Hamburger Union, 4-6 Garrick Street, London WC2 (020 7379 0412). Meal for two, £25
Every Friday and Saturday a queue builds at Borough Market. There are, of course, many queues at Borough Market, but this one is generally longer than all the others; from its length, you could, if you wanted to, surmise that the British really do care more about food than once they did. Why else would sane, rational people stand in line for 30 minutes or more for a sandwich?
Granted, the charcoal-grilled chorizo sausage with rocket on a crusty bun dribbled with olive oil, sold by the rather lovely Spanish produce importers Brindisa, is a fine creation, yours for £2.75 (£3.25 with piquillo pepper). I used to eat a lot of them before the queue got so long. But is it really worth the wait? Or to put it another way, is the willingness to wait so long for such a small object of desire really a sign of interest in food? Or is it, perhaps, something more akin to a fetishism? If Borough Market is the ground zero of the gastro-porn movement, then the Brindisa chorizo sandwich is surely now the must-have item in a bazaar of fleshly pleasures?
More indicative of our growing interest in good food is the arrival of Hamburger Union, a commercial concern with a business plan based solely on the demand and appetite for a good quality hamburger, usually the white trash of the food world. And the hamburgers served by Hamburger Union really are very good: solid beef from grass-reared cattle, lightly seasoned, charcoal crusted on the outside, a little pink within. Plus, if you don't fancy beef, they also serve the Brindisa chorizo sandwich, with rocket. Exactly the same one, down to the chorizo itself, which is supplied by Brindisa. And you don't have to queue. Much. Yes, at £4.75 (including piquillo pepper) it costs more, but they do bring it to you and you do get a table to eat it at and a roof over your head.
The first Hamburger Union, which was set up by two of the team behind Cafe Pasta, is on Garrick Street in London's Covent Garden. There will be another nearby, possibly in Soho, by the end of the year, and then I'm sure they will roll it out. The idea is blissfully simple. It's a two-roomed affair. The first has a counter where you order your food, from an encouragingly short menu. The basic single hamburger, in a crusty Portuguese roll, costs £3.95. A double is £6.75. They also do them protein-style without the bun, for Atkins specialists. There are a few variations: cheeseburgers, bacon cheeseburgers, a chicken sandwich and a fillet steak (the double steak is the most expensive item, at £9.95). There are a couple of vegetarian options, like grilled haloumi or field mushrooms, and, of course, that blessed chorizo sandwich.
The second room has thick wooden tables, wooden benches against the walls and a friendly clatter and buzz. You take a numbered card when you order, display it in the holder on your table and the cheerful staff then deliver your food to you, ooh, within about 15 seconds of you sitting down. Chips are thick cut and crisp. A mixed salad, though mostly iceberg, is well dressed, and ice creams are of the child-friendly Day-Glo vanilla, chocolate, strawberry kind. The only thing I didn't like was my Irish red lemonade, which spoke ripely of tongue-tingling additives and flavourings. No matter: there are other, better sounding things on the menu, including a couple of wines.
Hamburger Union is that very special thing: proof that quick food does not have to be crap food. And that there are better ways to get lunch than queuing at Borough.
