No one has to sign up for a BurgerMonday meatup to have a burger at any of its host restaurants. That’s why at every BurgerMonday I offer an event sweetener or two not available to the general public.  For the two sold-out sittings of El Doble Night, a celebration of the double cheeseburger at Byron on 24 May, everyone got to spoon youngandfoodish El Doble sauce on their DCB as well as take home a jar of that homemade Basque-style condiment.

I’d like to think my sauce was responsible for this meatup’s success. But in the end it is the shared experience, more than the exclusive extras, that make BurgerMondays truly special. The buzz is in the numbers, the rows of burgers on two sides of long tables, the community of focused food enthusiasts who come together for a single purpose or, in the exceptional case of El Doble Night, a double purpose.

The next BurgerMonday, VCBC Night, is 7 June at Bob Bob Ricard in London’s Soho.

The next youngandfoodish Steak Frites Tasting Dinner will be Tuesday 25 May in the private dining room of Racine Restaurant in London.

The menu will again feature three steak classics – onglet aux échalottes, filet au poivre, côte de boeuf – prepared by chef Henry Harris with the finest cuts of dry-aged, grass-fed beef selected by Darragh O’Shea of the great London butcher O’Shea’s of Knightsbridge. Each steak will be matched to a red wine selected by Peter Lowe of Berkmann Wine Cellars:

Space is limited. Book now.

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Mastering the cuts – watch the videos

Why do you love steak frites? – see the winning response in #steakfrites twitter competiton

The first Pizza Tuesday will be held on 02/02 at 7:30pm at Datte Foco (see map), a new N16 pizzeria devoted to pizza al taglio (“cut” pizza) and pizza bianca romana. Brushed with olive oil and sprinkled with salt and rosemary, Rome’s “white pizza” is comparable to focaccia, only its crispier, with irregular air pockets that surrender delightfully to the chew. Pizzaiolo Herbie Leonelli’s Londinese version bears the rough topography unique to authentic pizza bianca romana.

For Pizza Tuesday Leonelli will serve his bianca as a starter with an assortment of Italian cheeses and salume. A succession of pizza al taglio will follow, each bearing different toppings or combinations. One particularly succulent topping will be smuggled into London from Rome for the occasion. To conclude, Leonelli will bring back the bianca, this time split open for two takes on “stuffed” pizza ripiena. The fee for this PizzaTuesday, including wine or beer, is £18. Space is limited.