The Digbeth Dining Club

Last Friday, Alice and I took a walk down to Digbeth in Birmingham. If any of you don't know what Digbeth is, it's a small area of the city with some really different things. There is the Custard Factory, which is a little centre of vintage shops, craft shops and just stuff that's a bit different. I think of it as the Brick Lane of Birmingham, but much smaller! If you're in Birmingham, I recommend a visit.

However, this time, we were on a mission. We'd heard of a not-so-secret dining club that would be happening every Friday in March, in the back of Spotlight, a funky little bar just next to the Custard Factory. Of course, we had to get down there and see what all the fuss was about.

The point of the Dining Club is to celebrate food at it's best and mainly, street food. Street food is a craze that's been slowly taking over the cool bits of London for the past few years. Think of the kind of vans you may see at festivals, but with exceptional food. The point of it being served from a van/gazebo, means 100% of the focus is on the food and the flavour. No messing about with waitresses or tables, you queue up, hand over your money and they'll serve you what they do best. And boy, do they do it well.

There were four different stalls there when we went; The Meat Shack (unbelievable burgers), Jabberwocky (posh toasties), Van29 (chicken) and The Hungry Toad (burritos). We were eager beavers and got there quite early which was good for us as there was hardly a queue. I had one stall on my mind that I knew I needed to visit... The Meat Shack.

There was only a choice of 4 burgers on the menu but that was fine, I knew I just wanted a classic, cheesy burger.. The Mr C-Shack. I joined the queue and watched the chef putting the burgers together like a piece of art. As I handed over my money and waited for mine to be cooked I could hardly contain my excitement! When mine got handed over to me, I went and found a bench in the corner while I worked out where I would start.

Alice was pretty excited about tucking into her blue cheese burger

The Mr C-Shack was without a doubt the juiciest burger I've ever had! One bite into it and the juice just poured out onto the plate below. Everything about it was divine, but I have to say the meat definitely made it. Apparently it was all local beef and I had mine cooked medium so it was still nice and pink in the middle.

After enjoying the burger far too much, we began to get a bit chilly so popped inside the bar for a quick drink and to listen to the DJ who was blasting out hit after hit of old motown and soul records, my absolute favourite.

I had a brilliant night and will definitely be going back before the month is up to visit again. I just wish they'd have it every Friday! If you are in Birmingham during March and fancy going to the Dining Club, visit their website and check out which caterers are going to be there.

PS. By the time we left it was heaving and apparently they ran out of food before the end of the night so if you're serious about trying some food, don't leave it too late! It's open from 5pm.