Cured on Central Avenue in West Bridgford is one of those places that has been on my radar for ages. Almost every time I walk over that zebra crossing it fills my vision and cries out to me to come in. I know that it is not really an excuse but I never seemed to have enough lunch minutes in the bank to take the time to dine. This week however I decided to take an overdraft out on that lunch break bank so that I could try them out without worrying about getting back to that desk.

On their website they tell us that “Brunch and lunch grazers have a large selection of light dishes and soups to choose from and chunky slab sandwiches for those with a bigger appetite”.

I was going to be dining at the far end of that statement as I walked in through that door with a big appetite on this occasion.

I did ponder for a moment that really I should have been taking their name as a guide and sample some of their Charcuterie especially after reading on their website;

“We want to make charcuterie and cheeses accessible to all and our knowledgeable staff can advise or explain anything you need to know when it comes to our platters. We proudly pickle our own vegetables and cure our own meats where we can, our homemade honey roast ham for example has four delicious coating stages to it. Anything we don’t make ourselves we source from top local suppliers.”

Now I didn’t have the Charcuterie but I read a really good review of what they offer on another local food blog A Mug of Strong Tea which is a really good read. It also has made me understand that I have to come back and be a bit more discerning with my next choices from the menu.

This time though I was taking the name Cured in total vain as I decided that my soul needing saving and I needed to be ‘cured’ by something from the Burger section of their menu .

So what did I get?

The Hot Foreigner Burger

There were a lot of tempting combinations on the Burger Menu, such as the ‘Blues Burger’ (I think we can guess what this might be topped with?) described on the menu as “blue in name and blue by nature, gorgonzola and bacon” which sounded to be quite intriguing.

More offerings in the blue cheese theme came next with the offering of the ‘Brie My Sweet Heart’ which is topped with “lashes of melted brie and sweet onion marmalade”

I skipped past both of those and went straight to the bottom of the list where I found the ‘Hot Foreigner’ propping up the other burger listings. This is described as being “topped with spicy chorizo, Nduja and American cheese”. I am sorry that I am so predictable as I love chorizo and I do like American Cheese too.

I was surprised (Not sure why) at the size of this burger sandwich, the bun is filled with two beef patties, both smothered in molten cheese, plenty of crispy lettuce, red onion, slices of tomato and smeared with a nice relish which turned out to be that ‘Nduja’ “a spicy, spreadable pork sausage from Italy”

Lets have a look inside the Burger

Sometimes you just need to cut a Burger in half to get a good look at all the lovely layers. Sometimes you need to cut it in half to get your mouth around it. Today I needed to use both excuses. It was a bit of a mammoth beast.

Now I will admit that there was ‘no excuse’ to take a photograph, apart from a need to mark the occasion and for retrospective consummation by eye and mind (just mentally ate it again!)

Looking back I am amazed at how packed out the filling is, you really did get a great big feast when you order this burger, and even though it may feel to be a tad expensive for lunch at £12.95, I felt it was worth it. I didn’t really need to eat again for the day.

A little tip if you live locally and fancy trying this burger but don’t want to pay that price? Try looking on Deliveroo, I see that you can get it delivered for £9.99 and you can get a smaller ‘kids sized’ version for £7

Cured in West Bridgford is located at 33/35 Central Avenue right in the heart of café society.

You can keep up to date with what is happening and the special offers such as 2-4-1 Posh Hot Dogs on their Facebook  page and on their Twitter feed