31.1.2019

SpaceTime: Morrison's, Turku, 12:30 lunch
Atmosphere: Busy, big dining space half-full, din lighting, dark wood, red/orange colors, led-strips, brickwork, spot lights, dance music playing quietly somewhere, mirrors with menu items written on in white marker
Food: Lunch burger with fries, extra cucumber mayo
Price: 11.30€

Thoughts: Morrison's offers burgers, steaks, wings and such greasy salties. The large dining space had plenty of customers and the kitchen seemed quite busy trying to fulfill the orders. 

The lunch burger came with a stiff-cooked patty that did not feel custom-made. The bun was also a bit dry, one of those store-bought ones. The bacon strips felt a bit crumbly, and not juicy straight off the grill, like they had been cooked before and just re-heated, or maybe just cooked for a bit too long. The fries were perfect, if a bit too salty for my taste. The extra mayo was alright, but nothing extraordinary. The small salad was very basic.

Not super-expensive, but not exactly cheap either. Another mediocre plus restaurant burger with fries and mayo. Not for culinarists!

17.1.2019

SpaceTime: Golden Grill, Hansa food court, Turku, 12:30 lunch
Atmosphere: Open, bright, empty-ish, excellent view to the market square construction yard
Food: Pulled pork lunch burger with fries, extra cucumber mayo, pancake with jam and whipped cream
Price: 11.40€
Thoughts: I'm not sure if Golden Grill is somehow related to the Golden Rax pizza buffet or not, but the two restaurants are side by side, with a walkway between, they have Golden in the name and after eating the lunch burger, I believe the quality of food is equally mediocre.

The place has many customer seats in two stories overlooking the market square that is the heart of Turku. The place had very few customers to the space available.

The burger consisted of store-bought dry hamburger bun, generic pulled pork, non-descript mayo and vegetables. The fries were cooked right but had too much salt in them for my taste. The extra mayo I ordered and paid 1€ for was forgettable and came in a small shot glass, making it very hard to dip with a fork. They also served dessert coffee (which I skipped) and pieces of pancake with strawberry jam and very stiff industrial whipped cream.

I ate the entire dish, but was not especially impressed by it. If I want to nurse my soul with sinful food that blocks my arteries if over-consumed, I want the pleasure I derive from such a portion be much higher than what I experienced here. For a lunch burger, one of the weaker ones.

16.12.2018

SpaceTime: Bun 2 Bun, shopping center Redi food court, Helsinki, around 2pm
Atmosphere: Not too busy, open, varied
Food: Beyond meat cheese burger (vegan), fries
Price: 19€
Thoughts: I like the idea of being able to eat a good vegetable burger option. This one was not bad at all, save for one thing: vegan blue cheese substitute. I loathe the stuff. It tastes nothing like the real thing! It's like a chemical attack on your taste buds. Fries were good and plentiful. Quite an expensive meal, too, considering there's no drink except tap water. I can only recommend this place if you skip the "blue cheese" option.

12.12.2018

Place: Naughty BRGR, in Turku city center

Occasion: Lunch

Atmosphere: Edgy, with rap music even in the toilet

Food: Turku Burger with Aura cheese, Aura mustard and marinated onion, fries, chunky curry dip extra

Price: 14,40€

Thoughts: Good burger, not the cheapest one though. I regret the extra curry dip, it was hideous to my taste, so I left it.

Place: Bassi, sea food specialist in Turku

Occasion: Dinner

Atmosphere: Sophisticated, but noisy

Food: Creamy mushroom soup, fried pollock with potato and sauce, cranberry juice

Price: ~50€

Thoughts: Food was ok but not well worth the price, atmosphere was too loud and pub-like for my taste.

7.12.2018

SpaceTime: Blanko, downtown Turku, lunchtime
Atmosphere: Close quarters, warm, busy
Food: Pulled pork burger, fries, mayo, tiny salad, blueberry pie dessert
Price: 13€
Thoughts: Burger was alright with plenty of flavor. Not the cheapest of burgers, but worth the price in my opinion.

4.12.2018

SpaceTime: Hesburger, downtown Turku
Atmosphere: Large, bright, sparse
Food: Club burger, fries, cucumber mayo, sprite, toffee sundae
Price: ~10€
Thoughts: Hesburger is probably the biggest fast food chain in Finland. The food is typical, greasy and filling. I mostly prefer it over McDonalds because they have mayo that I find to my liking.