05\ THE DIRTY CHEESEBURGER

Dirty Burger, 79 Highgate Road, Kentish Town, London

HEART IN A BOX

The first Dirty Burger ‘shack’ opened to little fanfare in the car park of a Chicken Shop in Kentish Town in 2012. Its beginnings may have been inauspicious – and with a meagre 241 calories per serving the name somewhat dubious – but, backed by the mighty Soho House group, openings in Vauxhall, Whitechapel, and Shoreditch quickly followed.

It helps that the burgers aren’t half bad, either. Although, they do relinquish more of their ‘dirty’ credentials by foregoing processed cheese in favour of proper British cheddar (packing roughly 50% less sodium, but a whole lot more flavour). Gone too are storebought pickles, replaced by thick slices of Spanish gherkin, which encourage healthy gut bacteria and boast up to 35mg of the blood-pressure regulating mineral potassium to boot.

Likewise, its bacon is specially selected and smoke-cured, providing you with around 3g of heart-healthy monounsaturated fats, as well as bonus B vitamins. Finally, the main event: 99% beef patties, incorporating sirloin, rump steak and bone marrow, which adds an additional dollop of vitamin A to round out the burger’s cardiovascular virtues. In short, when it comes to quality nutrition, this dish is your heart’s true desire.