Gosh, I Need a Good Burger!

[PeterV]

Hello All,

First of all, I want to thank all and sundry for the invaluable information on this site and in the forums. We're in the midst of our second trip to Tobago and have found the resources here to be extremely helpful.

After a couple of weeks of eating fresh, yummy, Creole food I must admit we're starting to miss food from home (that's the States) a bit. Particularly I would really appreciate a decent hamburger.

Any recommendations for where to get a good burger in Tobago??

Thanks,

Peter

[Steve Wooler]

Hello Peter

Welcome aboard!

You don't say whereabouts in Tobago you are staying. Unfortunately (I'm being facetious ) there are no MacDonalds or BurgerKings on Tobago.

However, us Brits - who know a thing or two about REAL burgers - would head straight to PennySavers, Moorshead Gourmet Foods or the Golden Grove Farm Shop and buy a few packs of the truly wonderful burgers made by a Trinidadian outfit.

I'm kicking myself, because for the life of me I can't remember the make - just that they come in transparent packets of 4 (??) burgers and the label is brown text on a white background. I would recognise them instantly. The annoying thing is that they were mentioned on the forum earlier this year, but I can't find the thread. So annoying.

However, depite me pulling your leg above, I have to say that these are truly excellent burgers - and I believe that in the missing thread I referred to, an American reader totally endorsed my comments on how good they were and mentioned the manufacturer's name).

[Brian Taylor]

in the evenings there is a little stall in scarborough opposite the port building (actually, the stall is always there, but not always open) called "queen burger". they do yummy ones. always have double meat...heavenly!

steph

[PeterV]

I wouldn't have trusted the packaged meat without your recommendation (having had some truly suspicious-tasting burger meat on visits to other Caribbean isles), so that's helpful.

We're staying in Baccolet, just outside of Scarborough.

Those sound like a couple of good leads, thanks!

Any more recommendations?

Peter

[Peter Kuhn]

Hi Peter,
you can get fresh (frozen) mincemeat at the Golden Grove Farm and the ingredients you can get in the supermarket. This meat is much better to make a burger with your own stile.
If you have a baebecue grill then be your own cheef.

Enjoy your meal !

Peter

[Steve Wooler]

Hi Peter

Seeing as you are staying in Bacolet, there is one other possibility. Paul O'Neill of the Salsa Kitchen has started a new lunchtime "soup and wrap" service. She has her own home-made burgers and hot dogs and, knowing Paula, they will be really good. As you are in the area, I would strongly recommend that you give both her lunchtime 'kit' and dinner in the evening a try.

Both lunch kits and dinner must be pre-ordered on 639-1522. You are unlikely to know where the Salsa Kitchen is, but it's easy enough. It's just off the Claude Noel Highway. From Bacolet get out to the highway and then head towards Crown Point. At the main Wilson Road traffic lights, turn RIGHT (towards Plymouth), but then turn IMMEDIATELY left into a small side road (Pump Mill Road). Salsa Kitchen is number 8 - just 50m up on the right.

[PeterV]

Thanks again, all.

I've gotten other recommendations for Salsa Kitchen, but didn't know they did a burger thing for lunch. Thanks for the directions, Steve. We'll definitely try them for both lunch AND dinner.

And thanks, Peter, for the additional recommendation for "Make Your Own"... We may also do that, but we had a go at the barbeque grill already. Let me just say that the score is Grill:1, PeterV: 0

Finally, we've had several locals praise Burger Queen... and act very surprised that we knew about it ("Yes... good! HA! How you know about dem?!").

Thanks again... We're going to try a few options and I'll report back my findings for the archives,

Peter

[Paul Tallet]

Not sure if they still do them ... but the Beach resturant for the Mount Irvine Hotel (on the west side of the Mount Irvine Beach) did lovely burgers ... cheeseburgers too.

Alot of US residents use this resort so they are probably likely to be sympathetic to such needs and desires !!

Try them out.

Regards

[Stephen Porter]

Charthouse Restaurant/Sundowners Bar at Crown Point Beach Hotel should do the trick.

[Steve Pitts]

Hi Peter

Shore Things over at Lambeau don't do burgers, but if they did, then they'd probably be the best burgers in the World

On a more serious note - Salsa Kitchen is great.

[PeterV]

Thanks again for all the great suggestions! Much appreciated.

Sadly (or maybe, fortunately!) we didn't have the opportunity to try nearly as many burger options as I would have liked. Heck, I could eat a burger just about every day... my wife, on the other hand, insists on real food now and then

I *will* put it a good word for Burger Queen (the little stand across from the ferry terminal in Scarborough). Thank you, Steph, for the recommendation! If you want to grab a good burger done Tobago style, and enjoy a bit of the local culture I highly recommend it. She opens at 7PM most nights. As Steph said, order double meat... and of COURSE have the garlic and barbecue sauce (key Tobagonian condiments).

I emphasize "Tobago style" above because, if you're from the States, this isn't likely to be exactly the burger you expect: It's made of minced beef mixed with (hmmm... I'm guessing) bread crumbs and has a soft texture. Tasty? Yes!!

I admit that part of the fun for us was parking at a random location on the street and watching the local's pleasantly surprised faces while we (two deeply tanned white folks) walked over to Burger Queen and ordered burgers. I suspect there aren't THAT many tourists who frequent the little food stalls in Scarborough

So, getting burgers from Burger Queen was highly enjoyable from both a food and a social point of view. Definitely recommended.

[Celia]

hi, id just like to say when in tobago do as tobagoians do.lol. i eat doubles for breakfast at least twice a week {from the stand which is way down the road from the burger stand } and they love the fact that a tourist has come looking for their local cuisine. also at lunch time i eat at the few little local food take outs where the meals are delicious. always a queue you know the food is good and at the fraction of the price of a restaraunt. we then drive to a beach and sit and eat our food under a palmtree, where else . i love tobago only came home friday and cant wait to go back. ps my husband loves the burgers too.