The effect social media has on what we eat is huge. Take the food trends we see online every day. There's always something new to try out. It's the same with eateries. We are finding more restaurants and cafés through what people post on social media and it has had a democratic effect- it's no longer food and restaurant critics who tell people where to go for good food, it's now the public.
Operating since last year, the burger shop on 219 Lilian Ngoyi Rd, Windermere, is one we have driven past on many occasions. But thanks to a social media user who had a great experience at the shop, we decided to check it out to see if it's worth the hype. It's a pretty small venue, but the food more than makes up for it. It has that street food/food truck vibe that is burgeoning in the city and it's no surprise it's popular with Durban's trendy set.
What's great is that you can see your food being made from scratch, can pick the freshly made sauces and relish you want on your burger and the beverage choices are water, juice, ice tea and coffee. It's got a very health café vibe about it, which is not common for a burger joint.
Now onto the food.
Lutho's Beef Burger on a panini bun with chips
Burgers have not always been my thing simply because I never knew which place around town sells the best burgers. It's either a burger is good or bad and I don't want to have a bad burger as that would put me off them for life. Hence every time I have to grab fast-food, I order anything but a burger.
Well it’s said food is an experience and having visited D’urban Burger Co. I finally got the hype about burgers- it showed me that I was missing out. The place could possibly turn me into an addict with its flavoursome mountain beef burger which is full of so many flavours on a fresh panini bun.
Served with some salty, crunchy French fries, the presentation was Insta-perfection. It's hands down the best burger I have ever had.
Buhle's Chicken Burger on a panini bun with a green salad
I asked the waitress if she could share the coriander pesto recipe because it was out of this world. Trust me to go to a burger joint and instead of wanting more of the burger, I needed more of the pesto. It's ridiculous.
What was not ridiculous, though, is the burger I had. The chicken breast nuggets were succulent and perfectly marinated. With the caramelized onions, pesto on the burger, and the hummus spread on the bun, the flavours did not overpower each other. Instead it all worked brilliantly together and I got a delicious burger, one I am still craving for. Sure, the pesto made me fall in love with food again, but man you need to taste it to see what I mean.
The salad was also very fresh and the dressing (another secret they wouldn't share) made it even tastier. There was more pesto on the salad and I was giddy with excitement when I discovered it.
Kudos on the chef for deciding to use panini's instead of normal burger buns. it gives it that artisanal feel that we all love in food right now. Oh and if you don't want a bun, there's an option of bun-less burgers. For vegetarians, the falafel option is there for you too.
The burgers cost R55, sauces included. If you want to have chips or a salad, then it's an extra R10. It's a good, quick meal and affordable.