Black Pudding & Chorizo Steak Burger – Bloc, Glasgow

In our last review, we mentioned that we were left feeling rather cold after we tried the King Kuta beef & chorizo burger from Kuta on Glasgow’s busy Bath street. We had been under the impression that the patty itself was made up of both beef and chorizo, but when we actually tasted the burger, we discovered that the chorizo was simply served on top of the beef instead. Bloc, which is situated across the street from Kuta, is an old favourite haunt of ours. We’ve had many nights out there over the years but until now, it had been some time since we’d been in for food. We were in Glasgow doing some holiday shopping and decided to stop in for some lunch and another burger review.

As we glanced over Bloc’s large menu, I noticed a black pudding, chorizo and steak burger which immediately reminded me of the letdown that we’d had at Kuta just a few days earlier. I remembered the food in Bloc always being good, so I decided to give it a try in the hope that it would actually come as a chorizo, black pudding and steak patty and not just a burger with a few toppings thrown on top.

I wasn’t disappointed.

When the burger was brought over, I checked under the top half of the bun for chorizo or black pudding – none to be found. With that, I cut the burger in half to reveal a steak patty with visible black pudding and chorizo on the inside. The patty itself was full of flavour and the black pudding and chorizo were evident throughout. The black pudding gave it a slight spicy kick and the hint of salt from the chorizo complimented the steak mince that had been used in the burger. I’m a big fan of the beef and chorizo combination and hoped that the flavour would carry over to burger form. It certainly did. The burger was served with lettuce and beef tomato. I had ordered the burger with some buffalo mozzarella on top because I was slightly worried that a patty with both chorizo and black pudding might have been a little dry. I was going to add some tomato and chilli relish on top of that, but decided to stick with just the cheese. It was just enough to add some extra depth to an already tasty burger and not too much that it would have been in danger of taking away from the spicy flavour of the patty. The patty itself, despite being flavoursome, was quite dry; however, this was mostly due to the large amount of black pudding throughout.

Despite tasting good, I had a few criticisms. Normally, I wouldn’t think of serving a burger on a toasted ciabatta and I felt that it was a bit too crunchy overall. I felt that it took away from the overall burger experience just a little bit and that it seemed like what I was eating didn’t know whether it wanted to be a burger or a sandwhich. At points, I could feel the bun scratching the roof of my mouth, which was a little irritating. If it had been served on a burger bun such as sourdough or something similar, it would have been much better. It wasn’t the juiciest burger I’ve ever had – however, this was more to do with the addition of the black pudding throughout the patty than anything else. I did feel that, for almost £9, it could have just a little bit bigger, but that wasn’t a major sticking point.

The burger was served with Bloc’s delicious signature handcut (huge!) chunky chips and a relish dip. On a side note, Bloc also stocks Blue Moon – my personal favourite beer and, in my opinion, the best to wash down a burger with.

Overall, Bloc’s chorizo and black pudding steak burger was everything that I thought Kuta’s beef and chorizo would have been and more, despite not being quite as big. If you want a steak patty packed full of flavour with chorizo and black pudding throughout and not just placed on top, then get yourself along to Bloc the next time you are on the hunt for a burger. You won’t be disappointed. My only criticisms were the toasted ciabatta bun, which I’d normally never serve with a burger, the slightly small size and that I felt it could have been ever so slightly juicier.

Price: £8.95

SUMMARY
+ Good combination of flavours.
+ Chorizo diced through the burger itself.
+ Bloc’s chunky chips are great!
– Ciabatta bun was bad
– A little dry.
– Slightly overpriced considering it wasn’t very big.

Have you tried this burger? Did you love it? If so, vote for it in the ‘Glasgow’s best burger’ award by clicking here.

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Bloc
117 Bath Street
Glasgow
G2 2SZ
Phone: 0141 574 6066
Website: http://www.bloc.ru