Bun: 9/20
For those unfamiliar with the Portuguese language, the “Pão” in MouraPão, means bread and that they operate their business as both a bakery and cafe. And being honest, MouraPão is one of the best bakeries in the Algarve. So it was with a fair degree of shock that their sesame seed encrusted brioche bun disappointed. Scan our photos. Doesn’t the bun appear light, fluffy and inviting looking? It held up well to a cut with the knife and kept structure while eating. The bun passed surface test but it was probably stale and a bit dry. If I had to guess, it would seem the bun was not fresh as the burger itself was tabled quickly and probably never sat under a heat lamp.
Toppings: 12/20
The Rustico comes standard equipped with bacon strips, crispy onion bits, tomato slices and lettuce. The bacon was the standout amongst the other toppings, perfectly cooked and with a nice strong smoky flavor. It is easy to tell quality bacon and MouraPão clearly has a top-notch Algarve source. While the bacon was the highlight, the crunchy onion bits were the opposite. It baffles me why restaurants are so determined to jam these “crunchy onion bits” into so many burgers. The Fried Onion Burgers was made famous in Oklahoma https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20230626-the-depression-burger-of-route-66 and the crispy onion variation came to us from American steakhouses. Best crispy onion burger I’ve had is Outback Steakhouse Bloomin’ Burger. Again, let’s be frank, MouraPão’s crispy onion does not inspire or add anything positive to this burger; tasting like the cardboard box they were delivered in. Moving on to the rest of toppings, the tomato was fresh and firm but the lettuce was a bagged salad mix. As this burger was overwhelmingly dry, using iceberg lettuce might have helped.
Condiments: 5/10
MouraPão’s Rustico comes with a lovely balsamico mayonnaise. Unfortunately I used up all the sauce trying to moisten up the first couple bites and beyond that, sort of lost the will to carry on.
Cheese: 5/10
The American Cheddar Cheese served in the Rustico is ok and nicely melted, but the flavor was lost to me. Maybe the burger needed another slice of the Cheddar or a stronger cheese all together?
Patty: 9/20
MouraPão prides itself on having quality ingredients and the beef in their patty felt top quality to me. The problem is that the patty was dry, in a bad way. So dry was this patty, it sort of defeated the burger. Meaning, nothing of the taste seems to flow between the components. Looking at the photo, you could say this patty is over-cooked. Note though, there is no greasy look to this patty and therein I think is the true culprit… the beef used it too lean.
Taste: 9/20
Overall taste was just below passing level. While there are quality components throughout the Rustico’s construction, the final product is just short of flavorful in any sort of enjoyable way.
