Eating the Ark at Carne Restaurant

Here he can indulge in Fiorentina, sirloin, rib eye, hanger, lamb, pork, wildebeest, mixed game and rump. That’s not to mention the chicken, kidneys, liver or sweetbreads. But last week he was tucking into a burger served with thin-cut fries but, interestingly, no bun.

I asked the waiter about this “no-bun” burger and cheekily suggested it was possibly available at an extra charge, but he was unfazed. “It’s the way we serve it,” he explained. Like the rest of the meat I have tried from this menu the burger was very good – but is a beef patty without a bun really allowed to be called a hamburger?

Isn’t the burger, as an object, supposed to resemble a sandwich (as the Americans call a burger), i.e. take the form of a patty between two buns so that you can take it in your hand and eat it while driving down Route 66? For me, the ideal burger is created by the texture of a loose-grained, thick, hand-made patty held between the contrasting soft white bun, the inside of which is toasted. Condiments are optional, but a burger is essentially meat and bread.

If you turn to Wikipedia, there are a number of Americans who claim to have created the original hamburger, but they are all meat and bread creations. It is only much later in the riveting article (history, hamburgers today and E. Coli) that an international variation (Japan’s) is mentioned as not using a bun. Carne SA is operated by the very Italian Giorgio Nava, but Wiki does not elaborate on any Italian perversions in burger taste. Interestingly though, South Africa gets a mention as the country where burgers are topped with a hot mustard and mayonnaise sauce. Did any of you know about this?

Anyway, Carne SA’s peculiar burger can easily be forgiven amongst the variety and quality on the menu. This is the place to take your next meat craving. It’s also a gloriously sexy venue with a great bar area upstairs.

Carne SA. 70 Keerom Street. 021 424 3460