Lettuce

Changz Canteen

Truffle and Mushroom Burger

(double beef and cheese, enoki fries, mushroom ‘ketchup’, truffle, roast garlic aioli)

Juicy beef patties that were well cooked, strong truffle flavour.

★★★☆☆

Canteen Classic with Fries

(beef, chicken brick, double cheese, bacon, onion, pickles, jalapeño, lettuce, canteen sauce)

This substantial burger was distinctively peppery, while the canteen sauce reminded us of Big Mac sauce.

★★★☆☆

Fried Chicken Ribs with Aioli

These tasty ribs were coated in a super crispy batter, and are only $1 each on Sundays!

★★★☆☆

Overall:

Solid burgers, enthusiastic staff, awesome Star Wars decor. Burger joints are a dime a dozen these days in Melbourne, and although nothing we tried was phenomenal, I really hope that these guys make it.

Changz Canteen

256 Glen Eira Rd, Elsternwick, VIC

(03) 8592 4941

http://changzcanteen.com.au/

Mountain of Bears

BBQ Pulled Pork Burger

(slow cooked pork shoulder served with lettuce, tomato, pickles, fried shallots and house made slaw with a side of grilled kipfler potatoes)

The pulled pork was juicy and well flavoured while the potatoes were a nice change from the usual side of chips that you get from everywhere these days.

★★★☆☆

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Valencian Paella

(clams, squid, chorizo, chicken and shrimp cooked with saffron infused rice served in a claypot, topped with parmesan and spring onion)

Bland but filling.

★★☆☆☆

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Berries For The Bears

(strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, milk, yogurt)

★★☆☆☆

Overall:

Tucked away in a small arcade, Mountain of Bears is a place that offers friendly service, an inviting atmosphere and cleverly named menu items. Let’s avocuddle anyone?

Mountain of Bears

556 North Rd, Ormond, VIC

(03) 9578 9882

JD’s Burgers

King Kai

(signature Asian fusion beef patty, American cheese, bacon, Spanish onion, beer battered onion rings, lettuce and “afterlife” BBQ sauce on a brioche bun)

★★★★☆

Golden beer battered chips coated with JD’s seasoning

★★★★☆

Ultimate Black Pepper

(signature Asian fusion beef patty, HK black pepper sauce, American cheese, bacon, mushrooms, Spanish onion, lettuce, tomato and Japanese mayonnaise on a salad)

★★★☆☆

Overall:

I am always on the look out for good burger places, and JD’s Burgers certainly know how to make good burgers. When we visited, their menu offered 19 different burgers that incorporated exotic flavours from around the world. The burgers are served on either a premium French brioche bun or a salad (but let’s be honest, at a burger place you don’t win friends with salad!) The service was quick and friendly, and the dining area small and simple. Note that they also offer some crazy burger challenges for those who dare: a 1.5kg burger and a 4kg burger!!

JD’s Burgers

17 Hamilton St, Mont Albert, VIC

(03) 8590 6448

http://jdsburgers.com.au/

Cafe 51

The Meataxe

(beef patty, crispy southern fried chicken, crispy bacon, double dirty cheese, lettuce, onion rings, two jalapeno poppers, chipotle and XXX BBQ sauce)

★★★☆☆

Mac Daddy

(mac’n’cheese, triple dirty cheese, beef patty, potato cake, slow cooked beef brisket, crispy bacon, ketchup, mustard and mayo)

★★★☆☆

Soul Sister

(crispy southern fried chicken, American cheddar, crispy bacon, hand cut pickles, house made chipotle, American mustard and maple syrup in a toasted waffle)

★★★☆☆

Disco Fries

(fries, melted cheese and gravy)

★★★☆☆

Dirty Fries

(fries, bacon, melted cheese and ranch sauce)

★★★☆☆

Overall:

Look no further than Cafe 51 for big juicy burgers that are stacked high with tasty fillings. There are plenty of creatively named burgers to choose from as well as a variety of hot dogs, subs, fries and shakes. Service was quick and everything was good value for money. Although this place is in the middle of nowhere, it has undoubtedly become quite popular. We thankfully arrived before the lunch time rush and managed to grab some seats at one of their few tables. This visit certainly earned me an extra gym session, but I’d like to think that it was worth it.

Cafe 51

51 Buckhurst St, South Melbourne, VIC

(03) 9699 7853

http://www.cafe51.com.au/

Goneburger

The Chicken

(Flame grilled chicken thighs marinated in white wine, garlic, lemon and rosemary, smothered in rich melted camembert and served with cranberry sauce, lettuce, tomato, onion and tangy garlic aioli on a toasted brioche bun)

Loved the camembert and flame grilled chicken combination!

★★★★☆

The Beef

(House crafted beef patty made from a blend of beef chuck and grass fed short rib beef with unique GB sauce, lettuce, tomato, red onion, cheese and pickles on a toasted brioche bun)

A simple burger done well.

★★★★☆

Baby Back Ribs

(Roasted pork ribs covered in a house spice blend and BBQ sauce)

These ribs were a bargain for $15 and were surprisingly fantastic! The ribs were well marinated and the meat was fabulously tender and simply fell off the bone.

★★★★☆

Truffled Macaroni and Cheese

(Macaroni and three cheese sauce and truffle oil

Cheesy, truffle-y, very filling.

★★★☆☆

Overall:

We stumbled across Goneburger after our original dinner plans fell through, and what a great find this place turned out to be! The food was top-notch and the ambience was very relaxed. We went on a Tuesday night and our friendly waiter was also the barman as well as the cashier. It was basically a one man show but he did a great job and everything ran smoothly. This pop up restaurant is currently contracted with Mavis Brown’s Bar until February, so make sure you visit by then! Note that this place is open 6 days a week (closed on Mondays) from 3pm.

Goneburger

35-37 Fitzroy St, St Kilda, VIC

0458 928 265

http://www.goneburgerbar.com/

Miel Container

Miel Beef Pattie Burger (grass fed beef patty with brioche bun, lettuce, tomato, onion jam, bacon, bush tomato chutney, dill mayo, tasty) served with beer battered chips

I initially had some trouble biting into the burger because of the extremely thick burger buns, but once I managed to do so I was met with a juicy smoky beef patty and an abundant amount of sauce. The chips on the other hand were quite dry but well seasoned with salt, rosemary and thyme.

★★★☆☆

Overall:

Located in a bright red shipping container, this small eatery provides solid burgers, ordinary service, and plenty of free hand sanitizer for its customers.

Miel Container

Cnr of Mary Street and 96 Albert Street, Brisbane CBD, QLD

0423 466 503

Burgled

The Sin Miedo (Mexico) – beef patty, jalapenos, smashed avocado, lettuce, cheese, tomato

Lacked a bit of flavor as there was no sauce and the beef patty was unseasoned

★★☆☆☆

The Gettysburger (USA) – beef patty, lettuce, tomato, caramelized onion, pickles, mustard, aioli, cheese, ketchup

★★☆☆☆

Chips with ketchup and aioli

Similar to Schnitz chips (which I LOVE), these were diamond cut and shaped like a thin wedge so were crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside.

★★★☆☆

Ferrero Rocher milkshake

Sweet, milky, distinctive Ferrero Rocher taste.

★★★☆☆

Shortbread biscuit filled with nutella mousse, kiwifruit and strawberry

The lovely owner of Burgled actually gave this to us on the house. The filling was tasty however something less dense than shortbread would have been preferable.

★★☆☆☆

Overall:

Fantastic sports bar-like atmosphere, warm efficient staff, great chips, wide variety of tasty milkshakes (eg. Oreo, Cherry Ripe, Lychee & Vanilla, Butterscotch, Salted Caramel, Peach & Coconut and much more), average burgers. Soft white burger buns are used here which is a nice change from the sweet brioche buns found everywhere else. However the beef patties lacked flavour and the burgers themselves did not stand out.

Burgled

287 Huntingdale Rd, Oakleigh, VIC

(03) 9540 0355

Home

Tuck Shop Take Away

273 Hawthorn Road, Caulfield North 0431 406 580

Redskin and Salted Caramel milkshake

Nutella milkshake

Minor burger

The Cuts

Pulled Pork jaffle

Dessert jaffle

Thoughts:

Milkshakes – absolutely amazing! If only I had enough stomach space, I would have tried all of their flavours. Made with house syrups, the milkshakes are served in a mini-milk bottle with stripy paper straws. The redskin flavour tasted exactly like redskins, the salted caramel flavour had the perfect balance between salty and sweet, and the nutella flavour tasted like Ferrero Rocher = Excellent

Minor burger – beef patty, lettuce, tomato, cheese, onion, pickles and Tuckshop sauce (tomato sauce/mayo/mustard combination) in between a grilled linseed brioche bun. Unfortunately the beef patties here are a lot smaller than the bun so that two thirds into my burger, I only had bun and lettuce left. What I also noticed was that the homemade Tuckshop sauce reminded me of the sauce you get on a Big Mac = Not Bad

The Cuts – hand cut chips! How many places are even doing this these days? Crunchy with an earthy flavour, these chips were definitely something different = Not bad

Pulled Pork jaffle – juicy pulled pork with a tasty smoked cheddar béchamel = Good

Dessert jaffle – banana, liquid cheesecake and salted caramel jaffle = Excellent

Overall:

A small takeaway shop located on the corner of Hawthorn and Glen Eira Road, this place can only seat about 10 people so grabbing takeaway is a good idea. The menu is also quite small, and the decor is simple and quirky. I have to mention that the service from the guy owner of this place is extraordinary. He is super friendly and also very observant in making sure that his customers are happy with their food. (For example when our order was given to us without our chips, he overheard us question to each other whether or not we had forgotten to order them and straightaway went to check our order for us and brought us our chips, all before we even had to ask anyone). The stand outs for me were no doubt the marvellous milkshakes and the desserts. Apart from the dessert jaffle, they also have a variety of other homemade desserts such as redskin brownies, chocolate chip cookies and toffee apple crumble. I am definitely coming back again to try all of these! Note that the close at 8pm on Monday to Thursday, 9pm on Friday and Saturday, and are not open on Sunday.