Annie's Burger Shack.

Living in London it's hard to find a good new place to eat that isn't branded as 'trendy' or an all American diner with a twist. Yawn. London is saturated with burgers everywhere you go. There's Meat Liquor (I am still desperate to try) and Shake Shack (hasn't had fab reviews), as well as dozens of others. It's the new 'in' thing but I'm actually already bored of it.

However, this isn't the case in Nottingham. Nottingham doesn't have anywhere new and burgerfabulous. But anyone who lives in Nottingham knows the wonders of Annie's Burger Shack. From its humble beginnings at the Navigation pub (just like Meat Liquor started at a pub) last year, it has now got its very own home in the Lace Market.

Everything about Annie's is amazing; the atmosphere, the beers and the burgers are so good it's hard to explain! Everything is fresh, and what's better is it hasn't got the traditional American Diner feel to it, no red leather booths or black and white floors  it’s very... wooden. It has been referred to as the  New England in the Old England.

The bar has a huge selection of beers, most of which I am ashamed to say I didn't know what they were. We had a little wait for our table as we came a bit early, so I had a pint of Bitburger – a German lager. I actually really like having different beers instead of the standard.

We booked our table as, since it has reopened, it has literally been mission impossible to get a table by walking in, and if it’s for more than two people, make sure you book well in advance. (A sneaky tip: if you go in and look lovingly at the staff during the day they, tend to squeeze you in somewhere.

There have been a lot of complaints about the waiting time at Annie's - it is about half an hour until you get your food. BUT, even though Annie's Burger Shack is a typical 'burger joint,' it is by no means a fast food restaurant. Everything is made fresh to order - even the burgers - and so even though there is a bit of a wait it is definitely worth it.

The burgers... well there are 30 different types and you can literally have anything on them from a roast dinner to a pizza with a number of sides. But I do recommend the curly fries! On my previous visit, I had the Fajita burger which was amazing.

Surf and Turf 

This time I opted for the 'Surf and Turf' which didn't disappoint. The burger was cooked to perfection and it came with several king pawns, onion rings and thousand island sauce. You might thinkit would be easy for the pawns to be over taken by the beef burger, but in fact, it was all perfectly placed.

Jamie Blackmore was the other burger at the table, which comes topped with eight hour slow cooked BBQ'd pulled pork, melted red Leicester cheese and salsa.  This was welcomed with equal happiness. 

Jamie Blackmore 

I must say, I was starving by the time the burger came and do think I ate it within record time, which meant that I was bursting by the time I'd finished!

My favourite thing about Annie's is that it doesn't bore me like all the others. Yes the burgers we both had were very 'American' but others they have on the menu aren’t like the roast dinner burger so there is something for everyone.

What I'm really looking forward to is seeing what they do for their v day menu... What stops can they pull out for this?!

I really need to go back, and to be honest, I’m secretly planning on working my way through the entire menu! (Minus a few like the 'Elvis Presley' which is slathered in Peanut Butter – death in a burger)

My advice - definitely book yourself a table!

http://www.anniesburgershack.com/

Mini Trip To Thailand

I've been a very bad blogger since coming back to Nottingham, so I thought my little trip to Thailand No.1 would be a perfect excuse to write something!

Living the life of a student means I don't get to go out eating as much as I would like! Only on very special occasions at the moment, so Mothers birthday was the perfect reason to venture out for the night. My budget isn't the only problem when it comes down to eating out, especially Thai food. I have a severe peanut allergy, meaning that Chinese food is a big no no for me - a date with some spare ribs left me with Angelina Jolie lips.. - and Thai food is pretty similar. I have only had one experience with satay chicken and it didn't end very well.

Thai Soup - Mind the Chilli 

But Thailand No.1 were amazing at catering for me, even asking if I could eat peas.  

With the satay sauce at the far end of the table I was safe to eat without fear. Well, that was until we decided to order the set menu for 4 people. It included Sea bass. Again. I'm allergic, luckily nowhere near as serious as peanuts ,but I do feel like I've swallowed a few hair balls which isn't exactly fun.

Selection of Starters

The set menu included Thai soup, which has mushrooms, prawns and garlic with a load of lime and lemon which was easily deceived as making it taste salty. Oh, and the chilli's had a far kick to it.. they left a few with hiccups! Firstwas the selection of starters (this is where the satay chicken comes out to play) including spring rolls, prawn and sesame seed toast, pork balls, sticky chicken and various other little treats coming with a chili dip. The spring rolls where by far my favourite! Even though almost everything was deep fried nothing was heavy or overly greasy which is something that I've heard a lot of people complain about when it comes to Thai or Chinese food.

I think we all got a little ambitious with our next course, out came the egg fried rice with prawns, some noodles and peppers and onions, green Thai curry, mixed seafood Thai curry, the Thai sea bass and just for me some sweet sticky duck (because I couldn't have the Sea bass!)

Sweet Sticky Duck

Thai Green Curry

To be fair I didn't really need the extra duck, there was already more than enough! The Thai green curry was just right, not too over powering as it can be, and I definitely prefer it to red Thai Curry! The egg fried rice was one of the best I've ever had – although I've not had many to be fair - and the duck was cooked to perfection! Sadly I got too full to finish it all, but what I had was delicious!

Thailand No.1 is based in the Lace Market of Nottingham's city centre and is definitely a place to visit if you happen to be in the City. The staff are all lovely and very helpful with any questions. It's possibly my favourite place to eat out in Nottingham.