I've just eaten Preston's sloppiest, sauciest burger, but the whole thing was missing a certain something...
When we started this LP Eats series on the hunt for the city’s best burger, we did so with one key thing in mind - there’s nothing worse than a dry burger. Well, safe to say the lads down at Fresh N Fast agree...
Now, the first thing to say about Fresh N Fast is that the place was bouncing when I visited - there were people packing out every table, there was a steady stream of delivery drivers coming in and out as they collected and departed with fresh orders, and the place just radiated good vibes. So straight off the bat, I’m giving them a 4/5 on that front.
Having ordered the tantalisingly-named Honey Chilli Beef Gourmet Burger, I stepped aside to wait for my order to be cooked fresh. Asking for no salad so that I could properly appreciate the takeaway’s famed homemade sauce (they even sell bottles of the stuff that you can take home for independent culinary use) I was soon presented with a hefty burger box for my troubles.
Let’s start with the meat. The patty was huge, glistening in sauce, and thick, so I had high hopes, but I’ll admit that I was slightly underwhelmed - the burger just didn't have that classic beefiness, that juicy meaty taste. It was, strangely given the amount of sauce involved, quite bland. It was filling and plentiful, but didn’t pack much of a taste punch on the flavour front. 2/5 for me, Clive.
On to the moisture, and I can tell you hands-down that this was a seriously moist burger. The amount of sauce (which was very tasty indeed) almost made the whole thing slippy to the grip - my beef was sliding all over my buns, if you’ll excuse the phrasing. A bit of melted cheese didn’t bring much to the hamburger party, so I’m giving it a 3.5/5 for the moisture.
As mentioned on the extras front, I purposefully asked for no salad so as to fully taste the saucy goodness, so I’m not marking Fresh N Fast down for the lack of lettuce and pickles, but let’s assess the sauce and cheese - the sauce was great, tangy, and different; the cheese might as well have not been there. 3.5/5 for the extras.
Now down to brass tax: the value. I paid £6 for my Honey Chilli Beef Gourmet Burger, which is an average price for a burger but a pretty good deal for something this large and filling. I’m knocking some marks off for the lack of flavour profile in the beef, but overall this was a solid price-point for what was a hefty slab of meat, so 3/5 on that front.
Meat: 2/5
Moisture: 3.5/5
Extras: 3.5/5
Vibe: 4/5
Value: 3/5
Total: 16/25