I Want an American Cheeseburger with Tony Stark

Food has always been a comfort to me, and nothing moreso than the juicy delight that is a proper American-style cheeseburger. The succulent beef, preferably lovingly licked by the fiery fingers of a flame grill, the melted cheese, maybe a rasher of perfectly crisped bacon, some lettuce, a couple of slices of tomato, a little mustard, a little ketchup, all sandwiched between a lightly-toasted bun. Absolute perfection. But heaven forbid there be any pickles!

During my time in Japan, I will freely admit that in a bid to combat the inevitable homesickness (and as such missing of comfort foods), a large percentage of my monthly budget found itself spent on a delectable mix of Hard Rock Cafe legendary burgers and sandwiches from the Hawaiian burger specialists Kua Aina. 

Sure there were things I missed more; cheese, Marmite, Mars Bars and anything sausage-based (dear lord there were times I genuinely would have killed for toad in the hole), but at least a good burger (if overpriced) burger was always just a short car ride away.

So we've been living in Bournemouth for precisely two weeks now, and have been counting the pennies until payday comes. As such, food has been any number of creative takes on pastas, stews and rice dishes. Having worked in kitchens on and off for the last decade, I can get pretty innovative with my cooking, so at least we're getting a varied diet.

Sometimes, however, you just need a bit of stodge. Having had little in the way of proper comfort food in the last fortnight (save, admittedly, for a darn good turkey roast I threw together on Sunday), and having had a redonkulously long day, I found myself craving something junky.

So thank The Lord for Burger King. I, like our good friend Tony Stark, will fight to the death over BK's superiority over other burger chains, and agree that when you've got the "urge", there is no better place to go. 99p for a cheeseburger, my stomach and cravings were sated without my wallet being emptied.

Roll on payday, 'cause papa needs an enchilada...