As an American, I have an almost biological instinct for what constitutes a real “burger.” Gotta have a nice, lightly toasted, domed bun. Gotta have some lettuce, tomatoes and onions, and a touch of pickles. Gotta top it with a slice of melted American cheese, though this is optional for me. And it’s gotta have what I’ll call Big Beef Flavor.
The Wildflour Burger has all that, and I must admit, I’m a late convert. I’d spent so much time exploring their other menu innovations, the Wildflour Burger had slipped my attention, even though it was there on the menu all this time. When I heard that chef Ana De Ocampo, who runs the seven Wildflour branches, was now offering the burger exclusively as a delivery item, I was intrigued.
So what can we say about the Wildflour Burger?
It’s hearty, tall, with almost an overwhelming mouthful of Canadian beef, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle, special dressing and, of course, melted cheese.
This is why some people fall off the vegan wagon.
The architecture — a domed Brioche bun — surrounds a flavor package that’s as well constructed as a space capsule. Wildflour does this classic just right.
Even with their seven awesomely designed branches, De Ocampo knows that people still want home delivery now, so an online pivot was in order: Wildflour has redesigned its ordering app and online services to cater to whichever virtual-only brands you want brought straight to your home — whether it’s burgers, Wildflour Pizza, Wildflour Rotisserie Chicken, or Wildflour Breakfast/Lunch/Diner (BLD) Trays.
That’s right: the burger is now an online-delivery item, which you can order using the Wildflour App.
“As casually and effortlessly as we eat a burger, they should be as easy to get in yours hands whenever the moment demands,” says De Ocampo. “Why drive out for it? Stay in your jammies, on your couch, with this morning’s coffee stain still on your shirt. We’ll get your burger to you!”
They’ve also been setting up new cloud kitchen locations to widen the Wildflour footprint across Metro Manila and meet growing demand. “We currently manage 45 online stores at the moment across 10 different brands and multiple channels,” says De Ocampo.
Goes to show that streamlining is not only easier, it’s tastier.
We received the classic Wildflour Burgers in sturdy cardboard boxes, with a side order of French fries. (They also offer onion rings and vanilla, strawberry and chocolate milkshakes for delivery.)
As mentioned, the burger lives up to my American burger memory test — but like all of Wildflour’s innovations, they add their own special twists. Ana says they have always used Canadian beef “from the beginning, as this is the best quality beef we can get.” (They also use it for their Rib Eye Steak Frites, which I definitely will try next time I’m dining out, fingers crossed.)
On first bite, it’s the slight buttery freshness of the brioche bun that signals this is lovingly made in-house. “Since our bedrock is our bakery, it would be a shame if we didn’t make our bun as fresh from the oven as possible,” she says.
Going back to the beginning, Ana says their team wanted to recapture a certain comforting flavor profile. “Our team has always talked about how comforting a good, ol’ fashioned diner burger is. Just like many Wildflour favorites, we take comfort classics and whip them up with the best-quality ingredients we can source locally.”
Of course, I had to ask what makes a “perfect burger” for Ana. “In a burger, the beef patty is, of course, the star — with enough char, juice and tenderness to make it belt memorable notes in your mouth,” she says. But then, staying with the musical analogy, she compares it to a performing diva — sorta like Diana Ross and her Supremes: “Consider the bun and everything else as backup singers. Each is employed to bring out the best in that meat’s performance. And the butter we slather on the bun before it’s toasted makes for really tasty choreography that’ll make you want to shake your own buns.”
Okay, that might be as far as I’m willing to take that analogy. But I like the way Ana likens their burger to a performance. “What gives our burger its Wildflour DNA is that it isn’t just the patty that gets diva status; it’s every element used in its assembly,” she says. “So everything — from plucking lettuce at its crispest to the freshness and tastiness of our bun — is what gives this classic its twist.”
And the “secret sauce” shall remain a secret, as every good burger chef knows.
Finally, with many people seeking plant-based options to satisfy their burger cravings these days, I asked if Wildflour was going that route anytime soon.
“Like all items that end up on Wildflour’s menu, it’s the stuff we know we can make excellently. And one of those things is grilling up the best all-meat burger possible.” But she promises: “When we arrive at doing the same for vegan burgers, you’ll see it on the menu as well.”
Hopefully, for delivery.
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Get the Wildflour PH app now to order Wildflour food for delivery, or visit them online at wildflour.com.ph. Like @WildflourBurger on Instagram.