Big Fernand, Paris

I'm smiling so much I've given myself a headache. It's not from the carafe of wine I've been persuaded into at 11.30am, and no I'm not daydreaming about Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band either. My friend is speaking to me, but I'm too distracted by the synthy 'beats' of one of my favourite songs to hear her. In front of me sits one of the most delicious burgers I have ever tried.

It's not a dream, it is thankfully real. Bronski Beat's 'Smalltown Boy' is providing the background of a burger that makes me want to weep with joy. I take another bite and fall deeper into euphoria. I'm in Paris, city of love. And I am in love. With a burger joint.

Quelle surprise.

Compared to the hundreds of traditional Parisian cafes, Big Fernand is young, just 18 months old but with queues down the street. Inside it's high quality burgers with just as high quality tunes. Only eighties track in fact. Such joy. I've never experienced somewhere with a soundtrack that makes me never want to leave. I shake my head in disbelief.

But it's not just the tunes that make me happy here. The burgers are The Real Deal.

What beauty

Big Fernand is run by a charismatic local called Steve. He's all fun, jokes and laughter (typical French humour according to my friend) but behind the bravado is a savvy businessman who knows what he's doing in the burger department.

Steve, owner of Big Fernand and in line entertainment

Steve owns this little informal restaurant, 20 covers or so, but one of the best cheap eats in town. Although the cafe and the staff are 'cool' (check shirts and 'taches, slate walls and bare bulbs) it's not all Parisian hipsters here. Outside there's three sliver foxes, legs crossed, reclining in the sunshine and enjoying a bottle of red wine while they wait for a messy burger that will inevitably splodge down their expensive suits.

The queue moves quickly and while you wait Mr Big Fernand (that's Steve) will come out and keep the line flowing with a menu, explaining how it all works. There's a simple selection process, a 'bespoke burger' if you like, where you pick and mix what you would like to go together (cheese, meat, sauce etc). I however had been eyeing up the pre-designed burgers, one of which is 'Le Bartholome'. You can take your burgers to go, but the tunes were luring me into the informal, 80s loving eatery. Burgers are wrapped up in grease proof paper served on trays or in paper bags. Fuss free.

Parcel of joy

After days of lusting over 'Le Bartholome' burger on Big Fernand's online menu, I'm relieved it doesn't disappoint me. These are burgers with a French twist, a certain "je ne sais quoi" - a change in the texture of the meat, bread and cheese to what I've become accustomed to in the UK.

Forget the brioche buns that are saturating the burger-sphere in London, the owner of Big Fernand also owns his own bakery, producing soft white doughy burger buns every day. They are dense, covered in seeds, heavy but not stodgily filling, and both sides are lightly toasted in some sort of on the wall contraption (an on the wall toaster I suppose).

Dough

Even when doused in condiments and cheese, they don't sag or begin to fall apart under the saucy pressure. The coarsely ground beef patty doesn't hold it together so well, but the quality shines through (Big Fernand uses Blonde d'Aquitaine and Charolaine beef) and when paired with the home made BBQ sauce, tomato confit, strips of bacon and raclette cheese (YES raclette cheese) it works. Le Bartholome burger is oozy, messy, slightly sweet and the raclette cheese is a revelation.

I do normally prefer my bacon crispier, and I realise the burger looks like a hot mess, but the taste sensation is there. Even the parsley, which I normally consider to be the devil of all herbs, tastes good in this burger.

Splat

Before I go to order another I am encouraged to move on to something even more spectacular - 'Le Victor'. A very bold statement from Big Fernand's owner and a serious look in his eyes "you must try this burger". Veal wouldn't be my first choice for a burger, but when I saw it came with blue cheese I was sold. I had vowed to eat as much cheese as possible in Paris.

The track switches to Billy Idol's 'Flesh For Fantasy' and I start on burger number two.

How can it be, this burger is even better than the first. It wouldn't win a beauty pageant. Also if you are seeking out crunch in a burger, this isn't it. But the gooey mixture of delicate tender veal, sweet caremlised onion, creamy salty blue cheese and the doughy bread is a moorish rich burger combination. It's comforting, balanced and not at all greasy. Even the coriander tastes pleasant.

Blue cheese and veal heaven

Pausing for a photo was hard work

This place is definitely not good for my health or my bank balance. I need to get back to Paris to continue my love affair with these burgers. It's no rumour, Paris really is a city of romance.

Oh and how could I forget? The owner of Big Fernand is a Springsteen fan!

Springsteen lovers will know that Bruce and the band play in Paris on almost every tour. If you are seeing him there this year on 29th June, THIS is the burger you need to try. Make sure you have one for me.



Big Fernand, 55 Rue du Faubourg Poisonniere, 75009 Paris

Beginner's Guide to 'Doing' Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band Live

With the Australian leg of the Wrecking Ball tour over, it's a matter of days before Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band arrive in Europe for the next set of dates. I've been waiting for this since I saw the band get rudely cut off mid-song in London last year. I'm counting down the hours and beside myself with excitement. It's all very distracting for me.

Some people seem a little bemused when I express my love for Bruce and the band, but I know that there are people out there who've been intrigued enough to do a quick You Tube search, or even better - buy a ticket. With this in mind I decided to put together a short guide for those people who will be seeing Bruce and the band in concert for the first time this year. After years of practice, I've just about got this process mastered, and I am here to share the wisdom.

Step One: Start Saving
I hope that even if you're a beginner to Bruce you'll have at least one ticket to see the band this year...if you haven't - get it sorted! Now I'm not usually an overly reckless person, but when it comes to the E Street Band I do tend to loose all sense of rationality.  As a newcomer to Bruce, you should be prepared that this could well happen to you too. Bruce and the band have some sort of external control over my bank balance and each time a new concert date is released I seem to go into a frenzy of ticket purchasing. Friends and family look on bewildered. So far this year I've ended up with tickets to five concerts and I know after my last date (Leeds in July) I'll go into panic and scour Twitter, Gumtree, forums to find more tickets to more shows (Rio in Brazil I hope). Like a tube of Pringles, once you've seen Bruce Springsteen perform live, you'll never be able to stop. My advice: start saving.

Ticket frenzy

Step Two: Get Tech Savvy
Buying tickets to a Bruce concert is a stressful experience and if you're similar to me and freeze at the words 'computer', 'URL' and 'download' you have much to learn, and quickly. Website crashes, 'error on the pagina' (when buying a ticket for a concert abroad), and a load of obsessive Bruce fans in the same position makes guaranteeing yourself tickets hard work. You need to be able to navigate these websites seamlessly, from laptop, iPhone, iPad, whatever you can access... Get tech savvy, and increase your chances of securing tickets by using multiple 'platforms' (eh?!)

I'm ready

Step Three: Make A Sign (A Small One)
Hurrah you've successfully purchased a ticket and have a concert or five to look forward to. But what is the one song you are longing to hear live? With over 15 albums of material, everyone has their favourite, from the niche mellow tunes to the toe tapping classics. You want Bruce to play your song right? Well make a sign. But PLEASE, be considerate! I didn't queue for hours for you to hold up a massive sign right in front of me, blocking my view of Bruce when he comes near. Making a sign that is too large is only going to result in bad Bruce vibes. Make it small, foldaway and waterproof, but visible for opportune moments.

In hindsight this sign is too big. But I really wanted to hear Backstreets.

This sign is a better size

Step Four: Rope In Some Friends And Start Queuing
If you want to be near the front at a Bruce concert you need to make the commitment to start early. The Italian fans are the most hard core I've experienced, even turning up bleary eyed at 5.30am in Florence I was 1000th in the queue to get in place for a concert that started more than 14 hours later. With hours of waiting, you'll definitely meet fellow Bruce Buds in the line but sometimes people just aren't feeling that jolly...yes I'm referring to Manchester 2012. Cold, wet windy, pouring rain. You never know when you'll be faced with conditions like this, so rope in some friends for company, dress like a granny on a stormy day, and commit to the fact that you will be buying the drinks afterwards.

Good friends

Biddies (see British definition not American)

Step Five: Stop Queuing And Lose Your Inhibitions
It's 3pm and you've been let into the ground but there's still some time to go. Your limbs will be aching and your mouth dry: don't drink, you'll loose your spot. On the plus side, you may get treated to a very rare acoustic session from Bruce before the show. Either that or you might be at a date where you'll see some other musical talents before hand, like the crowd pleasing and very charismatic Tom Morello, or the snore inducing Lady Antebellum (both at Hard Rock Calling 2012). If there isn't this option, wait it out and make conversation with your new pals until 'E Street O'Clock' when the band stride out. But how will they open?? A stripped back version of Thunder Road? A fist pumping, foot stomping Badlands? There'll be tears, there'll be laughter....ensure you have your dance moves mastered 80s Bruce style. Stamp your feet, whoop for joy, lose your inhibitions and enjoy the best four hours of live music you'll ever see.

Close up

Step Six: Suffer The Bruce Blues
Every high has a low and after hours of hanging on every note, the band play their final song and wave goodbye until the next time. You might accept that you've had a good run and leave it at that, or like a woman possessed (me) you'll do anything you can to buy another ticket to another date. But it all needs to end somewhere and the inevitable Bruce Blues will hit you, the panic of the unknown - will you see the band together again? Just don't let those Brucey Blues get you down! Revel in the memories and share your experiences - there's always another Bruce Bud out there who will listen (I know I will).

See ya

Step Seven: Wait...Wait...Wait....Do It All Again

It may seem like hard work, but once you've gone through this process you'll realise there's no going back...There will be another tour, you just have to wait for it. Listen to the music. Listen to new versions, listen to old, listen to every single version of your favourite song. Eat lots of burgers while you wait....

...and get ready to do it all again.



Welcome to the E Street Nation!!

Hurray For Harringay Market, London

Last week the sun shone for the first time in months, which was perfect timing for Harringay Market's party. There's loads of food markets all over London now and they're some of the best places to eat - quality food, good prices and friendly people who really care about the meals they are producing. I love the selection of stalls at Harringay Market, so when I heard they were having a party I had to pop along for some feasting. 

I went with my friend who was a little daunted by my demands that we try something from every single stall, but she rose to the challenge well:

I eased her to the day with a coffee from Little Coffee Camper, a vintage camper van serving coffee on four wheels. Love the reference to The Boss inside on the dashboard.

Look closely

Next we wandered over to Bell & Brisket for a beigel, packed with soft moist salt beef, tangy pickles, mustard and melted cheddar. I'll never be able to eat a normal cream cheese beigel again - Bell & Brisket have raised the bar.

Bell & Brisket

Capish Food, the Italian American street food pros served up meat balls in a tomato sauce so rich is tasted like it had been simmering away for hours.

Capish Food

Sadly by the time we got to them, the Italian stall Pasta e Basta were all out of gnocchi and Alley Katsu had just served up the last dish of Katsu curry.

A blessing in disguise maybe, as we moved on to Burger Bear for a Grizzly Bear burger (more here) which is without a doubt one of the best tasting, best looking burgers in London at the moment. With a dollop of bacon jam inside, it's a heavenly sweet, sticky meaty concoction.

Grizzly Burger

One of the highlights of the day for me had to be the tunes from the local blues band The Prescriptions. Effortlessly brilliant, they provided the soundtrack for the food with casual blues and rock and reminded me of one of my other much loved bands Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes. I do occasionally listen to more than Springsteen. 

The Prescriptions

We took a fudge brownie and salted caramel brownie for the road, made by Batch Bakery - squishy gooey brownies which were just sensational.

Keep an eye on Harringay Market's website and twitter for further party updates, otherwise pop down on a Sunday between 11am and 3pm for a selection of street food delights.

Harringay Market, South Harringay School, Mattison Road, N4 1BD

James McAvoy The Burger Lover

Can you imagine my joy when I discovered one of my Scottish Hollywood heroes is a burger fan? Not only is James McAvoy a) charming and funny b) supremely talented, he's also c) a burger lover.

I recently went to see James McAvoy in Macbeth in London which is very good (but enough about that). On his way to the pub afterwards I just had to take the opportunity to ask him where his favourite burgers are in  the city. He had a very good under the radar suggestion, once I have tried it I will report back, but he also said he is a fan of good old Byron Burgers. Lucky them!

There was no way this burger lover was getting away without a picture....

I am of course, totally 'shameless'.

Momzy Burger, Antigua

I can't resist trying a new burger. I just can't. So when I passed a burger street stall on a recent trip to Antigua in the Caribbean I was drawn to it like a magnet.

Apparently Momzy Burger is famous in Antigua and I can assure you they taste especially good at 4am after a rum punch or two in the Rasta Shack, which is without a doubt the best bar on this fun island. There's no Springsteen played at the Rasta Shack, but I was introduced to a great song 'Dutty Angela' which I recommend listening to for comedy value.

Best 'bar' in Antigua - Rasta Shack

Street stall Momzy Burger is the end of night hang out for sailors, tourists and locals alike - anyone with an appreciation for burgers or a late night snackette.

I'm In A Happy Place

I sense it's not about the quality ingredients for Momzy, the patties looked a bit budget...

...and the cheese slices not your finest cheddar...

The bun was soft, white and it was over too quickly before I could test it's sogginess.  The burger is prepped with a little green lettuce, tomato and raw onion. I love the barbecued flavour and Momzy's special sauce.

Momzy 

I promised I wouldn't give away her secret but I can say it contained angostura bitters and hot sauce - a true Caribbean take on a cheeseburger.

Whilst it would be a bit extreme to fly all the way to Antigua to visit Momzy, there's plenty of other reasons to make a visit to this sunny island worthwhile, including:

Cheap and delicious local beers...

Tasty Carribbean cuisine...

'Boat' spotting...

Rum punch. By the gallon...

Sunsets...

Not to mention the endless incredible beaches (a different one for each day of the year apparently).

Momzy said she'd been told she could be hugely successful with a burger street stall in London (that sauce would be legendary), but having visited Antigua - I can see why she wouldn't want to leave it behind.

Momzy Burger, 300 Yards From Rasta Shack, English Harbour, Antigua