The Super Bowl XLVII Stiff Arm Burger at The Diner

The Amaretto Sours are fab, and only £7.20

The latest offering from our cherished The Diner Soho should come with a warning, a BIG warning! Not only is it big on flavour, it’s physically big – in fact, it’s a beast!

I’m not going to go into too much detail of the actual restaurant. If you are a We Love Food regular, then you’ll know just how much we love this place and it’s staff. If not then click here to read our review of the Covent Garden branch. No egos here, just good old-fashioned friendliness, oh, and you can even book.

Created especially for the Super Bowl 2013, is the Stiff Arm Burger, £10. It must be called that because you get a stiff arm just trying to lift it (Click here for the real reason). Anyway, we were lucky enough to be invited along to a tasting session so the final construction may be tweaked slightly before it is served to the masses.

Burger that! Now that’s a tower…

Our burger was built, from the top down, like this…

A poppy seed adorned glazed bun from the Rinkoff Bakery – soft and golden, yet not as sweet as last year’s Grab Burger.  A dollop of crisp Jalapeño Slaw, with a fiery kick that creeps down the back of your throat and then back up your nose.

Next was the star of the show, the diner’s interpretation of the Juicy Lucy, a patty shaped slab of pulled pork and cheese, breaded and fried. One word, amazing! This simply has to go on the menu proper, either as a burger option or a side similar to Hawksmoor’s short rib nuggets.

For those who don’t know (and we didn’t) a Juicy Lucy is a cheeseburger that has the cheese inside the meat patty rather than on top, resulting in a juicy molten core within the patty.

Two bars on the same street in South Minneapolis both claim to have invented the sandwich, 5-8 Club and Matt’s Bar. One spells it Juicy and the other Jucy. Shirts worn by staff at the 5-8 Club have the motto ‘if it’s spelled right, it’s done right’ while advertising for Matt’s Bar says, ‘if it’s spelled correctly, you’re at the wrong place.’

Then came the actual patty, finely ground beef cooked medium rare – exactly how a burger should be. But, and this is the only but, the quality and flavour of the meat gets a little lost within all the other big bold flavours. Which is a shame as they do magnificent burgers, they’re in our top 3 in London. At the bottom was the Football sauce (basically that pink burger sauce as far as we could tell), a slice of beef tomato and the other half of the Rinkoff bun (obviously).

As mentioned above, this burger is huge! I tried to bite through all the layers, this was virtually impossible unless I could dislocate my jaw like a snake. Apparently the secret is to give it a good firm two-handed press down. I know Saff will hate this revealed but she had to resort to using a knife and fork, taking the joy out of the whole burger eating experience. She felt the insides threatened to shoot out the back of the bun every time she tried to get it in her mouth. She’s not a fan of a burger with a skewer through it, too much of a mission to eat.

‘Stop ringing me!’ yelled the Millionaire Fries. ‘But I love you’ replied Truffled Mac.

Three out of the four in our booth couldn’t finish it, maybe it should be advertised as a sharing option, especially if eaten with the Truffled Mac n Cheese and the Millionaire Fries. But then again, who in their right mind wants to share a burger?

The fries are a bit special too. Served in a bag, these fish finger-sized beauties are made from layers of thinly sliced potato and a cheese sauce, breaded and browned. Think Jenga blocks of fried Dauphinoise potato and you’re not far wrong.

And that’s not all… If you want to be one of first to get your hands on the Stiff Arm Burger and you love American football and/or cheerleaders, I know what I prefer, then this could definitely be the night for you.

On Sunday 3rd February from 10.30pm The Diner Soho will be showing the Super Bowl XLVII live on big screens. And for an incredibly priced £40 you get… Chicken Chimichangas, Mayland Crab Cakes, a six pack of Fordham Copperhead Ale, the Stiff Arm burger, Onion Rings, Truffled Mac n Cheese, Millionaire Fries, Apple Pie and Kraken rum shots (and don’t forget the cheerleaders!)

If you can’t make the Super Bowl XLVII, don’t worry, as the Stiff Arm will be available at all Diner sites from 4th to 10th February for £10.

To book tickets call 020 7287 8962 (tickets soon to go on sale) once that’s done all you have to worry about is thinking up a good excuse to tell your boss so you can bunk off work the next day!

www.goodlifediner.com
18 Ganton Street, London
W1F 7BU
Telephone: 020 7287 8962

Opening hours: Monday to Wednesday 9:30 AM – 11:30 PM
Thursday to Saturday 9:30 AM – 12:00 AM
Sunday 9:30 AM – 11:30 PM
info@thedinercoventgarden.com

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Nearest tube: Oxford Circus