Snackspert tests Patatas Bravas: ‘Albert Heijn makes a brave attempt’

Eke Bosman, better known as Instagram phenomenon @snackspert, ate his first frikandel as a baby, hates vlammetjes, has devoured at least 1,500 burgers in his life, suspects there is more mayonnaise in his body than blood, and shares his best and worst snack reviews every other week on FavorFlav. This week, Eke found himself in a decadent burger dream and tasted two new snacks.

The Burger Room, Amsterdam

Shall we go a little luxurious? Yes, why not? If it can happen in Dubai, it can happen here in Amsterdam too. Because The Burger Room at Museumplein is not what you think it is. These days, the capital is full of very average burger joints that serve only cheeseburgers and fried chicken burgers, without any special burgers besides those, but I can already reveal that The Burger Room (for the observant readers among you: yes, that is indeed Gordon’s restaurant) is an exception to the rule. This is genuinely fine dining; expect the most bizarre burgers here. Think sashimi burger, steak au poivre burger, chili con carne burger, and so on. I decided to go for a fairly familiar burger with a crazy/luxurious twist: The Scarecrow burger with half a lobster. Because why not? I see Gordon enjoying himself in Dubai so often, I want to feel like Gordon for a moment too, man. Good food. Yum. But let’s remain critical: the meat is excellent, but in my opinion the bun could have been a little soggier. Cook it along with the meat for a bit and you’ll make it much softer. Delicious. Good. The cheddar is melted very well, the bacon is crispy enough and the onions aren’t too soft. But then there’s the lobster, right? Holy shit. Melted gruyère plus some butter over the lobster—why not? Every bite was like an exhausting but satisfying cuddling session. Or something. Finally, it’s worth mentioning that the price tag is on the expensive side for many people (me included, by the way), but you don’t necessarily need to add the lobster. Unless you just got a raise. Then you can celebrate, right? Or send a Tikkie to that Tinder Swindler @simonleviev. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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?: The Burger Room, Amsterdam
?: @theburgerroomamsterdam
?: 18.50 euros for the burger, 23.50 euros for the half lobster

HEMA chicken hot dogs

Fact 1: the HEMA hot dog is legendary. Fact 2: until now, there wasn’t really a way to share your unconditional love for this sausage with your friends. HEMA’s solution: release the chicken hot dogs with the famous sauce in miniature form as a snack for drinks! Hooray! Yes! Delicious! And the company is making good use of it, because now you can eat a HEMA hot dog at practically any time of day. It’s the hot dog you know, but in a smaller version, sold in six pieces. The included hot dog sauce is a little on the small side, so I hope you’ve already bought that sauce in a tube. Another minor downside is the absence of the famous baguette, but hey, that wouldn’t exactly be ideal for sharing with your friends either. In other words: smart move by HEMA; the Friday afternoon drinks will be different and more fun from now on. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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?: HEMA
?: @hemanederland
?: 3 euros

Tapas Patatas Bravas from Albert Heijn

Albert Heijn has finally renewed its tapas shelves and seriously, it was about time too. In my opinion, the gap between having drinks and dining has become much smaller because of the lockdown; we do more shared dining and we also eat much more. On a Friday afternoon, you can nicely combine drinks with eating continuously, something I really appreciate. And patatas bravas are part of that too, one of my favorite tapas dishes in Spain. Albert Heijn makes a brave attempt. The potatoes have a good flavor, but in my opinion they could have been a little crispier—and the oven doesn’t improve things. The tomato sauce, on the other hand, is really top-notch, although secretly I was hoping for a small packet of aioli. Because aioli is always heavenly. I’d much rather have aioli than mayonnaise with my patatas bravas. For that price, they could surely include an extra packet of aioli. Really. But it’s a perfectly good snack, just with a few points for improvement. ⭐️⭐️⭐️ ½
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?: Albert Heijn
?: @albertheijn
?: 2.50 euros

Read also:

• Snackspert is lyrical about Lidl’s flammkuchen (and at that price)
• Snackspert: ‘Albert Heijn’s kebab bun is even emptier than my soul’
• Snackspert: ‘we need to talk about that hot hunk’