BURGERFUEL

172 King Street Newtown

18 May, 2012

Paul & Pete had…

Bastard ($12.90)

1/3 pound ground beef, melted cheese, bacon, beetroot, mango, avocado, salad, relish, aioli

Paul says...

As soon as I walked in the door I was greeted by a poster promoting a burger containing two hash browns. I immediately had thoughts of Hungry Jack’s, but I kept an open mind. After all, Burgerfuel promises gourmet burgers.

There are 9 beef burgers on the menu and a range of chicken and vege burgers to choose from. I had concerns about a burger with mango, but I decided on the Bastard.

While waiting for the burger, we worked out what the “Doofer” was all about. We were told that the burgers are quite big, so the cardboard Doofer goes around the end of the burger to keep the contents from falling out. They weren’t wrong! The Bastard was huge. It should be called the fat bastard!

With burger and doofer in hand, I started to plough my way through the Bastard. On first bite, the avocado, aioli, mango and beetroot combined for a sweet and interesting flavour. It wasn’t long before I hit the beef patty. I’d be surprised if the patty was made fresh; it definitely tasted like it was a processed frozen job. It had a chewy texture and wasn’t great on flavour.

The further I got through the Bastard, the more I felt like a fat bastard. The initial sweet and interesting taste was now making me feel a little ill, and the beef patty was a poor excuse for meat.

Burgerfuel is a little like Hungry Jack’s on steroids. I don’t think we will be back to try the rest of the burgers.

If size mattered the Bastard would get a 5, but freshness, taste and quality count for a lot.

Fat Bastards score: 1

P.S. There was a competition in store to win a 1 month membership to Fitness First. Surprisingly, the entry box was empty. 

Pete says...

Today’s burger tour took us to Burgerfuel Newtown, where I decided to order the ‘Bastard’, which I hesitated because it had mango (very odd on a burger and secondly mango season in Autumn or is it canned mango???). 

Anyway, I proceeded with ordering the Bastard with the mango and no kidding within than 5 minutes it was on my table. 

The Bastard consisted of bacon, melted cheddar, mango, avocado, beetroot, tomato, lettuce, relish, aioli and 1/3 pound beef which made it a big burger. 

Unfortunately, the grounded beef patty (which they advertised as ‘Gourmet Beef’ was very ordinary and lacked taste, hence I could only stomach half my patty and yes I was right it was CANNED MANGO which tasted disgusting!!! The only good thing if you want to call it that, is that I managed to pick out the salad with relish and aioli which gave it some taste. 

Overall, very disappointed with the whole burger experience; it was nothing more than a fast food burger joint. 

Not worth $12.90 and definitely I wouldn’t go back.

Pete's score: 1

Marina had...

Bacon Backfire ($11.50)

Grilled chicken breast, bacon, brie, salad, relish, aioli, onion

The chicken lacked taste even though the brie and aioli combination was nice.

Lets just say, I will not be speeding back there anytime soon, even though it was conveniently located on King St.

Unfortunately the flavour stalled......BYO jumper leads

Marina's Score: 2.5/5

Kim says...

Bio Fuel

Sorry for the late review on this burger, I was away on leave and so didn’t really have the time to sit down & pen my thoughts to paper (or computer) – whatever. 

Anyways, I’m a bit mixed on this burger, on one hand I thought it was good on account of how filling it was and on the other hand a bit disappointed as it tasted pretty much like a hungry jacks burger…so very fast food tasting – it gives you that OOOOH I’M FAT guilty feeling after pigging out on junk food.

My burger wasn’t as bad as what the others were making theirs out to be, I mean I nearly finished off the burger – big as it was, so it couldn’t have been all that bad right?…or maybe it’s just because I’ve had too many other crap burgers to compare it too.

However, I won’t go back again anytime soon…or ever. But I still think it’s worth a try…just as an experience & for a group of friends to laugh over.

My score -3 out of 5

Until next time,

Xoxo

Kimzy

Salty Rooster - Manly

13 May, 2012

Brazilian Rooster ($7.90)
lettuce, tomato, cheese, bacon and mayo

Paul says...There are 16 chicken burgers to choose from. There are 3 locally inspired burgers, Manly, Queenscliff and Aussie. The other 13 burgers are named after the country that they have drawn inspiration from; I went for the Brazilian Rooster. If Marina was here i'm sure she would go for the Greek Rooster. Anything Greek is the best, so Marina says. The Greek Rooster is an automatic 5/5.

The ingredients in the Brazilian Rooster can be found in most burgers around the world; there wasnt anything unique about the lettuce, tomato, cheese, bacon and mayo. It's a relatively simple no frills burger, but how does it taste?

I have absolutley no idea what the chicken was marinated in, but it was good. The marinate had a very mild tang, and the mayo infused itself with the marinate making for a great sauce.

I haven't been a fan of chicken burgers lately as they have all been too dry. The chicken in the Brazilian Rooster is tender and juicy. I can't think of a better chicken burger that I've had, and it holds it's own with a good beef burger.

The chips, with chicken salt of course, are great!

The Salty Rooster is takeaway only, but who wants to dine in when the beach is just 50 meters away.

P.S. There are no signs on The Salty Rooster, just look for the black shop front.

Paul's Score: 4

Beautiful Burgers - Chippendale

11 May, 2012

Beautiful Burgers

Shop 5/87-97 Regent Street, Chippendale NSW 2008

Kim had...

Yankee Beef $12.00
Iceberg, mayo, tomato, bacon, cheese, dill pickle, ketchup and USA mustard

Beautiful burgers lived up to their name today. At least in my eyes they did. Today I ordered the Yankee Beef burger, a bit on the fattening side with the bacon and the cheese but it was worth it. 

The lettuce was cut nice and finely, they didn’t overfill it with lettuce which was great for this burger, the right amount of ketchup & mustard was used which was fantastic as I didn’t have sauce dripping all over my plate & hands which is of course a plus. 

I love pickles in my burger so extra points that there was more than one slice of it in there. The bun was nice and soft (a big improvement on my last burger). The only downside to the burger was that the patty wasn’t thick enough & was slightly dry, but I think the sauce actually made up for it. 

So for my burger today, I think 3.5 out of 5.

Until next time burger fans,

Xoxo

Kimzy

Marina had...

Le François Burger  -  (Special of the Day) $11.00

This burger came with the choice of either Beef or Chicken, Brie, Lettuce, caramelised onions and avocado.

Great tasting burger that was good value and staff were upbeat and friendly.

I would definitely go back for more....

Vive La France - Baby !!!! 

4/5

Pete had...

The Oz ... $12.50

I decided to order the Oz burger and asked for egg & pineapple to be added as extras. You can’t get more aussie than an Oz burger with kangaroo meat, the patty wasn’t to thick and heavy and it all come together with the caramelised onions, mixed lettuce, beetroot, mayo and fig tomato relish on a nice soft white bun.

I’m sure the burger would of tasted even better, if the pineapple was grilled and the egg was still runny, other than that it was an enjoyable burger!

Pricing was reasonable $10.50 for a standalone Oz burger and with the added pineapple plus egg it was an extra buck each.

Score 3.5

Paul had...

The OZ - lean Kangaroo Mince ($10.50)

Beetroot, rocket, tomato, mayo, caramelised onion and fig tomato relish

There are 12 burgers on the menu and a few specials to choose from. It's been a while since I've had a burger with beetroot, and a lot longer since I've had Kangaroo, so i went for the OZ. 

You can't get much more OZ than eating an animal from the coat of arms. The great thing about this burger is the subtle flavours that surround the meat. There is nothing overwhelming to distract from the flavour of the meat, you can taste the Kangaroo patty with every bite. It's a quality mince and the ingredients are fresh. 

After weeks of beef burgers, the Kangaroo is a pleasant change.

Beautiful Burgers isn't big and gets busy. They take bookings, so if you want to guarantee a table, book ahead.  

Paul's score: 3.5 

Pyrmont Bridge Hotel

PBR Beef Burger

9 May, 2012

with lettuce, tomato, onion chili jam & aioli

Paul says...

With a little convincing, i found myself having a midweek burger. With no fellow reviewers on this outing, there will be no conflicting opinions.

The bun on this burger is fresh and plentiful, unlike last weeks disgrace. It has been a few weeks since i've had a beef patty of this size. It's average beef, but the texture is good and it's reasonably tasty. And due to the size, I wasn't left hungry at the end.

I'm a chili jam and aioli fan so the flavours work for me, although the quality is average.

It's an ok burger and at $11 with chips, it's good value.

Paul's Score: 3

Oscars

Oscars Famous Handmade Beef Burger
4 May, 2012

200gm pattie, lettuce, cheese, tomato caramelised onions and BBQ sauce.

Kim says....

Well, we were 2 team members down today since Pete had a hot date and couldn’t make it out to lunch with us today and Marina has a cold so she couldn’t taste anything much but she came along for lunch and had a salad…

We didn’t have much of a choice on destinations today since there was a gas leak close to our office and vehicle access was restricted. So we did the next best thing and walked.

Our venue today was Oscars at Pyrmont. Chosen burger was the Oscars handmade beef burger. I’ll start by giving it a 1 out of 5. This is the harshest rating out of all the burgers that I’ve had to date.

The bun was hard, it tasted like it had been sitting out for a day or two and toasting the bun didn’t help, if anything I think it just made the bun even harder around the edges and tougher to eat.

The meat patty, well, where to start, I’ll start on the edges, slightly dry and overcooked, the inside was undercooked…if I wasn’t so hungry I probably would have tossed the burger, but I ended up eating around the middle instead, as you can see with the picture inserted.

I prefer my meats cooked, if it was a little pink I could manage, but this slightly darker than my tastes would permit.

So if you’ve ever headed here for food, stay away from this burger…

Until next time,

Xoxo

Kimzy

Paul says...

This isn't the first time I've had the Oscars burger, but it's the first time I've had this version. The first Oscars burger i ever tried featured chili jam. It was good!

In my mind, the only thing the Oscars burger is now famous for is taking a good burger and progressively modifying it into the crap we were served today. The only thing this burger had going for it was the tomato caramelised onions. Take the onions away and you have one over toasted dry bun, a beef pattie that was far too rare for the quality of beef, a heap of BBQ sauce, lettuce and cheese.

Oscars need to go back to a former version of the Oscars burger or take it off the menu.

P.S. The food may have sucked balls on this occassion, but the service is always great.

Paul's score: 1