The new burger joint Brits should get to NOW (and it's not Shake Shack)

There's a quiet revolution happening, and Brits might not be aware.

The old rivalry, McDonalds versus Burger King, is over. There are two new pretenders to the throne. Wimpy is crying in the corner (Brits: Remember Wimpy? I love Wimpy).

This month two American hamburger joints opened their new flagship stores in London. The first is Shake Shack, wonderfully modern Americana hailing from the center of Manhattan, dishing out fine fast food and delectable milkshakes.

I've already seen Facebook chatter and instagram pics of this tasty place. But I'm not impressed. You see, to me, there is another. And it's right around the corner…

It's Five Guys: Less fancy, more basic, and dare I say, more American. And they proved that by opening the day before the London Shake Shack, on July 4th. What a statement to make to those pesky Brits, eh? Happy Independence day, have a burger!

The thing is, Shake Shack UK is currently beating Five Guys UK in Facebook likes. And I'm not happy about that. So here are some reasons you need to get yourself up, out and around the corner…

Oh, and just to let you know: This is NOT a sponsored post. The true story is this: I have driven past Five Guys almost every day for the past six months and have never been in. As soon as I heard that it opened in London, I had to get my burger-loving butt down to my own local branch to try it before all of my UK friends. Hence, a new love affair began.

1. Free freakin' peanuts!

Okay, let me just say first that if you're allergic to peanuts, you're going to have a bad time in this place. Stay away. If not, you'll love this. Free peanuts while you wait for your burger. Why? Because their food is cooked in peanut oil, and also, why not?

2. Big and Little Burgers!

I know Burger King's "Have it your way" was too much for us Brits to deal with, but you've got to make some choices. Five Guys happily provides different sizes of burger for different appetites. I'll choose the little bacon burger for a princely meal of 560 calories, whereas my husband may plump for (pun intended) the 920 calorie big bacon cheeseburger.

3. Free Toppings!

Yes, I know, more choices. But go for it, they're all free. You can have a pile of healthy stuff as big as you like. Oh, and the pickles/gherkins? Sweet and crunchy. Not the slimy token gesture other fast foodies try to get away with.

3. THOSE FRIES!

 Five Guys fries are a big deal for me. They are the only American 'fry' that comes anywhere close to a British 'chip', and that's including those paltry 'steak fries' offered in some restaurants. 

If you live in the UK you can pop down to your local chippy and they will almost always serve a better chip, but these are the best effort I've tasted in a US burger joint. 

Watch out though: A regular is for two people, and I swear the servers just free pour these fries into the bottom of your bag. That's a good thing - you get loads of them, and they're great.

If a regular fries is for two people, these must be the large.

And that's all I have to say really. I know I must sound a bit 'nuts' (sorry). Especially when I try so hard to convince you that American cuisine isn't always just burgers and fries. It's just that sometimes, just sometimes, American cuisine is just burgers and fries. And they do it so darned well.

Okay Brits, Americans, and everyone else, where's your favorite burger? And have you ever been to Wimpys?

FOOD FIGHT - Black and White vs Jaffa Cake

It's Friday and it's FOOD FIGHT time!

What does that mean? We pit two food items against each other - one from the USA and the other from the UK - and decide which is the best.  Previous editions include Toffee vs Caramel Apple, and Haggis vs Scrapple, and so far the UK food items are winning, but it's early days yet. Maybe I'm just  incurably biased…you'll have to find out below.

Today we have two delicious baked goods from the biscuit aisle of the supermarket. Or do I mean cookie? Or, wait, is it actually cake?

In the US corner we have a sweet, fluffy Black and White, a soft lemon-tinged sponge cookie half-covered in vanilla and chocolate fondant frosting. According to the internet, although this has a soft cake-like consistency it is very much a cookie. The key appeal to these desserts is the size which, like many good American food items, is extra LARGE: We're talking the size of my face.

The best place to find these big babies is your local deli, and not a grocery store. We get ours from an Italian gourmet deli in a nearby town. They're an East Coast US thing, and particularly enjoyed by New Yorkers, including comedy character Seinfeld. Seinfeld suggested that this great nation should look to the black and white as a symbol for racial harmony, which is precisely what Obama did (perhaps inadvertently) in 2008, dubbing it the 'unity cookie'.

In the British corner we have the delectably tangy Jaffa Cake, a soft baked item topped with orange jelly encased in a crisp chocolate layer. These are much smaller than their US counterparts, but are not without their controversy.

Legally they must be described as cakes, not cookies. In the UK biscuits and cakes are not subject to sales tax, except for 'luxury biscuits' covered, or partly covered, in chocolate. A famous 1991 court case required the makers of Jaffa Cakes to defend their tax-free status. Folklore claims that they produced a giant 12-inch version of the cake, proved that it went stale like cake and not soft like biscuit, and so preserved their legal position as cakes. Let them eat tax-free cakes, the courts said, or was that someone else?

Now to the fight, here goes…

Black & White Cookie

Invented: Nobody really knows, although there is at least one claim that they were invented by Austrian Emperor Franz Josef's kitchen staff in the 19th century.
How to Make: There doesn't seem to be one particular method or company that makes these. Aficionados see this as a good thing as they've avoided mass commercialization so far.
How to Eat: Apparently the trick to eating these is trying to get a taste of both chocolate and vanilla in each bite. This is no mean feat considering their size.
Rock n Roll factor: HUGE. A Presidential symbol for racial tolerance in melting pot America, and yet haven't 'sold out' to the commercial forces that be.

Jaffa Cake

Invented: 1927 by Scottish firm McVities.
How to Make:  Like this!
How to Eat: Bite the edges of the cake avoiding the jaffa center, peel off the chocolate layer, eat the chocolate and cake leaving the tangy jelly center until last.
Rock n Roll factor: Once embroiled in one of the UK's top ten landmark court cases. Although tiny by black & white standards, they also come in yard-long packs of 60 and in muffin varieties, although the infamous 12-inch court appearance special is not available commercially.

Who is the FOOD FIGHT winner?

…it's a TIE!

This was a long debate in the Gladley household, and we evaluated each cookie/cake on their individual merits and in comparison with their rival. The final decision was that both fall short of their confectionery potential and so neither can be the winner.

Why? Well, the tangy lemon sponge and the sweet fondant of the Black & White trumps the Jaffa Cake easily, but the US cookie fails to deliver the 'wow' factor when compared to the Jaffa Cake's secret weapon, the tangy orange center.

But the McVitie's brand of Jaffa Cake is also trumped in its own field by a lesser known brand sold by budget supermarket Lidl. The orange center in these economy cakes goes all the way to the edge of the cake, and that's something quite special, trust me.

If we combined the Jaffa Cake and the Black & White into one super-sized jaffa-filled fondant-drenched spongecake cookie dessert it'd be the indisputable king of biscuits, I mean cakes.

PS - I didn't take the photo of the Jaffa Cakes myself as I no longer have access to any, but I got permission from a real professional, Edinburgh-based photographer Jon Davey, to use this photo. I met him back in 2011 when I was at the Edinburgh TV Festival (where he took this photo amongst others). When I asked Facebook if anyone had a photo of a Jaffa Cake, he took a box out of his kitchen cupboard, shot it, and put in on Facebook within a matter of minutes!

FOOD FIGHT: Haggis v Scrapple

It's been a while since I last did a Food Fight, so here's a very special edition for you: A Burns' Night special.

Today is Burns' Night, an evening to celebrate and remember the Scottish bard Robert (Rabbie) Burns. For Scots this is (yet another) excuse for good heavy food, great company, and even better drinks.

At the very least you'll know of Burns for Auld Lang Syne, the charming ditty sung at New Year. He also penned the delightful Address to a Haggis, which is recited on Burns' night as the haggis is ceremonially cut open and served to expectant diners…

…but not in the USA, on account of haggis not being available. According to the BBC the USA banned it in the 1970s because it contains a rather dubious ingredient: Sheep lung. This is a real shame, because despite its rather unglamorous constituent parts (essentially left-over offal, bits of sheep with oats and spices) it's a true delicacy.

A traditional Burns' supper of haggis, neeps (mashed turnips) and tatties (mashed potatoes) is a beautifully sweet, spicy and comforting winter dish…honestly!

All is not quite lost though, because Pennsylvania has its own answer to dubious spiced meat products: Scrapple. This too is a traditional dish comprising leftover meat (hog offal - that is, pork), grains (cornmeal) and spices. It's a Pennsylvania/Amish dish which is formed into loaf shapes and fried in slices.

I think Scots would whole-heartedly embrace scrapple as it has potential to be a great addition to any heart-stopping full fried breakfast. It's similar to lorne (square) sausage, although with a more haggis-like texture. Even the name is suitably dubious, literally describing the left-over meat used up in the product (actually it's allegedly from the PA dutch word panhaskröppel).

So, here goes…

Haggis

Invented: Some time in the 15th Century.
How to Make: You probably don't want to know.
Rock n Roll factor: Has an ancient poem, an annual ceremony, and is banned in the USA.

Scrapple

Invented: Some time in the 18th Century.
How to Make: You probably don't want to know.
Rock n Roll factor: Has a song, can be put in Apple pie to make Apple Scrapple Pie, diner favorite in the Mid-East.

Who is the FOOD FIGHT winner?

Sorry scrapple, today of all days it has to be haggis. Anything that strikes fear into the US Government has surely got an edge. But as I'm no longer living in Scotland, I'll have to settle for my local equivalent instead. Do you think scrapple, neeps and tatties could become a new Pennsylvanian favorite?

PS - I didn't take the photo of the haggis myself, but got permission from a real red-headed Scot who runs a tour company. If you're ever in Scotland be sure to get in touch with him - tell him I sent you and he'll give you special treatment.

FOOD FIGHT: Caramel Apple v Candy Apple

Another popular October activity out here in rural USA is apple picking, and then turning those picked apples into tasty treats. Candying fruit is a sensible thing to do post-harvest as it prolongs the life of the fruit through the winter months. I'm sure most people don't have that in mind when they're candying apples these days though. We've made two popular October apple treats and pitted them (sorry) against each other…Just for fun.

Okay, here goes:

Caramel Apple 

Invented: Apparently invented in the 1950s by Kraft Foods rep Dan Walker.
How to Make: We cheated and used a microwavable tub of dipping caramel from the local supermarket. At least it wasn't the pre-sheeted stuff you just wrap over the apple (it exists!).

Result: One tub is supposed to make six apples, but we only successfully covered four. Caramel apples have a very sticky outer layer. They will stick to most everything: baking paper, plate, teeth, other caramel apples, you name it…
Taste: Deliciously creamy, chewy, and a workout for the jaw! Really brings out the juiciness of the apples.

Candy Apple

Originally, this was going to be a contest between the American Candy apple and the British Toffee apple, but we discovered that there's little between them but the name, and er, the color. Candy apples are red (it's just food coloring). Sometimes they contain cinnamon, but we wanted a level competition here and made a basic toffee apple instead.

Invented: Allegedly in 1908 in New Jersey, by William W Kolb. He was a candy maker who made a tasty display of candy-dipped apples for his store.
How to Make: We used Nigel Slater's simple toffee apple recipe here. It works out at 2/3rds cup of caster sugar, and 4/5s cup of water, boiled until a nice golden color. This seemed the simplest recipe, as others call for condensed milk (caramel apples?) or golden syrup which is hard to find and not very cheap here in the USA.

Result: Our apples must have been big ol' beasts because we only got three out of this mix, but it worked like a charm! The apples were beautifully glassy.
Taste: Definitely not dentist-friendly, but what's more satisfying than cracking your teeth on a toffee apple before reaching the crisp fruit inside? Delectably crunchy.

Before we announce the winner, here are some good tips if you're making your own caramel, candy or toffee apples:

1. Oil a baking sheet for storing apples post-dip. You'll find it so much easier to prise them off.
2. Before boiling sugar and water, wet the sides of the pan with water to prevent sugar burning on the side of the pan. But don't worry if it does…
3. To clean everything at the end, fill your pan with water and boil for a few minutes. The sugar will come away from the sides without the need to scrub. If you used other tools, dip them in the boiling water. It works, promise!

Okay, now for the FOOD FIGHT winner…

Verdict: Call me a traditionalist, but it's going to have to be the Candy/Toffee apple. The Caramel apples are utterly delicious, sweet and creamy, but dangerously sticky. Toffee apples are easier to store and wrap up and give away to pesky kids in the neighborhood…if you do that kind of thing.

What do you think? Also what did you grow up on? Most of the Americans I've spoken to remember the red candied apples more than their creamy counterparts. In the UK I grew up with the rustic version, occasionally dipped in chocolate with sprinkles.

Remember, it's the Glad Blog Octoberfest all this month, so please send me your own Fall themed posts - I'd love to feature my favorites. Bonus points if you feature pumpkin related activities or products, local Fall Fests, or fun traditions I haven't heard of.