Estonian Burger Factory = endine / former Vesivärava Grill

Kindlasti enamus rahvast on juba asjaga kursis, aga anname igaks juhuks siiski teada: Vesivärava Grillil, mis asub endise koha peal ja kannab endiselt Vesivärava Grilli nime, ei ole "päris" Vesivärava Grilliga, mille suurepärastest burgeritest me eelmise aasta märtsis kirjutasime, mitte midagi pistmist. Põhimõtteliselt koha omanikud nägid et poistel läheb liiga hästi ja ütlesid nende rendilepingu üles, et nüüd kuulsa nime all ise raha teenida..

Aga nüüd hea uudis: Varsti avavad päris Vesivärava Grilli taga olnud burgermeistrid oma uue koha Estonian Burger Factory! Viimaseid uudiseid, kus ja millal, jälgi siin: Estonian Burger Factory

Update: Väidetavasti avavad Martin ja Indrek eraldi burgeri kohad.

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Please be noticed that Vesivärava Grill that exists in its old location and still bears the same name has nothing to do with the "real" Vesivärava Grill that we reviewed last March. Apparently the guys behind the original got a short notice from the owners of the property that their rental contract will not be renewed.. so the owners could take over the business that obviously went so well.

Now the good news: The original burgermeisters behind Vesivärava Grill are going to set up a new place very soon! To stay informed about the developments around Estonian Burger Factory (that's how their new place will be called) tune in to their Facebook page here: Estonian Burger Factory

Update: Apparently Martin and Indrek will open new separate places.

Hiiu Grill

Mida öelda sellise koha puhul nagu Hiiu Grill (Vääna 2, Tallinn)?

Tegemist on keskmisest keskmisema kebab/burgeriputkaga ja söök mida seal pakutakse ei erista ennast teistes mööda Eestimaad laiali pillatud putkades pakutavast mitte millegagi.

Positiivseks võib nimetada müüapreili sõbralikku olekut ja toidu kiiret kättesaamist.

Kebab ise ei vääri mingit erilist kommentaari, liha on seesama mis igas putkas, paprikapulbriga kaetud friikad on sügavkülmast ja kogu kupatus on uputatud roosasse burgerikastmesse.

Eriti kahtlane asi on Maxiburger, mille puhul ei olnud võimalik tuvastada kas kotlet on kanast, seast, mõlemast või ainult sojast. Tõenäoliselt kõigest. Rupski-supreem.

Kas hea lugeja peaks sinna minema?

Ainult siis kui tõesti kuhugi mujale ei jõua.

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What can we say about a place like Hiiu Grill (Vääna 2, Tallinn)?

It's about as average as average can be and the food available does not differ in any way from what is available from similar little food sheds dotted around Estonia.

The positive part of the experience was the sale-girls friendly attitude and the fact that the food arrived rather quickly.

The kebab itself does not impress in any way, the meat is the same as in every kiosk and the paprika powder covered french fries of the deep freeze variety. And of course everything is drowned in massive amounts of pink burger sauce.

Especially questionable offering on the menu is the Maxiburger, as it's impossible to tell whether the patty is made from chicken, pork or soy. Probably from all of them, plus more. Meat byproduct supreme.

Should the good reader visit this establishment?

Only if you really have to.

Räägupesa

Lugupeetud lugejad.
Käesolev arvustus/tutvustus on ainult inglise keeles, kuna iga endast lugupidav Eestlane peaks tundma nii klassikalist Eesti Burksi, kui ka sellist toitlustusinstitutsiooni nagu Räägupesa.


Back to the 90's

For many locals these burgers are a trip down the memory line, as back during the infamous "Kiosk Era" this type of burger was just about the only type available. Räägupesa (Nõmme tee 53) is also one of the few places that has been continuously in business since 199-something and still serves their classics proudly to this day.

24h Food Mecca:

Räägupesa Burger, the venerable classic:

There is a meat patty somewhere down there, trust me. Yes, you get a fork, although a spoon seems even more appropriate.
I have often wondered where this curious custom of absolutely DROWNING the burger in sauce and vague cabbage mix was started. I mean, who thought that this is what people want.. or need? Back in the 80's, during the Soviet era this custom was definitely not yet around.. even burgers were not around and ketchup (a rare import from Hungary) was hardly ever found on the shelves of a shop. To get your hands on a few bottles required friends in the right places (like my parents had a friend in the buffet of the communist party headquarters), so drowning your food in it was out of the question. I have asked around, but nobody seems to remember their first encounter with the sauce monster..

Now back to this particular Räägupesa Burger. 

Is it good? This time i will not tell you, go try it yourself.
Let's just say it is an unforgettable experience.

For the fainthearted there is a far more conventional Grillburger available, as is Chicken Kebab, French Fries and some other stuff. Many people like them, but none of those has the heritage of the true Räägupesa Burger.

Grillburger:

Fries. Same sauce, same cabbage:

Go there, seriously.

Papa Joe

Papa Joe, asukohaga Sadam Turg (mis on väärt koht külastamiseks päris mitmel põhjusel) on tõenäoliselt ainuke ehtne Liibanoni söögikoht Eestis. Peamiseks põhjuseks Papa Joe'd külastada on ta Falafel, mis võib olla vägagi hea, eriti kui võtta see pitaga ja kõikide võimalike lisanditega, aga samuti on tal pakkumisel suurepärased oliivid (paremaid Eestis on raske leida), vägagi maitsev hummus, datlid ja muu idamaine kraam.
Ainuke kriitika mis pähe tuleb on fakt et Falafeli kvaliteet kipub olema kõikuv: mõnedel päevadel on maitse tunduvalt parem kui teistel. Kummaline. 

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Papa Joe, located at Sadama Market (a fabulous place by itself for more than one reason) is probably the only real Lebanese food place in Estonia. The main reason to visit Papa Joe is his Falafel , which can be great if you take it with pita and with all the possible fillings, but that is by no means the only reason to pay him a visit: he also sells some of the best olives you can get in this country, rather tasty hummus, dates and other Eastern delicacies.

The only criticism i can think of is the variation in his Falafel: on some days it tastes quite a bit better than on other days. Go figure.

Loca

Loca (Tatari 1) langeb kohe kindlasti "Vajan süüa pärast rämedat reede/laupäevaõhtust joomingut" kategooriasse.
Kõige tuntum söögikoht selles kategoorias on tõenäoliselt Taco ja seda puhtalt asukoha pärast, kuna kõik muu selles kohas on nii viletsa kvaliteediga et sa peaksid olema täielik ignorant kui sinna sööma lähed.
Loca's pakutav kraam pole kindlasti mitte super, aga siiski parem kui Taco's saada olev kraam ja menüü on suhteliselt mitmekülgne: peale erinevate pizzade, burgerite ja kanatiibade on menüüs ka rohkem eksootilisi pakkumisi, nagu näiteks araabiapärased shaksuka, hummus ja kibe. Kahjuks langevad need oma midagi erilist lubavatele nimedele vaatamata ikkagi kategooriasse "friikad millegagi" ja neil on ka see tuntud tüüpiline rämpstoidu maitse. Burgerid ja Lomito (väidetavalt veise välisfilee burks, minu oma oli ÜLIMALT vintske) upuvad kastme sisse.
Ja siis hind: Sama raha eest on Tallinnas võimalik täiesti gurmee tasemel toitu saada (vaata seda postitust), aga tõenäoliselt mitte kell 4 hommikul.
Nii et kui juhtud olema varajastes hommikutundides vanalinnas (pool)purjus olekus ja otsid midagi millesse kõhus loksuvat alkoholi ära imendada, siis on Loca selleks tõenäoliselt parem kandidaat kui Taco.

Taustamuusikaks on reggae (on see positiivne või negatiivne oleneb juba täiesti sinust enesest).
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Loca (Tatari 1) falls firmly in the "Need food after heavy boozing on Friday/Saturday night" category.
The most well known joint in that particular category is probably Taco and that only thanks to its location, as anything else in that place is of such poor quality that you must be an utter ignorant fool to go to eat there.
The food in Loca is by no means great, but still superior to the offerings in Taco and the menu is relatively varied as well: next to more ordinary fare like various pizzas, burgers and chicken wings, you can also get a number of Arabic dishes like shaksuka, hummus and kibe. Unfortunately most of them, despite the promising names, are just "fries with something" and taste like any other generic junk food. Also, burgers and Lomito (beef file sandwich, mine was EXTREMELY chewy) are drowned in sauce.
Then there is the matter of price: For the same money you can have gourmet quality food elsewhere in Tallinn (check this previous entry), but probably not at 4 AM in the morning.
So if you happen to be in the early hours (semi)drunk in the Old Town and looking for a greasy bite to soak up all that alcohol, then Loca is probably a slightly better bet than Taco.

The music on the background is reggae (whether that is a positive or negative thing is entirely up to you).

Grill Kebab @ Veerenni põik

 
Kastmekoll elab kure juures.

Tallinna ühe suurema ehituspoe ESPAK külje all tegutseb juba paar aastakest ülilihtsa menüüga toidukiosk. Kolme toiduga menüüsse mahub isegi taimetoit (ok, see on kõigest friikad salatiga). Kebab on päris kana- ja kalkunilihast, ning õigel viisil pöörleva toika otsas küpsetatud. Mahlane ja täitsa mõnus. Friikad harju keskmised, aga õnneks siiski piisavalt krõbedad. Kogu tagasihoidliku toreduse aga surmab tohutu kogus ebamäärast majoneesi/hapukoore/ketšupi kastet, mille alla võiks peita surnud lehma. Müüjanna sõnul aga see klientidele meeldib, nii et ärge öelge et teid hoiatatud pole!
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The sauce monstrosity lives next to the stork.
 

This very simple food shack has been around for years and is situated next to ESPAK, one of the biggest shops for construction materials in Tallinn. In the three item menu is even room for a vegetarian meal (ok, it's just french fries with some lettuce). Kebab itself is from real chicken and turkey meat and prepared properly – spinning on a stick. It’s juicy and pretty good. The french fries can only be described as mediocre. Unfortunately this humble but rather OK meal is murdered by a indefinite mayo/ketchup/sour cream sauce, the amount of which could easily cover a whole dead cow! According to the lady behind the counter this is exactly as the regular clients want it, so don’t say you haven’t been warned!

Vesivärava Grill

Update Jaanuar 2014: Vesivärava Grill, nii nagu ta allolevas artiklis kirjeldatud on, ei eksiteeri enam. Samas kohas asuval ja sama nime kandval ettevõttel ei ole mitte midagi pistmist endiste omanike-kokkadega ja nende poolt valmistatud suurepäraste burgeritega.

Burgerite kuningas

Tallinnas on üks maagiline, müstiline koht, enneolematu headuse koht. Daamid ja Härrad, me räägime muidugi Vesivärava Grillist (Vesivärava 42, Tallinn). Kui enamus tänavatoidu kohti Tallinnas on täiesti OK kui juhtud tühja kõhuga ümbruskonnas olema, siis Vesivärava Grilli tasub kohe kindlasti sõita absoluutsest igast linna nurgast. See koht on tõesti nii hea!

Miks siis nii, sa küsid?

Põhjus number üks:

Toorainete värskus ja kvaliteet. Värskelt kohapeal hakitud liha, värskelt küpsetatud saiad (Vesivärava Kohvikust), värskelt turult ostetud rohelised. Tallinnas on liigagi kerge leida restorane kus sa kalli raha eest toite sööd mis on valmistatud tunduvalt madalama kvaliteediga toorainetest. Vesivärava Grillis aga sööd sa täiesti topprestorani kvaliteediga toitu, ainult burgeri kujul – ja seda snäkkbaari hinnaga.

Ja põhjus number kaks on (loomulikult) kokkade meisterlikkus, millega nad nii grilli kui ka neid suurepäraseid tooraineid käsitlevad.

Me oleme söönud hamburgereid paljudes kohtades üle maailma: Berliinis, New Yorgis, Hong Kongis, Amsterdamis, kui nimetada vaid mõnda. Ja me võime väita ilma igasuguse liialduseta: Vesivärava Grill võib absoluutselt võistelda parimatega mida meie planeedil pakkuda on.

Jah, me teame et kusagil Saaremaal on üks paljude fännidega kuulus burgerivalmistaja. Jah, me oleme tema burgereid söönud.. ja me peame neid veel sööma.. aga praeguseks --

Vesivärava Grill on KÕIGE parem Eestis.

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Update from January 2014: Vesivärava Grill as described in the article below does not exist anymore. The place existing today at its original location has nothing to do with its original owners and the excellent burgers they made there.

The Real Burger King

There is a magical, mystical place in Tallinn, a place of unprecedented goodness. Ladies and Gentlemen, we are of course talking about Vesivärava Grill (Vesivärava 42, Tallinn). When most street food places are fine if you happen to be in the neighbourhood, Vesivärava Grill is worth traveling to, no matter in which corner of the city you happen to be. It is truly that good!

Why is that, you say?

Well, reason number one:

The quality and freshness of the ingredients. Freshly minced meat, locally baked buns, fresh greens from the market. In Tallinn it is far too easy to find restaurants where you eat expensive dishes made from far inferior produce, whereas in Vesivärava Grill you get top restaurant quality food in a burger form – for cheap snack bar prices.

And reason number two is (obviously) the mastery of the chefs at work, their skills in handling the grill and those fine ingredients.

We have eaten hamburgers in many places around the world: Berlin, New York, Hong Kong, Amsterdam to name a few and we can say without any exaggeration: Vesivärava Grill is up there with the very best the World has to offer.

Now, we do know that there is a certain famous burger maker in Saaremaa, with many fans, and yes, we have eaten his burgers.. and we do have to eat them more.. but as it stands now --

Vesivärava Grill is THE best in Estonia.