Burger Theory

Disclosure: I was invited to dine as a guest

When Brad and I first started dating, we’d often find ourselves grabbing burgers at least once every one or two weeks. (Almost) six years later, it’s more like every couple of months. 

Just can’t get away as much as you used to when you were 21…

So when I do have a burger now, it better be a good one. These days we’re definitely spoilt with options, so when Burger Theory came into the scene, or more specifically the Melbourne scene, they’ve been in Adelaide since 2010, I was interested to see what they had to offer.

Walk into (or eventually stumble in, the entrance isn’t super clear) the eatery, joined next Tuxedo Cat, on Latrobe street, and you’re greeted by their spick and span prep room where all their meat (whole chuck steak muscles) and produce hangs out until it’s ground and formed into patties (which is done daily). 

This treatment isn’t just limited to their beef, the guys care about everything that goes into their burgers; chicken patties are made from free range chicken and fried to order, and for vegos the falafel patties are made in house, so it’s all good. 

The burger menu is short and sweet; the guys started from a truck originally and as such have stayed faithful to their original menu for the most part. 

I grab the #1 Beef Burger, which is as classic as you can get; beef patty (cooked medium), American cheese, crunchy iceberg, tomato and their homemade ‘truck sauce’ a tangy mayo. The only difference is that I get mine wrapped in lettuce leaves to keep my gluten-intolerant gut a little more pleased. 

It isn’t pretty, but it is delicious; the patty is perfectly pink and I love a burger that’s generous with the mayo. It’s very, very moreish and down the hatch without much of a thought!

My Canadian colleague Sarah got the Original Fried Chicken Burger, bun n’ all, with pickles and ‘special sauce’. Can I just say yum? The bite I had the chicken was so tender and lovely, and I just loved how zesty the pickles were. ‘Special sauce’ is also more mayo-y delicious goodness. 

We also got the spicy loaded fries; which is way dangerously delicious. Kimchi, gochujang sauce, sour cream and bacon bits are surely what all your dreams are made of. Although I’m a crispy chip kind of person, I actually liked the soggier chips under all the kimchi as it just absorbed all the flavour; big of spicy, bit of sour, bit of kick; all yum. And moreish. You will finish these despite how big they look!

When I was in the States, one thing that I ended up loving so much more than I was expecting was the Shake Shake….shakes (funnily enough). Not the burgers. I’m not quite sure how they do it, but I just love how thick and creamy and dense the shakes are, and also totally flavoursome without tasting artificial. 

Yet for whatever reason; we just can’t seem to emulate it back in Australia and I’m never quite satisfied whenever I order a milkshake (there’s also a good chance I don’t have enough milkshakes either). 

But Burger Theory has now come to my rescue. The chocolate shake I had, had me on cloud nine. Thick, dense, creamy, and so, so, so chocolatey. Highly recommended if you’ve had the same ‘Shake Shack shake’ deficiency that I have had. 

Although we are kind of reaching peak ‘burger’ in Melbourne, Burger Theory actually is a great contribution to the scene, especially on the Latrobe side of town where the burger offerings are a little leaner (unless you count Grill’d these days…?)

Burger Theory

293 Latrobe Street

Melbourne 3000

 

Brother Burger South Yarra

Disclosure: I was invited to dine as a guest

So the last time I wrote a review on Brother Burger and the Marvellous Brew, I was quite well past tipsy and just remember making happy gurgling sounds throughout my meal and getting way too excited over spiked milkshakes. 

Drunk Asians, we’re a great time. 

So when I was offered the opportunity to visit the newly opened second store of Brother Burger, I was definitely keen to see what I had forgotten in my alcohol glazed memory. 

The first Brother Burger I recall being dark, and quite cosy. The South Yarra outlet, whilst dark as well, is anything but cosy; instead it’s an absolutely huge space, with high ceilings, moody lighting, meat grinders lining the wall (mildly macabre), and plenty of plush booth and red seats for all. 

Brother Burger was pumping on a Saturday night, and understandably, since the space has cute little booths just fit for two and huge communal tables for big family gatherings. There’s also not a lot of options for burgers down this end of Chapel, so Brother Burger is filling a nice little gap in the market. 

We get a seat at the counter, facing the kitchen where all the action is happening. It’s impressive watching the assembly line of burgers go through it’s paces and god damn, it smelt amazing.

What sets Brother Burger apart, are their burger patties, 100 percent full blood wagyu, and the fact they bake their own bread in house…you can only imagine how big that kitchen must be! 

I keep things simple, going with the Jane, 100% wagyu beef patty with lettuce, house-made pickles, mustard mayo and ketchup. I got her doubly cheesy as well. On a gluten free bun of course. 

And I must admit I’ve promptly forgotten what Brad got…but he had two patties. That’s all that matters.

The patties are cooked medium, blushing pink inside, and are as promised, juicy and very tasty. I do enjoy how molten the cheese is on top, although I find the patty a bit on the smaller side for my liking, as I like a little more meat to my bread ratio. 

The gluten free buns are also baked in house…and they’re good. Really good. I think Tuckshop Takeaway are still my favourite gluten free buns, but these don’t come too far behind. 

We also get a serve of onion rings, golden crispy rings which hit the spot, and a serve of french fries, which come out exactly as expected. I know the sauces are made in house, but it seems a bit tight to charge $1 for ketchup...

I enjoyed the food at Brother Burger, it’s not the kind of place I would go out of my way for to get to, but if I’m in the area and in the mood for a burger, certainly somewhere I would hit up again. The only thing that I found detracted from the experience was the fact that none of the staff that we interacted with seemed like they were enjoying themselves! Surely burgers are fun? Or maybe it’s just the Chapel Street crowd that’s not? Or maybe it’s just the hipster attitude that I’m not sure on how to interact with anymore? Who knows.

Brother Burger and the Marvellous Brew

560 Chapel Street

South Yarra

 

8Bit Burger

So it may not be totally obvious, but if you have followed me on Instagram, you may or may not know that I’m a bit of a nerd. When I joined BrandWorks each week, someone in the office did a ‘Get to know you’ presentation, where we shared pictures of our childhood growing up and the things we liked etc. 

I casually popped up one photo of me in a room with a bunch of tv’s, guys and a video game controller in hand and mentioned I used to play in video game tournaments (not very seriously though mind you) and was met with a ‘WAIT UP. REALLY?!’

It’s not that unusual surely?

So when 8 Bit burger opened up, the gentle video game nostalgia just warmed my heart, so Brad and I made a trip over to the other side of town to meet up with friends, and get a burger fix. 

Before meeting our friends, Brad and I popped into Common Galaxia for our coffee and chai fixes. I loved that the space wasn’t too busy, and the counter seats by the window were just perfect for a little quiet time, watching all the cute little dogs that were walked by.

We also attempted to hunt for Olympic Doughnuts, and after walking all around the train station 3 or 4 times, and Brad getting a bit irritated at me, we realised that they were actually closed. Bummer!

But eventually, we made our way to 8Bit, bringing an unexpected mix of grunge, cool, edge and brightness to an area that’s still a wee bit daggy. 

8Bit isn’t very big, we were four, but there are only a couple of table style seats, the rest being high top counter seating, which isn’t usually so conducive for a group. And then waiting for four seats to open up? It takes a while. Even at 2pm in the afternoon on a Sunday, I was so surprised just how many people were coming in! Surely lunch for most people is at 12…?

While waiting, I scoffed down a peanut butter milkshake. The wait certainly outlasted the milkshake; although it was not quite Shake Shack level goodness, it was very close, and probably one of my favourite milkshakes in Melbourne. You can actually tell peanut butter (the chunky kind) has actually been included in the milkshake, through the texture and the intensity of flavour. 

 We eventually got a seat at the counter facing the kitchen, which is a clean, systematic and efficient machine, pumping out burger after burger, each looking as good as the next, with no muss or fuss. 

The burgers are visually stunning, bursting out of the little white box holder, they aren’t super big, but they are voluminous. Brad went big with his Double Dragon, with double beef patties, double cheese, double bacon, pickles, mustard, lettuce and 8 Bit sauce. The one bit I had and I found it was all there. Plenty of flavour, well cooked patty, soft and sweet bun. Yum. 

I opted for the After Burner, beef, tomato, red onion, lettuce, cheese, chilli sauce, jalapeños and chipotle mayo, without the bun, so that it was gluten free. Unfortunately, the bun free option is not quite as sexy, I was hoping to have lettuce leaves wrapped around so that I could still hold and eat it in a traditional burger way.

However, this didn’t stop it from being delicious. The generous topping of jalapeños is what made this for me, providing a juiciness and just enough heat, cutting through the richness of the patty. I did feel that they could’ve given me a little more lettuce or something though, considering I was having no bun…

We also got some cheese and bacon fries, which looked great, and were generally pretty good, but didn’t wow me too much. The chips were a bit soggier than I would like (I am aware that the cheese sauce will make them a bit soggy, but even then, I don’t think these were crispy to begin with), however, you can’t really be too upset when there’s bacon in the picture, although again, I think these would have benefitted by having some crispy pieces of bacon included for some texture…

In all, 8Bit is a good burger showing, and surely a welcome addition to the food scene out west. I probably wouldn’t trek out just to have it, but if I was on that side of town, would be more than happy to drop in. I guess we’re pretty spoilt out east and in the city already anyway…although them shakes are pretty darn good…

Common Galaxia

3/130 Victoria Street

Seddon

VIC 3011

8Bit Burger

8 Droop Street

Footscray

Vic 3011

Grand Trailer Park Taverna

Disclosure: I was invited to the launch of Grand Trailer Park Taverna, but returned on my own dollar

Burgers. We’re saturated in them. How much better can minced cow, squashed between two buns get? When you think about it, surely there’s not much more we can do, but then you come across Grand Trailer Park Taverna, and there’s nothing else you can think about.

But when you’re carrying the prestige that Dandenong Pavillion has with you, for some of the best darned burgers in Melbourne, you had better live up to it! And fortunately they do. Grand Trailer Park Taverna has opened up in the city with a bang, and damn. They’ve really cut the mustard. They do good burgers. 

I was lucky enough to snag an invite to the launch, and bounded up the hidden set of stairs on the corner of Bourke and Exhibition, up into a room with caravans retrofitted as booths, picnic style wooden tables and chairs, and a whole lot of kitsch cuteness. It was colourful and playful with the beats spinning in the background; but I had a whole lot of tummy rumbling going on!

Fortunately, they were quick to dispense the mini burgers, and we were not disappointed. We tucked into McDowell’s, classics with Aussie beef patties, American cheddar cheese, Swiss cheese, lettuce and McDowell sauce. The ‘Chunk’ was a serious hit amongst the group, with jalapeño’s and gherkins and caramelised onion adding a real bite and depth of flavour. 

The Francis Underwood also totally slayed us towards the end of the night, with beef patties, American cheddar cheese, tomato, burger lettuce and the creme de la creme, a potato mac and cheese croquette. Slay me!

Let’s not forget the chips, which may not be as crunchy as I usually like them, but damn, hand cut chips are just the bomb. Hints of potato skin left, heaps of flavour. Loving it.

We also got to try the delightfully boozy salted caramel milkshake, healthily spiked with Markers Mark Bourbon. Whoo! Don’t let the kids get this one! Although boozy, it was still super tasty with the sweetness of the caramel coming up in the aftermath of the punch of bourbon. 

Just as we were about to leave, desserts came out, and I certainly had no regrets staying to try them. The Return of the Mack; premium vanilla ice-cream, warm chocolate sponge cake, warm chocolate sauce and whipped cream was one of the most simple, but most enjoyable desserts I have had recently, the quality of the chocolate and ice-cream really coming through. 

We also got a little sample of their Wizz Fizz Ice-cream, 3 mini waffles cones filled with that delectably smooth ice-cream, and coated with house made Wizz Fizz. You should have seen me. I was a sight, with my happy little kids dance as the Wizz Fizz fizzled and tickle the mouth. So playful and so much fun. I felt like I was 5 again.

Since the launch party, I have revisited with Brad and a friend, where I tucked into an Ivan Drogo, but ‘protein style’ (or that’s what they call it at In-n-Out…which is one of their inspirations), which means it’s sandwiched between lettuce leaves instead of bread. So it’s gluten free, and gives your waistline a little more peace of mind. Just a little.

The Ivan Drogo is a sexy little beast, with premium Aussie beef patties, American cheddar cheese, crispy bacon, black Russian tomato, sliced beetroot and tsar burger sauce. Just yum. Juicy, well rounded in flavour, and that tsar burger sauce? Mayo-y heaven. I was contemplating removing my bacon, I know blasphemy, as I was feeling a little bit ‘meated’ out for the week (mum had picked up a giant leg of ham and loads of bacon from Istra earlier in the week), but once I had it all in one bite…there was no changing anything! Loved the crunch of the lettuce as well. 

We also tried the Ace of Spades dessert, a Nutella parfait with Nutella ice magic, house made marshmallow and roasted hazelnuts. If you’re not a chocolate lover, you better stay away. If though, like me, you would like to regularly bathe in a bath of chocolate…by all means, this is your dessert! I loved the texture of the ice magic when it had hardened, as there was still a nice and smooth softness to it and it was densely rich in chocolatey flavour. Swoon.

We also had more of the milkshakes, this time the salted caramel milkshake can topped with maple bacon (as every bourbon cocktail should). The kinder surprise with frangelico and baileys was a smooth and chocolatey delight, you could hardly taste the alcohol in it, but the peanut butter and jelly on the other hand, solidly smacked you in the face with rum. Woah. But like the salted caramel, the peanut butter and jelly flavours sneaked up as the flavour of the rum subsided in the mouth. 

I was certainly a little bit more intoxicated than I had planned to be that night!

Grand Trailer Park Taverna is already pumping, full steam ahead, but even on a Friday night, I found the turnover time very reasonable, we only waited for about 10 minutes or so and they were very keen to make sure we were seated as soon as possible, and the ordering at the bar system makes ordering and receiving your food very simple and straight forward. I was immensely impressed during my second visit just how fast our burgers came out after ordering. It could not have been more than 5 or 10 minutes. Maximum. 

And on top of that, even with how busy they are, all the staff are just so darned nice, which to be honest, is a little bit unexpected in what you would think is a super hipster joint. 

I’m popping by later this week with the whole office, and I’m super excited, because that means waffles for all….

Grand Trailer Park Taverna

87 Bourke Street

Melbourne CBD

Tuck Shop Take Away

Although I was a bit of a loser in high school (like seriously, super loser), my primary school days were rocking, especially when I still lived in Hong Kong and had my group of besties that I'd run around the school grounds with, crushing on all the boys (hey there Jonathon…and Joseph…and David…and Daniel…) 

Stepping in to Tuck Shop Take Away, I'm transported back to those primary school days, complete with a chalkboard menu, water fountain/bubbler (whatever you call it) with colourful plastic cups for water, old-school desks, a bunch of other cute and quirky school time memorabilia and some nostalgic American references (mostly in the desserts). It's so adorable.

And then it's manned by two men with serious beards, the juxtaposition is kind of hilarious, and pretty darned hipster. Ah Melbourne.

Despite the name Tuck Shop Take Away, there are actually seats in the joint, although it is somewhat limited. Despite it being a Friday, I was quite surprised that Brad and I could get a seat, although we did get there a bit later in the evening so probably missed the main dinner rush. 

The menu is pretty straight forward, with a couple of burgers on the menu, jaffles, chips and an awesome looking array of milkshakes, sodas and spiders. That and soft serve. Ooooh.

Although it's not written on the menu, they do offer up gluten free buns which I was pleased to hear about, along with the spiel that they bake their own gluten free bread, which intrigues me even more.

Gluten free buns never make burgers very sexy looking…but hell. This is the best burger I've had in recent memory. Maybe even this year. 

You all know how reluctant I am to relinquish the 'best' title on anything...

The Minor Burger, which both Brad and I got, is made from 100% beef pattie, lettuce, tomato, American cheese, onions, pickles and tuckshop sauce. Simply classic.

It's not often that Brad actually gets even mildly excited about food, but he was definitely 'mmm'-ing away from me and licking his fingers clean as we devoured the juicy and meaty burgers. For me, I just couldn't get over how well the gluten free bun was done. Soft, fluffy, brioche-like, with a subtle sweetness, that just lends itself to the rest of the flavour profile. I loved that with each bite, all the elements just melted into each other into this perfectly tender bite of just right.

I really wish I could breakdown all the elements that make this so good, but I can't, because it's just got to be all together. 

Another thing that Tuck Shop Take Away is doing just right? Those hand cut chips. Hoo boy. A must order in my books. Absolutely golden and fried to crispy perfection. Loved that the skin was left on, providing an extra crunch and a little more flavour.

Oh and Nutella milkshakes the size of my head. My hairdresser may have freaked out when she saw me post it on Instagram as she's planning for me to be in a leather catsuit for the next competition we're doing…but hey…a nutella milshake is not an everyday occurrence I guess...(but maybe it should be...)

Tuck Shop Take Away

273 Hawthorn Road

Caulfield North 3161

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