Burgers

Parlour Diner

Lobster and Shrimp ‘Po Boy’ with Slaw and Chimichurri Salsa

★★★☆☆

Blue Ribbon Crispy Fried Chicken served with curly fries, sauce and salad

★★★☆☆

Dynamite Burger (beef patty, tomato, lettuce, cheese, pickles, chipotle, Asian slaw)

★★☆☆☆

Grilled Corn on the Cob with Spicy Lime Butter

★★★☆☆

Chocolate Peanut Butter and Banana Milkshake

★★★☆☆

Overall:

We came here for a late dinner on a weeknight and found the atmosphere, service and food to be fabulous. A special mention goes to the huge pieces of fried chicken (fantastically crispy on the outside, juicy and boneless on the inside) and the chocolate peanut butter milkshake (sweet with a hint of saltiness and contained tiny little pieces of peanut and a giant scoop of creamy vanilla ice cream). This place is quite small and the kitchen is minuscule so I can understand that waiting times for food can be quite long when it gets busy. Nevertheless if you are in the mood for decent American food, head to Parlour Diner.

Parlour Diner

64 Chapel St, Windsor, VIC

(03) 9533 2006

Pistol Pete’s Food N Blues

93a Little Malop St, Geelong 5221 0287

Southern Style Fried Chicken

Crispy fried chicken covered in tasty spices. Be sure to try this with hot sauce for a deliciously spicy kick.

= ★★★

N’awlins Taster Plate

A surprisingly filling tasting plate that consisted of grilled andouille sausage, cajun fries, okra, fried shrimp and gumbo. Each dish was terrific but the stand out item for me was the gumbo. The rich stew was a thick blend of aromatic spices and flavours, and contained shrimp, chicken and sausage.

= ★★★

Overall:

Who would have thought that such a great place existed in Geelong? Pistol Pete’s serves up delicious Southern American food in a casual setting where fantastic Blues music is played non-stop, and live Blues acts perform regularly.

Note that orders are taken at the counter and that this place is closed on Mondays.

DakDak Cafe

Unit 2, 1-3 Bignell Rd, Moorabbin 9532 2749

Bartholomew’s Baked Eggs

Lamb, spinach and pine nut sausage, free range eggs, sautéed spinach, kalamata olives and feta cheese in a tomato and herb sauce, served with buttered sourdough toast

= ★★

Vegorama

Poached free range eggs, homemade hash brown, avocado, sautéed mushrooms, over roasted tomato and truffle hollandaise served with buttered multigrain toast

= ★★

Overall:

I loved the retro vibe that this garage-turned-cafe had going on! A small powder blue caravan served as a kitchen, industrial shelves and recycled furniture filled up the place, bright green artificial grass covered the floor, and there was Volkswagen memorabilia everywhere (which was expected as this place is named after the signature stuttering of the Volkswagen engines). Service was friendly although it took a while before our orders were taken, and then much longer for our food to arrive. This unexpected cafe (as is it located within Moorabbin’s industrial area) is a comfortable and quirky place to hang out, but they need to up their game a tad when it comes to service times.

Brother Burger and the Marvellous Brew

413 Brunswick St, Fitzroy 9419 0088

Croquettes

Light crispy shells with soft creamy centres of spiced potato, corn kernels, polenta and cheese,

served with their fiery house made chilli jam

= ★★★

Butterscotch milkshake

Sweet, creamy, buttery. Happiness in a tall milkshake cup.

= ★★★★

Oh, Brother (double 100% Wagyu beef patty, double cheese, jalapenos, lettuce, American mustard, ketchup, pickled onion)

= ★★★

The Plain (100% Wagyu beef patty, lettuce, pickles, mustard mayo, ketchup)

= ★★★

Fat Chips served with house made mustard mayo and ketchup

= ★★

The burgers here were without a doubt mouthwateringly delicious! The soft juicy Wagyu patties were cooked to a perfect medium, the homemade sauces and pickles were delicious and the burger buns (which are baked in-house daily) were nicely toasted. Everything simply tasted fresh and amazing. I wasn’t surprised to discover that the beef that they use is hormone, growth promotant and GMO free, and that free range chicken and eggs are used. Alcoholic milkshakes can also be found on the menu here, with each milkshake having a double shot of booze (eg. chocolate house-made marshmallow vodka milkshake). Service was quick and friendly, atmosphere was very casual, and takeaway orders receive a 10% discount.

Grill Me

357a Hawthorn Rd, Caulfield 9533 0550

Spicy Melbourne burger

(grilled lean beef patty, havarti cheese, roasted peppers, dill pickles, lettuce, red onion, peri peri aioli)

served with chips, herb aioli and peri peri aioli

= Not bad

Chicken Delight burger

(grilled marinated chicken breast fillet, crispy bacon, havarti cheese, lettuce, tomato, red onion, herb aioli)

served with chips, herb aioli and peri peri aioli

= Good

Overall:

Great value for money as the burgers here are enormous. The thick beef patty was well cooked however was lacking in flavor, while the chicken fillet was deliciously juicy and tender. The chips were crunchy and well seasoned, and you can’t really go wrong serving aioli with chips. A nice burger place but nothing outstanding.

Fat Bob’s Bar & Grill

80 Cochranes Rd, Moorabbin 95550909

Hummer burger (180g grass-fed beef pattie, tomato, jalapeño, spanish onion, cucumber, tasty cheese and Fat Bob’s “Hummer” spicy mayo) with fries and tomato relish

Jackie O burger (180g grass-fed beef pattie, tomato, spanish onion, fontina cheese, cos lettuce, mustard, tomato sauce and Fat Bob’s special sauce)

Popcorn chicken with sweet chilli mayo

Overall:

Fat Bob’s had been on my places to eat list for awhile and I was very excited to finally get my hands on one of their burgers. The verdict? Solid burgers that will satisfy any burger craving. Although the beef patties were bland, it didn’t matter as the other ingredients (especially the tasty sauces) made up for this lack of flavour. I fancied the Jackie O burger more so than the Hummer burger as the ingredients in the Hummer burger reminded me of the ingredients you get in a Subway sandwich. Similar to the beef patties I found the popcorn chicken and the chips to also be bland, requiring the sauces to provide flavour. Service was friendly (note that you place your order at the counter) and the decor was perfect for a burger joint (plenty of signs, posters and glowing neon lights). Definitely give this place a go if you are in the area and have a hankering for a good burger.

Charlie & Co Burgers

Emporium Melbourne, 287 Lonsdale St, Melbourne 8609 8136

Southern Belle Chicken Burger (Southern spiced chicken breast, tomato, cheese and chilli coleslaw)

Classic Charlie Burger (Wagyu patty, tomato, gherkins, garden leaves, aioli, Charlie’s tomato sauce, brie)

Parmesan & Truffle fries

Overall:

After reading such complimentary reviews I found the burgers to be disappointingly average. The bread was rather dry and the burger fillings unexceptional. There are definitely many other places out there that serve better burgers. On a positive note, the fries were quite good and I liked the buzzer system (akin to Chemist Warehouse) that they have in place here.

J Café Restaurant

167 Exhibition St, Melbourne 9650 9877

Soft Shell Crab Sushi burger and Gyoza in a Bento Box

Spicy Raw Tuna Sushi burger and Sashimi in a Bento Box

Salmon Alburi Sushi burger

Ebi Mayo Sushi burger

Yomogi Daifuju (red bean), Black Sesame Daifuku, Green Tea Cream Daifuku, Murasaki Imo Daifuku (purple sweet potato)

Ichigo Daifuku

Overall:

Sushi in the form of a burger? GENIUS. These burgers comprise of various sushi fillings and buns made from sushi rice that are held together with a sheet of seaweed. There are almost 20 different types of burgers to choose from which are made fresh on order. My favourite would have to be the Ebi Mayo Sushi burger (crispy tempura prawn, lettuce, tartare sauce and teriyaki sauce) although every other burger I’ve tried has also been very delicious. There is also the option of getting your Sushi burger in a Bento box which comes with the choice of an entree and miso soup. I found the Bento Boxes to be merely okay so these days I simply order the Sushi burgers by themselves.

For those who are a fan of daifuku (small round glutinous rice cakes that contain a sweet filling), try the Ichigo Daifuku here!

Note that service can sometimes be slow and that prices are cheaper for takeaway Sushi burgers.

Humburger

789 Glenferrie Rd, Hawthorn 9818 3881

Salted Caramel shake & Malted Vanilla shake

Frenchy burger, The Hum burger, Parmesan & Truffle oil fries

Thoughts:

Salted caramel shake – essentially liquid caramel with a hint of salt, very sweet = Not bad

Malted Vanilla shake – strong malt flavour, also very sweet = Not bad

Frenchy burger – beef, crispy potato rosti, bearnaise, chunky garden mayo and cornichon = Not bad

The Hum burger – beef, cheddar, pickles, mustard, mayo and tomato sauce. Tasted similar to a McDonald’s cheeseburger = Not bad

Fries – the parmesan gets more and more intense as these thick crunchy chips cool down = Not bad

Overall:

Humburger is a ho-hum burger sort of place. The food was average and so was the service. The brioche buns were quite greasy and I found the burgers here to be a bit small compared to other burger places. Note that they no longer sell their ‘Hum Balls’ and that this place is cash only.

Mr Burger

364 Chapel Street, South Yarra

Mr Burger

(beef, cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle, mustard, mayonnaise and tomato sauce)

Overall:

Big juicy mouthwatering burgers that really hit the spot. The beef patty was cooked to perfection, the tangy pickle balanced out the sweetness of the brioche bun, and with every bite delicious melted cheese would escape from the burger. The menu here is simple with only 3 burgers on offer (Mr Burger, Mr Meat and Mr Veg), as well as chips (seasoned with chicken salt, soft and fluffy on the inside, golden and crispy on the outside) and drinks.