Tongue’n’Cheek

I’m a huge fan of off-​cuts of meat, so when I saw a place that did ox heart and beef burgers, I was ready to give it a go (and it also has given me a fantastic idea to do the same at home).
I had the Belly Connection because I really wanted to try their burger (but they had a cheese steak on special that looked massive and out of this world!) and I really couldn’t decide between it and the original, but you can always sell me on pork belly and Gorgonzola. So have a burger, throw on the pork belly and Gorgonzola with some pickled onions and lettuce, and you’re good to go.
The burger itself was really juicy. Definitely pink bits in the middle, but I would have preferred it a bit more medium-​rare. (However, maybe with the ox heart it needs a bit more cooking? Who knows?) There was so much juice that it piled up at the bottom of the paper they placed it in. And it was GOOD! Like super good.
The only thing that let it down a bit was the bun. It’s a bit dry and hard to bite through, but it doesn’t deter from the tastiness of the meat. I’m definitely curious about the original now, as well as their pork sandwiches. And if they’re doing the cheese steak again, that might be at the top of my list to try again.

Love the street food market outside the Gherkin on Thursdays! And if you’re really lucky, Tongue n Cheek will be there serving up Ox Heart burgers and Pork Cheek Subs! This week I decided to go with the Pork Cheek Sub which has the most tender and luscious meat that you can imagine and spicy horseradishy slaw on a hoagie roll. It was excellent, if not a bit messy. But oh well that’s what street food is supposed to be like! My coworker got the Ox heart burger WITH pork belly on top which really looked amazing and juicy and tender and cooked JUST passed medium rare which I think is perfect for street food. I’ll be going back very very soon. Even though it’s cold outside, and you might have to wait in a queue for a bit, it’s definitely worth it!

It seems that every place has its own take on the humble burger. They change the type of cheese, debate about whether or not to add pickle, or just throw pretty much anything on top. Some of the top shops start playing with the quality of meat and creating their own blends of chuck, sirloin, and short rib. And then you have Tongue’n’Cheek who have decided to celebrate some of the lesser known cuts of meat. In this case: ox heart.
For those of you that enjoy the thrill of eating unusual meats, this is the burger for you. For those that don’t, pretend it’s just regular old beef and take a bite. After that first one, I guarantee you won’t stop until it’s all gone. And then you’ll probably want to order another one.
The star of the show here is the Heartbreaker burger. Not to be confused with the Heart Attack burger slung by some greasy shops in the US, this blend of ox heart and aged beef is juicy, full of beefy flavour, and incredibly tender. Combined with some spicy chimichurri sauce (a tad unusual for a burger) which brings both heat and some necessary acidity to cut through the rich marbling of the patty and then placed on a soft bun, this burger knocks it out of the park.
Areas for improvement would be a better bun given the brioche and demi-​brioche offerings of most of the best places which absorb more juices than a typical burger bun however I understand the difficulty of doing that when running a street food stall. I’d love a bit more crunch to it either by adding some thicker bits in the chimichurri sauce, some fresh lettuce, or a bit of bacon.
Overall, Tongue’n’Cheek is giving the burger leaderboard something to think about and I’m going to award it the 3^rd spot. Sorry Hawksmoor… you’re number 4 now.
Location wise… you find it where all good Eat St Traders are — mainly KX Blvd and London Street Feast although they did make an appearance at the International Food Festival at Southbank.