I’ve been aware of Jordan Bailey for some time, because I’m a restaurant nerd and that’s what restaurant nerds do. My first reference was in Andy Hayler’s review of Maemo many years ago when he was head chef, and then perhaps more importantly in conversation with David Taylor over the counter of Grace & Savour. David worked with Jordan in Norway and said to me he has the best palate of any chef he’d ever worked with, which is high praise from a chef whose palate I would consider to be one of the best. That was roughly around the time that Jordan had gone straight in at two stars and everyone in the industry was saying it wouldn’t be a surprise if a third star came shortly afterwards. I didn’t want to start this little piece off with a name drop, but there I go again, dropping names all over the gaff. Still, it goes some way to explaining how I ended up at Heard.
The other reason I went there is because it’s close to the Guild of Fine Food and after three hours of eating plant based food I needed some meat. I still don’t know if that makes me a good judge or not. I think a good one, given that I have the reference points to say if a meat alternative tastes like the desired animal, but I probably don’t need to given my tastebuds are the absolute bollocks. I walked the two minutes roughly in the direction of Borough station, found the little place in the middle of Flat Iron Square, sat at the bar, did some niceties with the nice beardy man, ordered my food and waited with a cold drink. Jordan Bailey was behind me in a meeting.
The Heard burger is excellent. Two smashed patties using properly aged beef from arguably Londons best butchers, they cook it hard and quick so the outside goes almost sweet and a fleck of almost raw pink meanders through the centre of each patty. Each patty has melted Ogleshield cheese for a lactic, nutty hit, with raw diced onion, fat wedges of gherkin, a layer of diced jalapeño honey, and Heard sauce which seems to be mustard based but it is a secret, apparently. What makes it great is also my biggest issue; it is a burger that is meticulous in making the beef sing, so much so that each element sits nobly in the background, quietly adding a layer of heat, a layer of acidity, or a layer of umami. It feels like a burger from a two star chef. Full of balance and poise. I imagine some people will expect more fireworks. More shouty noises. More heat. Not me. I loved it.
There are fries that I pay £6.50 for (the burger was £12.50. A bargain.) which I didn’t need, but come with some kind of umami seasoning, Ogleshield cheese sauce, chopped onions and gherkins. And they do a burger with caviar on that has my name on soon. It’s all very impressive and it’s easy to see why location number two is coming to Soho soon. I go back to the Guild and sit down for another afternoon of various proteins that aren’t animal. The person I’m judging with asks what I did for lunch. I skirt around the question. I’m not sure how well the truth would go down.
9/10
Sign up to the newsletter here
https://blog.us14.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=08c98db0e9d6eb9e5b54695a1&id=eda85ee6f4
