel burger I’ve ever had. But outside the hotel circle the burger doesn’t shine. I’ve had better burgers since I’ve started this challenge and I’m expecting to have some more good ones. I’m going to have to give a 3 out of 5, a very respectable score.

Sheraton Hotel is located in Kuwait City.
The cost of the burger was KD5.600

A German company took 100 food products and compared the photo on the box with how the food really looked like. Here is a link to the results. [Link]

via BoingBoing

This post is for the Lebanese in Kuwait. I found this place next to my house called Toot that sells Picon and Smeds cheese. The Picon is 550fils for a small pack while the Smeds is for KD1.250.

Toot is located in Salmiya, if Jeita is on your right hand side keep going straight and take the right after Maroosh. Then keep going straight and you should see the place in your right hand side under the hotel.

I’ve been looking forward to Munch for a while now since I’ve been hearing a lot of good stuff about them. Sadly, my burger experience with them wasn’t that good.

I passed by Munch today for lunch and the whole Dar Al-Awadhi mall where Munch is located was empty. It was nice and peaceful and since the mall was empty so was Munch which was great since we ended up sitting in a very cozy corner. The interior of Munch is simple yet trendy and I like their color combination of white and green. We sat down and I flipped through the menu to find a choice of two burgers, the Kobe Beef Burger and the Classic Cheese Burger. I decided to go with the Kobe since someone had posted that I should try it.

I ordered my Kobe burger with swiss cheese and portobello mushrooms. The burger arrived 10 minutes later and at first glance it was disappointing. The burger looked like something I could have prepared at home. Looks aside the patty also tasted like a cheap COOP burger, if they had used the frozen Kobe burgers available at Sultan Center it would have been wayyy better. The bun also looked like the new burger buns from Kuwait Flour Mills which is very unexciting. I ate it but I wouldn’t have it again.

On a positive note the fries were great, the service was good and as I mentioned earlier the interior of the place was pretty cool. Actually service was not that good, I ordered my burger with a side order of fries and the waiter didn’t think to inform me that my burger actually came with fries. But anyway neither of these things can have an effect on the final score which is 1.5 out of 5. There really wasn’t anything great in the burger, it was also very small and just felt too home made. That can be a good thing but not when I can make a better burger myself.

Munch is located in Dar Al-Awadhi.
The cost of the Kobe Beef Burger is KD3.950

I was planning on having a burger at Applebee’s today when in the last minute plans changed and I ended up at Fuddruckers. Thats a good thing of course since Fuddruckers is one of my favorite burger places in Kuwait and they actually have my favorite burger, the Triple Cheeseburger. When I first decided on this burger challenge I had a winner already figured out in my head, it was going to be Fuddruckers. Things have changed though.

As I said my favorite burger is the Triple Cheeseburger so thats what I went ahead and ordered. At Fudd’s you can choose the thickness of your patty, I went with the half pounder cooked medium well. I’ve tried all the thicknesses and found the half pounder to be the perfect size for their bun. More places need to offer different thickness patties, especially the burger joints. Anyway the burger arrived open bun without any garnish, you then have to go up to the garnish bar and manually put whatever you want on your burger. I usually put just ketchup on my burger and hot melted cheddar cheese on the potato wedges which is what I did.

I think Fuddruckers might have the best classical burger and even though I had figured before this challenge that it would score the highest, I don’t think thats going to happen. I don’t think its exciting enough, I love it, I think its my favorite burger and although this doesn’t make sense I don’t think its THE best burger. I prefer the Black Widow for example and I also really like the Little Oven burger, two burgers which I hadn’t tried before this challenge. I also have a whole list of burgers I still need to try and I am expecting some really great ones. I really like the Fuddruckers burger bun and I think the beef patty is the perfect thickness although its pretty fatty. The size of the burger is also huge which is why it easily fills me. All this wasn’t enough to earn it the highest score. I am being super tough with these burger reviews so thats why I’m giving it a 3.5 out of 5.

I still have the following burgers I need to try, am I missing anything?
Gaucho Grill, Sheraton, Applebees, Chilis, Ruby Tuesday, Burger Hub, Burger Bar, Burger Boutique, Munch, GBK and Hashi.

Fuddruckers is located on the Gulf Road, their telephone number is 2460110
The cost of the 1/2lb Triple Cheese Burger is KD2.950

The owner of Slider Station just posted the following comment under the Slider Station burger review:

mark i’m gonna make this burger a bit more accessible to readers. All mark248am1.wpenginepowered.com readers could get the black widow for 8.5 KD till July 31st. All they have to do is mention the site when they order.

Thats definitely a good deal (as in better than KD11.750) especially if you are curious to try what probably is the most expensive burger in Kuwait. If you haven’t read my Black Widow review yet here is the [Link]

When someone mentioned in one my previous burger posts about a KD12 burger at Slider Station I knew I had to try it. Thats why I was really looking forward for having lunch today with my two friends at Slider Station. Once I got the menu I just flipped through it looking at the prices until I found what I was looking for, the Black Widow priced strategically at KD11.750. On paper the Black Widow sounded delicious; Wagyu beef patty topped with wild mushrooms, melted Brie cheese, black truffle mayo on a dark poppy seed bun and served with goose fat fries on the side. It was just mouth watering to read which led to a friend of mine ordering it too.

Now someone had posted that they deliver the Black Widow on a boat so I was expecting some kind of miniature pirate ship to set sail on the Slider Station bar conveyor belt and head towards my seat (don’t ask why). Instead the Black Widow rolled out on a regular plate which was long like a ship but thats were the similarities ended. No pirate ship, big disappointment, minus three stars! Seriously though the presentation of the burger was good, not as dramatic as the Prime & Toast burger but the Black Widow did look more sinister, kinda like the burger that Darth Vader would have. I took the plate off the belt, set it in front of me then quickly grabbed the burger and took my first bite. I am a huge fan of Brie and this was my first time having it with a burger and it was just really unusual in a very good way. It wasn’t the cheese alone but the mayo and the wild mushrooms, all combined it gave it this slightly sweet delicious flavor. The bread was perfect and patty was great although to be honest I don’t think I could tell the difference between a Wagyu patty and regular patty. Now the thing that really annoyed me with the burger was how messy the it was to eat. This has to be the messiest burger I have ever eaten in my life! With the first bite half the burger slid out of the bun and all the cheese and mayo ended up covering my hand. Even after readjusting it the patty kept trying to slide out. It was extremely annoying and all the toppings kept falling into the plate. With a KD12 burger every topping that falls amounts to around half a dinar so of course I had to keep picking up the mushrooms and sauce and pasting it back on top of the burger. It was ridiculous!

The burger was amazing though, the best I’ve had in this burger challenge so far. But, it was too messy to eat and it could have been slightly bigger. If it wasn’t for the fries I don’t think it would have filled me. I would also be interested to try the same burger just with a regular beef patty and for half the price. Now price as I mentioned won’t have an effect on the final rating but that doesn’t mean I can’t talk about it. KD12 for a burger is not cheap, its not even expensive, its super expensive. I imagine the cost is high because of the ingredients but its just too expensive (at least for me) to have it again. Value for money, I think I would have felt more comfortable paying around KD8, just having it priced under KD10 psychologically seems reasonable. Great burger though and final score is a 4 out of 5, the highest so far in this review and a really high score.

Slider Station have a website which you can check [Here]
The cost of the Black Widow Burger is KD11.750

I am expecting this to be my most controversial review because it involves one of the most popular burger places in Kuwait and to many readers, their favorite burger place in Kuwait. So before I continue let me make something clear. I love Johnny Rockets. I’ve been a customer since the first week they opened (I think it was 1996) and me and my friends used to go and hang out there on weekends with the half of Kuwait. It was like the “it” place to be back then and even though there are A LOT more restaurants open now (back then it was just Johnny and Fuddruckers) they’re still doing really well. Personally I have Johnny Rockets at least once a week and I’ve tried everything on their menu, all their appetizers, all their burgers and all their desserts. So when you read this review please keep an open mind to what I have to say.

So let me begin. Today I had Johnny Rockets for lunch. I went to the branch near my office which is the one in front of Salhiya. It was tough choosing which burger I would have for the review, they’re all my favorites and I just keep shuffling between them. In the end I decided to go with the #12 since its their most popular burger.

The #12 is a cult classic which means if I say anything negative about the burger I am most probably going to get a wave of attacks from an army of fans. To those die hards, my credibility will crumble and they won’t believe any of what I am about to say. The #12 burger is not the best burger in Kuwait! In fact, I am predicting it won’t even have a spot in the top 3. As I mentioned before, I am a huge fan of Johnny Rockets but its not just because of their burgers. A lot of things come into play for example they have a lot of branches which makes them very accessible. Their prices are very good, their appetizers are amazing their milkshakes are the ultimate and even their desserts are not bad. When you combine all the above you end up with one of the best burger places in Kuwait. But this burger challenge is about the best burger and not the price of the burger, the location of the restaurant or anything else. When it comes down to just the burger I find it above average. I love their bun, I love their meat but in the case of the #12 for example I think there is just wayyy too much lettuce for the thickness of the patty and the thickness of the patty is actually one of my biggest issues. I really wish their patties were thicker, like double the thickness. The meat tastes good but in a burger like the #12 its M.I.A. And the special red tangy sauce? It tastes like ketchup, its over hyped.

The problem with blogs is the reader interaction. Sounds bad I know since reader interaction is what makes blogs great but not in this case when the writer of the post is going to get bashed by his readers. I’m giving the #12 at Johnny Rockets a 3 out of 5. Its a great burger, one that I have a lot of respect for but, if this is the best of what Kuwait has to offer then I might as well stop trying any more burgers and go back to my shawerma reviews. I still think I can find the ultimate burger somewhere else and I will continue my search.

My favorite Johnny Rockets is in Salmiya near Fanar.
The cost of the #12 Burger is KD2.050