Blend Hamburger Gourmet Burger Joint / Restaurant

Les Halles / Rivoli - 1er / 2eme, Paris –

The French demand some class even from their fast food, but Blend Hamburger Gourmet takes the deluxe diner idea to another level with meats prepared by a famous French butcher and brioche buns handmade by a seasoned pastry chef.

Toto, we’re not in McDonalds anymore.

Each burger – six in all, plus one monthly special – is made with fresh ingredients like eggplant, bacon, fried onions, and imported Emmental cheese, and with each averaging fifteen minutes to prepare, it would be hard to describe the food as “fast” even without the constant line out the door.

Once past the sliding glass doors, patrons find themselves in a sparsely decorated room where close friends and total strangers are all squished awkwardly together at the handful of wood tables, while harried waiters dodge low-hanging black lamps as they whisk sweet potato fries from the kitchen.

The narrow space is chaotic and tight, but also highly modern, with neatly framed posters of burger-based quotations and the venue’s simple double-knifed logo lining the walls.

At ten Euros a pop, it would be hard to call these succulent patties low-priced, but given the diverse regular crowd of everyone from scruffy hipsters to dolled-up girls noshing before hitting a club, the meat certainly proves to bring people together.

Or maybe it’s the delectable desserts like Philadelphia cheesecake and marshmallow cupcakes.

Or maybe it’s just that Blend Hamburger Gourmet is culinary proof that great things sometimes come in small packages.