Snackspert: ‘This shawarma is delicious even when you’re sober’
Eke Bosman, better known as Instagram phenomenon @snackspert, ate his first frikandel as a baby, hates vlammetjes, has devoured at least 1,000 burgers in his life, suspects there is more mayonnaise in his body than blood, and shares his snack reviews on FavorFlav every other week.
Bacon burger and fries, Burger & Beyond, London
We can finally go to London again! And that means I can finally publish this review, which was written at the end of February and unfortunately had to be put on ice because of the lockdown. But don’t be sad, because after rain there is aaaalways sunshine. Unless you live in the Faroe Islands, because it really always rains there. Anyway. This burger and fries are from Burger and Beyond in Shoreditch, a place that has been recommended several times by Brits I’ve met over the past few years. And seriously, the food there is insane. First, the burger: the bacon butter burger—and you can probably guess—is unbelievably deliciously greasy. The meat is wonderfully tender and the cheese has melted into a sauce, as if you’re living a wild dream. The pancetta bacon is deliciously crispy but thankfully also slightly soft on the inside, but the real winner is that butter mayonnaise. Fat + fat = fucking fat, and although I had a belly afterwards that I called my little ball of fatty joy, I still say: worth it. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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Then the fries. They look strange, but those strings are actually cheese. They don’t look melted, but luckily that happens once they’re in your mouth. The bone marrow gravy gives them a wonderfully fatty flavour, although I have to admit that it does make the fries a liiiittle less crispy. Maybe they should come up with something to improve that, but overall the taste is excellent. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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?: Burger and Beyond, Shoreditch in London
?: @burgerandbeyond
?: 12 euros for the burger, 7.50 euros for the fries (to share!)
Plain crisps, Hema
Sometimes reviews don’t need to be that long. Sometimes it’s clear enough; in love, too, you often don’t need to say more than ‘I love you’ and that’s it. Unless you say that he/she is the mayo on your frikandel—uh, fries—but you get what I mean. May I make a case for HEMA’s plain crisps? The bag isn’t very big, the crisps are wonderfully crunchy and the salt level is genuinely spot-on. Sometimes it doesn’t have to be that complicated. Get them! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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?: HEMA
?: @hemanederland
?: 0.50 euros
Vegan shawarma, Vegan Junk Food Bar
How cool is this: apparently, the delicious shawarma from Vegan Junk Food Bar is also available on supermarket shelves! At Jumbo, to be precise. And before you say, “grrr I want meat YEAH vegan is crap”: I just want to emphasise that this shawarma is delicious even when you’re sober, and you also don’t need an entire bottle of garlic sauce to make it somewhat tastier. Because let’s be honest: you can’t find truly good shawarma in that many places. Unless you’ve had 24 vodka Diet Cokes. Anyway, we’re getting off track: this is genuinely very good vegan shawarma. It doesn’t beat meaty shawarma in terms of texture, but there is absolutely nothing wrong with the flavour. Nicely seasoned, deliciously tender too (long live frozen foods), and very easy to fry in a pan. Definitely recommended. Have you spotted it in your supermarket yet? ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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?: Supermarket (Jumbo in Amsterdam-Noord)
?: @veganjunkstar & @veganjunkfoodbar
?: 3–4 euros or so, sorry
