Burger Brief #002The Fox & Hound, Frankfurt

This is the best burger I have found to date in Frankfurt. It is also one of the pricier burgers. I realize that several of the steak houses may have burgers, and they may be pricier, and they may even be better, but I generally don't go to steak houses to eat burgers ... do you?

The Fox & Hound was one of the first expat hangouts I found in Frankfurt. Actually, I did not find it ... I was shown the aparment immediately above it. The nice german realtor lady said, "And it is just above an English Pub!" and I remember saying, "Yeah, but it's just above an English Pub." I like Pubs in general, but I don't care to live above one unless I am the owner. But it was worth a trip, and has continued to be so over the years.

The meat is hand-shaped ground beef, meaning that it is fresh and juicy. The bun is soft but moist enough that it stays together despite the juice. This particular model included cheese and bacon. The cheese was a bit thin, but the bacon was that nice English streaky bacon in a large slice ... none of those panty-waist thin American slices ... and it will bring out the bulldog in you to get a bite out of it, but it is good. The Chips (fries to those of you from Rio Linda) are big and tasty ... they think I am crazy, but I always ask for the Malt Vinegar for the chips. Strange American ways. And the slaw has good taste. Wish there was more of it, but most people don't, so whatever. There is also a little L&T on the side, but you add it to your burger at your own risk. Downer is that mustard comes in packets, but if you are OCD I guess that is OK.

The burgers start somewhere around EUR 7, and when you add cheese, bacon, etc. they can top EUR 10. With a large Coke and a tip, it came to EUR 16.00 ... pricey, but good. I could have had a Stout or whatever for probably little or nothing more than the Coke.

The atmosphere is pleasant, especially in summer when you can spill out to the surrounding garden. It get's crowded at lunch and dinner, and especially at game times, when they have footy on the telly, so the garden is a nice escape if you are not into that. I would say the mix of people is fairly balanced between expats as well as Anglophile Germans. On alternating Sunday's they have pub quiz that allegedly starts at 20:00 hours. If you are a Yank, you have a 1 in 200 chance of winning, but you will often get the ones that the pro's never get. And on weekends you can get the Full Monty, if that is your inclination.

They have morphed this one into several other locations, such as Fox & Fiddle in the middle of town near the Turmpalast, and the Fox & Grapes in Sachsenhausen. I've been to Fox & Fiddle, and it was equally good. Have not been to Fox & Grapes.

They had a web-site, but it is currently re-directing to an unrelated web-page.

Go there, watch a football game, and have a burger. Tell them Der Burgermeister sent you. You won't get anything for it other than a puzzled look, but they might realize why some crazy yank was pointing a camera at his lunch one day.

Fox & Hound
Niedenau 2
60325 Frankfurt
Tel: (069) 9720 2009

50° 06' 39" N
08° 39' 45" E