Battle of the burger at The Tyne Bar

Who makes the best burgers in Newcastle? This weekend the battle of the burger commenced at The Tyne Bar. Five vendors took on the challenge to create a  signature burger. The burger had to cost £3.  They faced  three judges and the public over two days. The battle to see to who would be crowned champion commenced. There were barbecues at noon, tunes, sunshine and views over the Tyne. My son and I went along to find out what it was all about.

The Tyne Bar is situated between two rivers, the river Ouseburn and the River Tyne. The Ouseburn valley is home to several interesting places to visit, including Ouseburn Farm and Seven Stories – a museum celebrating children’s books. It is an interesting walk along the Ouseburn valley down to the quayside to find the river Tyne and the Tyne Bar. The Tyne Bar is situated under a bridge with views across the Tyne. There are plenty of local ales on offer and bands often play there. When we went the Skyride was taking place  around the quayside so we had a great view of the people cycling past.
In the distance we could see the Millennium Bridge opening to let one of the cruise ships that go up and down the Tyne though. We wandered along the quayside a little way to watch. It is not often we see the Millennium Bridge swing and it is fascinating to watch the edges rise.

Hungry after our walk we headed back to the Tyne Bar to enter the battle of the burgers. It was all very civilised, the sun shone down overhead and the five vendors had set up their stalls under the bridge waiting for the hungry customers. A tantalising smell of cooking wafted across on the breeze.

Food was purchased with tokens which were available inside the bar. I popped in to get some tokens and a couple of drinks then we had a wander to see what burgers were on offer. My son was very easily pleased, he decided instantly he was going to go for the Longhorns burger. They were offering a smoked beef and hogg double patty in a bun. It was cooked in the flamboyant Longhorns style on a big grill.  I ordered one while my son went and sat at one of the tables outside in the sun.

I had a wander round the rest of the vendors trying to make up my mind which burger to try. It was a difficult decision, they all looked lovely. Jam Jar Jesmond offered a Jam Burger, 7 oz steak, crispy bacon, red Leicester and tomato jam.

As well as hosting the battle of the burger the Tyne Bar were also in on the burger action. Facing the DJ they were cooking up their burgers in the kitchen.

Quay Ingredient are a coffee house based on the quayside. They had created an exotic sounding Brunch burger with a pork and leek patty, French brie, smoked bacon and white truffle oil served in a stottie.

The burger that got my attention was created by Lola Jeans, the Little California. A beef patty with smoked applewood cheddar, red onion marmalade, bone marrow ranch dressing and crispy pickle chips. Who can say no to ranch dressing?

We sat down in the sun to enjoy our burgers and enjoy them we did. The Little California was gorgeous, the red onion marmalade was really tasty.

The Longhorns burger was the perfect size for my son, it’s double patty filled him up.

So who won the battle of the burger? It was announced today, Lola Jeans ran off with the title. I had made the right choice. This was only round one though, there will be a round two soon and I can’t wait to see who turns up for that one.