Handmade Burger Co - The Bullring, Birmingham City Centre

If you didn't know already, I love a good burger. I also love restaurants that specialise in burgers and Handmade Burger Co is one of my favourites. The menu is so big that you can always have something different and there are plenty of options for non-beef eaters, but it's not overwhelming and it's easy to find something that you fancy.

A couple of weeks ago I headed into town with a couple of friends for some burgers. I'd been desperate to visit Handmade Burger Co since I came back to uni in September and I was so glad we finally went there. It was pretty busy for a Tuesday night but we didn't have to wait long for a table and we quickly decided what we wanted as we were rather hungry (and by rather I mean absolutely starving). There was a bit of a queue to order but our food arrived pretty quickly after ordering.

The American Cheese Beef Burger

The Peppered Beef Burger

The Avocado and Bacon Beef Burger

We all enjoyed our burgers. I've had the peppered beef one before and it is really good but seeing as I'm still obsessed with avocados I had to go for the avocado and bacon burger. It was really good but I have to say that I think I prefered the same one in GBK. In GBK they cook the burgers medium and for me that really improves a burger. I still really enjoyed the one in Handmade Burger Co though and the meat is of really good quality, I just wish it wasn't so well done!

We shared two portions of chips between the three of us which was about the right amount I think. There were a few left over but one portion wouldn't have been enough. I don't think I can stress enough how much I love their chips. They remind me of chips you get from fish and chip shops and they are the perfect balance of crunchy and fluffy. Word of warning though, they are boiling when they first come to your table and I always forget so dive in and end up burning my tongue. They are kinda worth having a burnt tongue for a few days though. SO GOOD.

What makes Handmade Burger Co even better is the value for money. I have a loyalty card that gives you free things every few visits (this time I got a free drink) and they do pretty good student discount. 15% off  with a valid student card and I think they still do 30% off between 3-6 on a Monday (I'm not sure on that though!).

All in all a great place to grab a burger, especially if you like your meat well done!

Weekend at The Plough - Harborne, Birmingham

Last weekend I was lucky enough to dine out twice at The Plough, which for a student with a fairly restricted budget, was a major treat. After my trip there at the end of last year (read all about that here) I was desperate to go back and try the rest of the menu.

On Saturday I headed to The Plough for brunch. I'm a big breakfast lover. I'm a morning person and never miss breakfast, so eating out for the first meal of the day is one of my favourite things to do, and after examining The Plough's brunch menu I was very excited. (By the way I find breakfast and brunch to be pretty similar - either way I always end up having a bit of lunch and I guess the only real difference is that you go out later for brunch).

I decided to go for a smoothie, I think it was made with strawberry and mango.

If I really think about it, it was probably a bit overpriced but it was yummy and we went out for brunch to celebrate my friend's 21st birthday, so as it was a special occasion I decided to splash out a bit. When I looked at the menu the coconut milk porridge jumped out at me and I'm not really sure why. I don't particularly like coconut but I think seeing as it came with honeycomb and mango that was what swayed me. I'm very glad I ordered it though.

The portion size was spot-on and as well as coming with a few chunks of mango, it was also served with a mango purée which was delicious.

The porridge was really tasty and I will definitely make porridge with coconut milk in the future for a a bit of variation. Everyone elses food looked really good as well, in particular the pancakes with bacon and maple syrup.

On Sunday my parents came up to visit so we went to The Plough for Sunday lunch. We all had the roast.

It was massive! I went for beef, which was served pink, and there was loads of it. I hate going out for Sunday lunch and only being given one small slice of meat but this is not something to worry about at The Plough. The beef was really tasty and seasoned with a fair amount of pepper. I found the roast potatoes to be a bit too salty for my liking but they weren't so salty I found them inedible. The Yorkshire pudding was good and the veg was great too (peas, red cabbage and swede mash).

It's not cheap but you definitely get your money's worth and it's all really good quality. My only niggle is that the potatoes were a tad too salty and I would've prefered more gravy, but I guess I like to drown my plate in gravy so most people would probably find it to be an adequate amount. It's the perfect place to go when parents come to visit, if you want to splash out for a special occasion or if you just love great food and money is no object.

I'm yet to try the burger so I guess I'll have to go back soon!