In recent years, burger wars have really heated up in Karachi with international chains and an ever growing crop of local brands vying for consumer’s taste buds – the winner in all this competition has to be the consumer.
My quest to find the perfect burger in town led me to the new burger establishment with the quirky name: 2 guys 1grll. Having gone viral during The Karachi Eat festival which created quite the buzz in the foodie circles, the ‘weekend project’ of the owners has graduated to a proper restaurant.
What sets it apart from other burger offerings in town is its introduction of the Doughnut Burger. Also known as the Luther burger abroad, the buns that resemble a – yes, you guessed it-donut, prepared by glazing them on the top and deep frying them, giving them an edifying sheen.
Tucked away in Khayaban-e-Shujaat, DHA right behind Chaaye Khaana, one is beholden to a compact shop filled with a predominantly young clientele. Due to high rents and property prices, modest shop space has been a rising trend of up and coming brands. Upon entering, one can notice the minimalist interior of the place. The owner guides me through the menu; in keeping with the interior the menu too follows the Zen principle. According to the owner, they only wanted to focus on the core product, that being the donut burger and improving upon it. So essentially its only a burger and fries affair, so if you are looking for something beyond that you might want to look elsewhere.
There are only two choices of meat, that being chicken and beef. For a burger purist, beef is always the first priority because it is really the taste, texture of the beef patty that makes or breaks the reputation of a burger establishment, for me at least.
Tucked away in Khayaban-e-Shujaat, DHA right behind Chaaye Khaana, one is beholden to a compact shop filled with a predominantly young clientele. Due to high rents and property prices, modest shop space has been a rising trend of up and coming brands. Upon entering, one can notice the minimalist interior of the place
I being a bovine lover especially when it comes to burgers chose the latter.
The sides were sweet potato and curly fries. Foodies may recall that the sweet potato fries were popularized by The Pantry and Hardees respectively.
After a brief wait, I was served the glazed burger with a bun that had an edifying sheen to it and a dollop of feta cheese in the centre. The patty tasted properly cooked yet succulent with a smoky aftertaste. The burger size leaves a little to be desired, this may serve as an inducement to go for another one. Considering the taste, that’s not really a bad thing. The fries were crisp and fresh, with the sweet potatoes fries really piquing my interest. Another interesting factor was the variety of dip sauces namely: Bae Root, Maple Mustard, Siracha Mayo and Pineapple Express. The sweet savoury taste of the Maple Mustard was the clear winner while pineapple express and bae root having a lot of water content were tasteless.
The small size of the premises could potentially be a problem if there is a throng of patrons waiting for their meal. Although as any restaurant owner would attest a waiting line outside the shop always makes for a welcome spectacle. Also, more items could be added to the menu aside from burgers. As admirable as it maybe to focus on the core produce, people still crave- once again parson the pun- variety.
All things considered 2 Guys 1 Grill has demonstrated that scaling up from a smaller setup doesn’t necessarily mean a loss in quality. With their economical price point, it would go easy on the wallet as well as the palate. Meanwhile the elusive search for the perfect burger continues.
The writer is a freelancer and can be reached at [email protected]