Smokey burgers, steak sandwiches and ‘not burgers’
This month, the dishes we recommend mostly fall under the umbrella of seasonal comfort food. We’ve got the best burgers, autumnal balls of pumpkin spiced rice and chilli spiked dishes to blow the cobwebs away.
Here are half a dozen things we recommend you eat and enjoy this month.
Smoky B Burger - Little Red Food Truck (£7.50. Meal deal of burger, fries and soft drink for £10, or burger fries and a beer for £12.50)
The Little Red Food Truck has returned to Trinity Kitchen with an array of burgers. The Smoky B with extra bacon is a succulent and well-seasoned beef patty with lashings of BBQ sauce, pickled gherkins, cheese, and crispy onion. These guys focus on the simple things that make a burger excellent, it’s all about that bun and letting the steam work its magic. A side of chips is essential, fluffy in the centre and crispy golden on the outside. This has been brought to you by the team from Sela Bar, and they’re also launching a new place in Chapel Allerton called Canteen. At the moment they’re doing weekend pop ups, and we’re looking forward to their permanent opening hours in a couple of months. Anja Madhvani
Little Red Food Truck, 27 Albion Street, Leeds, LS1 5ER
Picanha Steak Sandwich - Bread & Butter Churrasco BBQ, Assembly Underground (£9)
My only surprise is that I haven’t already made this my dish of the month many times over, because this is possibly the finest sandwich in Leeds. And I’m definitely a sandwich man. Thin strips of succulent, pink picanha (or rump cap) stuffed into a crusty vessel that can scarcely contain the wonders within. There’s a bit of tomato and what have you and that’s all good, but I’m generally too busy admiring the colour, the texture and the superb flavour of the meat to really notice. Throw in some of the friendliest service around, some impressively sharp knives and a side of cassava fries, and you’re presented with a fine meal indeed - a stone-cold bargain too. The perfect way to soak up the quite frankly mental 50 beers on tap that Assembly has to keep you going. Simon Richardson
Bread and Butter Churrasco BBQ, Assembly Underground, 12 Great George Street, Leeds LS1 3AL
Pumpkin and Sage Arancini - Sarto (£3)
New pasta joint Sarto’s pumpkin and sage arancini is the size of a tennis ball. Oozing with Cornish cheddar, it’s so crispy it could almost be baked not fried. The silky blob of aioli has just the right amount of lemon zest to lift the rich rice to a place of utter ambrosia. Sorry Stuzzi, this arancini is where it’s at. And at £3.00 a piece, it’s unbelievable value. Sarah Cotterill
Sarto, Munro House, Duke St, Leeds, LS9 8AG
Octopus and Papada - Ibérica (£12)
If the word ‘tapas’ brings to mind too many potatoes and constant anxiety over whether someone will eat the last meatball without your permission, you’re long overdue a trip to Ibérica. Each mouthful of this inventive dish captures a world of flavour, with meaty yet tender fried octopus pairing perfecting with confit pork, and an addictive chipotle mayonnaise, which our waitress boldly claimed she could drink by the bottle. The finishing touch comes in the form of the fresh basil and mint leaves that sit atop this creation – adding a delicate freshness to round off every bite. Kate Ryrie
Iberica, Hepper House, 17a East Parade, Leeds LS1 2BH
Not Meat Burger - The Cardigan Arms (£11.50 with chips)
Autumn is here, which means it’s compulsory law to find a solid pub in which to hide way from the sleet, chat some nonsense with your pals and fill your belly with honest, hearty meals. I found myself at The Cardigan Arms midweek this month for one such evening, and after a look at their well-priced, eclectic menu, found myself ordering the Not Meat burger - a plant-based patty from the Beyond Meat company, slathered in vegan cheese and all the usual burger veg. While the Cardigan Arms can’t quite take credit for the make-up of the patty itself (I defy even the hardiest of carnivores to note the difference), they do deserve all the props for the delivery - juicy and sturdily assembled, the crisped bun sops up just the right amount of sauce and vegan cheese that actually tastes like cheese, without that dodgy coconut aftertaste. It all teams excellently with well-seasoned, hand-cut chips that actually taste like potato, with no real need for additional sauces. It’s not a meal that’ll ever reinvent a rulebook, but sometimes, classics are classics for a reason. Jenessa Williams
The Cadigan Arms, 364 Kirkstall Rd, Leeds LS4 2HQ
Pad Ga-Prao - Thai Aroy Dee (£5.95)
For someone who spends a significant chunk of time either in restaurants or blethering on about them, it’s slightly embarrassing to admit that my maiden visit to the institution that is Thai Aroy Dee took place only this month. Turns out you lot were right: it’s pretty good, isn’t it? In a hungover show of bravado I went in heavy on the Pad Ga-Prao, a generous mound of minced meat (chicken in this instance) that looks innocent enough but whose maximum five chilli spice rating shakes me out of my Sunday stupor from the first gob-full. Its perspiration-inducing dry heat is addictive and, after a heavy one the previous night, enlivening. The shouty service has a similarly rousing effect. Richard Miller
Thai Aroy Dee,120-122 Vicar Lane, LS2 7NL
