Would you like a side of Guns 'N' Roses, The Eagles, Green Day and The Doors as you step inside a Galway cottage predestined to be a punk of a joint?
In the brand new Burgatory, in Galway’s Spanish Arch, it’s almost as if a shack from the Midwestern United States flew across the Atlantic and rooted itself in the proud West coast city of Ireland.
Previously, Burgatory was a truck called Harlowe, which toured around festivals. But now owners Enda Hoolmaa and Tara Haugh have decided to root themselves in the heart of Galway's colourful Quay Lane.
This seems to be the modus operandi of the embracing soul of Galway, seen with Sheridan’s, Wa Café, and the formidable Dough Bros: you start with an itinerant truck or van or trestle table, and you end up with roots and a home.
It's admirable for a fast food joint to respect artisan producers such as The Friendly Farmer chicken and Castlemine Farm. Gone are the days of feeling guilty knowing that a majority of those miserable chicken fingers eaten on late nights after a few drinks come from unhappy birds. It's about time more casual joints followed Burgatory and followed this tradition of proudly declaring their provenance.
As for an eating experience, Burgatory is wonderfully unpretentious and cheerful. Hand cut chips with their skins left on make a proud announcement in a Falcon bowl. The Chili burger was an opportunity to forget all notions of eating as if you are dining with silver spoons, and getting down and dirty. The hand cut chips do a fabulous job of mopping up the drippings of red which ooze from this All American star of a burger.
So go ahead, and get your hands on Galway's attitude to Burgers. Burgatory is fun and affordable, and comes with a hefty sprinkle of rock and roll as a side dish.
