My obsession was born from seeing this article about Rascals' "Man vs Food" style challenge - The Poppas Revenge. It's 5 12oz beef burgers, 8 slices of bacon, melted cheese (a whole block, apparently..!), and pulled pork, plus chips, sweet potato fries, a side salad, coleslaw, 6 magma wings (so hot you have to sign a disclaimer before eating them) and an ice cream milkshake topped with cream! If you eat it all in an hour you don't pay, but if you fail....it's £39.95.
While I didn't think my eating prowess would quite stretch to this almighty challenge, I definitely wanted to sample the burgers at the place which offered it; all my facebook stalking had shown me amazing looking pictures of burgers piled with cheese, chilli, pulled pork...I could go on all day.
So, with high expectations, I arrived at Rascals, and sat down in our reserved booth (the American diner style stretches from the menu all the way to the interior design), already knowing exactly what I wanted to have. (If you're planning a visit, look here for their menu so you can do the same!)
I shared the Hobo Fries with Christopher's friend Muir
and I have to say, they were an absolute triumph! Chips piled high with cheese, pepperoni, chilli, pulled pork and jalapeños. The pulled pork and chilli were particularly good - the pork was sticky and sweet, and the chilli thick and meaty, with the jalapeños adding the spicy kick I so love, and the cheese making everything taste even better, as only cheese can do.
For my main, I went for a beef burger with double cheese, chilli and jalapeños, with sweet potato fries, coleslaw and salad
It looks like a meat volcano! First things first, the sweet potato fries were nicely crispy, and dipped in the creamy coleslaw they were really good and disappeared quickly. Now onto the burger....I started by eating some of the chilli which was erupting from the sides, and I was not disappointed. Just like on the chips, it was thick and meaty, and also added a nice bit of sloppiness to proceedings - you can't have a burger without it being messy! They definitely didn't skimp on the cheese, which was nice and mature and adhered well to the chilli, giving a double whammy of flavour.
However....once I had cleaned up a bit of the meat lava round the edge of my burger, I decided to cut into it. Despite having the slightly pink interior that the menu promised, the burger was one of the most dense I have ever had. It wasn't burnt at all, but the actual meat was so dense that it wasn't easy to slice or bite through!
I really like a coarse ground, juicy burger which pretty much falls apart in your mouth, but sadly this wasn't it. It was such a shame that I had this experience because all the toppings and sides are amazing (and the chilli did add some of that all important juiciness) - but for me the actual beef patty just didn't hit the mark.
Everyone else really enjoyed their burgers though, so it definitely is all about personal taste. Kiri and Muir both had the "Cheesy Chobacoroni" (chorizo, pepperoni, cheese and double bacon), which they both loved
And Christopher had the Ranch Burger (cheddar cheese, BBQ sauce and onion rings) but with a chicken burger rather than beef
Christopher doesn't even like burgers very much, but liked his so much he said he'd definitely come back again soon. He also thought the chips were so good that he ordered a second portion for pudding!
Oyinkan had chips with chorizo, plus a strawberry milkshake
followed by a waffle for pudding (which I tried - it was the perfect combination of fluffy and chewy)
Kiri had some chocolate fudge cake which I didn't try but she said was great
And I tried to have an oreo milkshake but the blender was broken by that point! Quel dommage!
Overall, I did enjoy Rascals (the Hobo fries will forever be beloved) but it was a real shame that the burger didn't match my personal taste. However, everyone else loved theirs, and I would still go back to try the burgers again - maybe I just got unlucky this time. If not, I'd still go for the topped fries and milkshakes - or maybe just a bowlful of chilli and cheese?! If anyone has had a more juicy experience at Rascals let me know, because I would love to be proved wrong and to be able to keep Rascals in my head as the burger place of dreams.
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