More often in Editor Eats, we focus on an individual outlet and talk about the quality, consistency, and service, or the set of strong points to recommend it as a place to attend through the optics of a single meal or serving.
In this issue I want to talk about the diversity of cuisine that we see whereby individual items shine on a menu and where this simplest of dishes are elevated in a background that wouldn’t be consistent with the rest of the menu. Let’s look at the humble burger. There are many dedicated burger restaurants and cafes across the city, all of whom do an amazing job of creating a range of our favourite meat patty sandwich, but what shines through often is when a burger appears on the menu of a restaurant not famed for that. Our modern Australian throughput allows menus to cross cultures, cuisines and ingredients and here is a quick list of 3 burgers that I’ve had recently that shine out as an example to burgers everywhere.
1. Perrotta's
Their Wagyu Burger, an excellent lunch or evening meal, is a fantastic example of how burgers should be created. Moist tasting and seasoned perfectly with just enough pickle and other contents to play the meat off in the beautiful brioche, all sitting on top of some the crispiest hot chips that I’ve had in a while.
2. Wharf One
One of the region’s more iconic breakfast, brunch and lunch outlets has again elevated the status of the humble beef burger where the simple addition of cheese and pickles set atop some beautiful chips set in an open air context next to the inlet make this a burger you should all try.
3. Ochre
Another lunch time haunt, far more at home after 30 years of perfecting native ingredients, have elevated the humble burger to restaurant status. Their Ultimate Aussie Burger with premium beef mince in a Turkish bun with bacon, beetroot and Mungalli cheddar, and the tasty addition of pickles and bush tomato aioli is another ode to the Australian burger.
