The Handmade Burger Co. - Leeds

The Handmade Burger Co. in Trinity Leeds serves up a pretty good burger. They are similar to Nando's Chicken Restaurant - Leeds , in that hybrid fast-food restaurant style of being seated with menus, ordering at a window and having the food brought to you. The night that we ate there, the service was outstanding, much better than some of the better places in town. The burgers are char grilled, grass-fed, Scottish beef and are really good. They have over 40 choices, so the options are pretty limitless. I ordered the American Cheese Burger (8.25 pounds) which came with Swiss cheese, onion rings, handmade gherkin & American mustard relish, mayo, lettuce, tomato and red onion. Dan had the Avocado and Bacon (7.95) with crushed avocado, smoked bacon, handmade burger relish, mayo, lettuce, tomato and red onions. We ordered a side of Fresh Cut Cajun Spiced Chips for 3.35, which were nice and crispy. For the chips we ordered 3 dipping sauces for 2.25; chipotle-mayo, garlic-mayo and blue cheese-mayo. The blue cheese-mayo was not good, but the other 2 were. We drank a couple of ice cold Stellas for 3.55 a piece. All in all, not a bad place to eat.

They are located on the top floor of trinity Leeds Unit R5b trinity East Leeds LS1 5ER.

www.handmadeburger.co.uk

 

Bibis Italianissimo - Leeds

 

 Bibis was a restaurant that people Dan worked with had recommended. Needless to say, we ate there the first month we were in Leeds and I am just now writing it up. I, personally would not recommend this place, unless you sat in the bar and ordered apps and drinks. The pizza was good as were the Prawns Diavola, but the meal it self was bad and overpriced. The Pollo Parmigiana that I ordered was down right disgusting and pretty much inedible. The eggplant was slimy and the chicken was a little on the strange side, I never could figure out how they cooked it. Dan had the Tortellini Carne and it was just okay. The service was slow and inattentive, I suppose that's why they automatically add the gratuity. That in itself is reason enough not too eat there. They do serve Peroni Gran Reserva, which is a plus and a wonderful beer, but not enough to get me back. The meal came to 66 pounds, which is 90 American, that's way to expensive for bad Italian!

 

Bettys - Harrogate

 

 

 

Harrogate is one of mine and Dan's favorite Yorkshire towns. It's just a 30 minute train ride through beautiful rolling countryside from Leeds. We decided to make reservations there, at Bettys, on New Years Eve day, so that we could finally partake in a proper British afternoon tea. Bettys is a wonderful bakery, teashop, restaurant, tearoom...that had locations in York, Ilkley, Northallerton and Harrogate. Typically you stand in a long line to dine here but they were taking reservations for New Years Eve and we jumped at the chance.

We decided to start our tea with a little bit of bubbly and ordered the Hebrat Premier Cru Champagne making our tea 33.95 pounds a person as opposed to 26.95. The service was wonderful and the perfect way to end a great year. So with a piano playing in the background we enjoyed the following sandwiches:
Prawn marie rose and oak roast salmon, roast Yorkshire ham & mustard, Coronation chicken and free-range egg mayonnaise & cress along with freshly baked sultana scones with strawberry preserve and Yorkshire clotted cream, a selection of handmade miniature cakes and of course a teapot of speciality tea. Both of us chose the China Yunnan, a fragrant tea that has a distinctive sweet taste and light golden color.

Bettys is located at Parliament Street Harrogate HG1    www.bettys.co.uk

Las Iguanas - Leeds

Las Iguanas is one of those places I have walked by many times, but never thought of eating there. They are a chain of restaurants offering Latin food, including Spanish and Mexican. Dan and I have been craving Mexican food and this looked to be about as close as we could get in Leeds. We decided to eat lunch here on Christmas eve and it was okay. Zara was our server and she was friendly and efficient as she presented us with about 3 menus. Dan ordered a hot tea (1.90 pounds) and I had a Brahma Beer (3.70). Ordering the food was a little on the confusing side, there were so many choices. I don't know how a restaurant can offer so many things. We chose off the lunch menu with me ordering the Blazing Bird (7.70) a half chicken grilled with spicy barbecue jerk sauce and a side of slaw and salad. Dan had the Gringas (5.50), which was a tortilla upon another tortilla stuffed with Tinga (Mexican smoked chipotle chicken). He was able to order a side of Nachos for 2.90 that we both shared. The nachos were very good, topped with melted cheese, jalapenos, salsa, sour cream and guacamole. The rest of the food was okay and did not quench our appetite for Mexican.

Unit 3
Cloth Hall Street
Leeds
LS1 2HD
Tel: 0113 243 9533
Fax: 0113 244 3696
leeds@iguanas.co.uk

Kiosko Burger - Barcelona

The final meal we ate in Barcelona was at a hamburger place called Kiosko. Dan found it in our guide book where it said they offered up the best gourmet burger in Barcelona. Since this was the only burger I ate in Barcelona, I can't say that, but I can say it was awfully good! This little place was packed and we found a couple of stools in the window to sit at. You fill out an order form and stand in line to pay for the food and drinks that you want. You have choice of 3 buns or none, I went with the light whole meal for .25 Euros. The burger I chose was the Suiza, a 200g char grilled burger topped with a potato rosti, Gruyere cheese, tomato, lettuce, onion and their secret home made mayo (7.20). I also ordered a side of Two Sauce Rustic Fries; chunky, hand-cut fries served with a spicy tomato chutney and roasted garlic alioli. Dan was not feeling well so he had a side Mezclun Salad for 2.20. He also had a bottle of water (1.30) and I drank a Fanta Limom (2.00). The food was amazing and the burger was so large that I could not eat it all.

Kiosko is located at Marques de L'Argentera 1 bis 08003 Barcelona  933-107-313

www.kioskoburger.com





Makamaka Beach Burger Cafe - Barcelona

 

Saturday we walked all over Barcelona and late in the afternoon we decided to head over to the beach at Barceloneta. Even on this chilly afternoon, there were plenty of people walking around and enjoying the view. At this point, I decided that I could easily live here. Barcelona is a wonderful city with so much to offer and it's got this amazing beach on the Mediterranean. As we were heading back to our B & B, we stopped at Makamaka for a couple of beers. They had Estrella on tap which was quickly becoming our new favorite beer and at 3 Euros the price was not bad. The place was packed, the small indoor bar had a few open tables, but the outside tables were full. We sat inside and ordered our beers and some Homemade Fries at 3.40 Euros. The beers were ice cold and the fries were crispy and hot. They were served with a side of Makamaka ketchup and wasabi mayo for dipping. We came close to dining here too, but decided to get back and have a little down time first. 

 

 

 

They are located at Juan De Borbon 76 08003 Barcelona  34-932-213-520

Lilypep - Barcelona

  

On Friday morning we decided to go to the Picasso Museum in the La Ribera area. One small problem, the line was extremely long and we did not purchase tickets ahead of time. That's not like us, usually we plan way in advance for these things but for some reason we did not on this trip. We decided to come back around three to see if the line was any shorter. In the meantime, we walked around the area, checked out the Born Market and toured another museum. As we headed back to the Picasso Museum, we decided to stop and have lunch. We wound around the small alleys and streets and came across this quaint little cafe called Lilipep and decided to check it out.
Their menu was filled with interesting bocadillos or sandwiches and we both decided we would have one. The server told us the sandwiches were large so we each ordered a half. Dan went with Chorizo Paste and Cheese and I chose Chorizo Paste and Onion Marmalade. They were perfect in size and flavor and at 2.20 Euros, not a bad price. Dan had a pot of Hot Green Tea (infusio) for 2.60 and I had an ice cold Coke for 2.00. We ordered a side of chips for 1.50 and were presented with a large bowl full. I had an Espresso for 1.20 to drink after my meal and it was the perfect meal ender.
They offer free Wi-Fi, which in this day and age is ideal for travelers. Good food and service, with a wide array of food options in a tiny, little, cozy café is just the ticket. Plus, after the meal we arrived at the Picasso Museum and had only a short wait. While in line we met a wonderful family from Miami that love to travel together and we had a great time talking with them. Just don't take pictures in the museum, it's forbidden!

 

 

The restaurant is located at Carrer Pou de la Cadera 8, 08003 Barcelona, just a short distance from the museum.

 

I never knew that Picasso painted like this.



Bar Lobo - Barcelona

Thursday evening we set out for dinner in the El Raval neighborhood with Dan using his trusty guide book to get us to a restaurant they recommended. As we were heading there, I saw this beautiful place on a corner that looked very busy and very inviting. Turned out the place in the guide book was closed, so I suggested we go back to Bar Lobo. There was about a 20 minute wait, so we sat at the bar and ordered a couple of beers. The beer the bartender suggested was Cruz Campo Gran Reserva (3.10 euros) and I instantly had a new favorite beer that is 6.4% ABV! 

             
                                     
 We were seated at our table and fortunately we were handed a clipboard with the menu in about 5 different languages, including English. They had a wide assortment of typical and not so typical tapas, plus pastas, burgers, chicken, beef and duck. We started out with the Hummus and Pita Bread (5.60). The hummus was very good, one of the best I've ever had. The bread wasn't pita though, it was more substantial and very fresh tasting. Dan ordered the Rigatoni with Pesto Sauce and Fresh Tomato (10.70) which was very good. The pasta was covered in large slivers of Parmesan. I ordered the Penne with Fresh Mozzarella, Lime and Mint (10.20) and it was incredible. This will be a dish that I will try to recreate when I get home! Dan did not care for the beer, so he ordered a white wine called Copa Cigonyes (3.75) and I finished his beer.

 For dessert we ordered a slice of lemon pie (6.50) and a couple more glasses of that wonderful white wine. The pie was also very good, with a high meringue top and a creamy lemon filling in a graham cracker crust. I could have eaten every meal in this place while in Barcelona and that was with poor service. The waiter was not the most attentive, but the food made up for it. We sat next to a lovely elderly couple from Turkey at the beginning of our meal and had a nice conversation with them. We finished the meal with a couple from Boston and talked with them too. It's funny how you have conversations with other tables while in Europe, but in America and England you don't. It's really too bad that we don't open ourselves up more. After dinner we walked around and enjoyed the Christmas lights.

The restaurant is located at Pintor Fortuny 3 08001 Barcelona  934-815-346
www.gruotragaluz.com