BURGER PROJECT

Paul & Dan had:

CHEESE & BACON BURGER ($9.50)

Beef / cheese / bacon / pickles / onion / tomato / lettuce / "secret sauce". 

Dan says...

OK, so let's just start off by clarifying that all we can base our scores on here is the actual burger, not about the hype, not about the 45 minute wait, not about the rubbish chips and chicken wings on the side.

So let's get to the burger...

I was expecting big things, but to be honest...I shouldn't have. The burger was ok, but just that - ok. Not great and not bad, but just....ok.

While my complaints about burgers in the past have centred around the buns and the greasiness, i can positively say that this burger didn't suffer from those qualities. The bun was soft and tasty, and the filling was in no way too oily or greasy. And it had a good amount of lettuce, tomato and onion. It was also a decent sized burger for the price...not huge, but who needs a huge burger, you just want a good sized burger that fills you up, and this burger ticks the box there. 

So what let it down? Well, there was no pickle for starters. For some reason they forgot to put the pickle on my burger. But that's ok, we all make mistakes, that's why pencils have erasers. My biggest problem was the taste. The bacon flavour should have been an addition that enhanced the overall flavour, and not the dominant force that it was. By making the bacon taste dominate the overall flavour I couldn't really get a taste for the beef pattie, and definitely couldn't get a taste for the "secret sauce". What did the sauce taste like? I don't know, it was kept a secret.

So overall, i'd say this is the best burger so far out of those I've reviewed for the Sydney Burger Blog...but by no means does that make it a star in the universe of burgers around Sydney. I know i've had better. 

Dan's Score: 3.5/5

Paul says...

It was a busy day at The Burger Project and the staff were under pressure. Someone may have forgotten to put the pickles on Dan's burger, but someone forgot the salt on my chips! But, as Dan says, it's all about the burgers and Dan lucked out on the pickles. 

Given the Burger Project is a Neil Perry creation, it's hard not to make a comparison to Perry's Rockpool burgers, and for me, just like the Blackmore's Full Blood Wagyu, this burger wouldn't be the same without the pickles. 

The beef patty was cooked medium, the way I like it, and it's a decent size for the price. The thing you will notice about this burger compared to most, is the difference that quality fresh ingredients make. You can't be a pickle hater when they are served up fresh.

I really enjoyed this burger, despite having a brief moment where I thought it tasted like a quality Quarter Pounder (maybe it was the raw white onion). This is a no fuss traditional style burger, just with quality ingredients. It's big on flavour, and if we were taking value into account, this could be one of Sydney's best burgers. Despite being more than twice the price, Rockpool's David Blackmore's Full Blood Wagyu isn't twice as good as this burger, but it's definitely worth the $24, and it's still the best burger in Sydney.

When it comes to quality and value, The Burger Project has the burger chains covered. When the Burger Project expands across Sydney, it will make for a good alternative to Grill'd.

P.S. If you are hungry, give the chips a miss and get the "Double" beef patty burger.

Paul's score: 4/5

Kim had...

SPICY PORK BELLY($9.90)

Crispy Free Range Pork Belly, Salted Chilli, Pickled Slaw and Lettuce 

Kim says...

Well it’s been a very long time since my last blog and new burger around Sydney CBD. So what better way to get back into it then to try out a burger at the Burger Project. 

Today I had the Spicy Pork Belly, I thought I’d be a little adventurous and try something besides the usual cheese and bacon that the rest of the team were having. My first impression (after waiting in line for 30mins to order and then an additional 15mins for my food) was this reminds me of a Vietnamese pork roll. Which would have been GREAT if I ordered a pork roll, but even if it was a pork roll, I would have felt let down as it wasn’t that great either. 

To start with, where was the SPICE? Yes there was chilli, but it was so sweet that I couldn’t taste any actual chilli (I think this is probably due to the pickled slaw). When I see the word spicy in something, I expect it to at least make my tongue tingle. The crispy pork itself, well, there was definitely some crispiness but I felt there wasn’t enough of it or enough meat. I would have loved more of the crispy pork skin to meat ratio. But I guess you get what you pay for.

I think this burger would have been better off as a roll. My rating for this burger 2 stars out of 5. If it was a roll, I’d probably go with a 3 only. But try it and judge for yourself. 

Kimzy



Kim's Score: 2/5

ROYAL ALBERT HOTEL SURRY HILLS

ROYALE WITH CHEESE ($14 including a basket of crinkle cut fries and tomato chili sauces chips)

Beef / lettuce / tomato / cheese / tomato sauce / mustard / sliced pickles on burger and whole pickle skewered on top of burger. 

About time I got out of the Pyrmont Point Hotel, so off to the Royal Albert Hotel in Surry Hills to try their "Royale With Cheese". Obviously taking it's name from Pulp Fiction, the burger reminded me of what that movie's "Big Kahuna Burger" looked like and (may have) tasted like. Basically, it was one nasty little greaseball!

No beating around the bush, the burger was tasty. The meat was cooked well and tasted good, but it was super greasy. The sauce/mustard/pickle combo made for a very tasty little artery clogger, but there was so much sauce! Probably no surprise that those same attributes led to it being a very sloppy burger. Each bite was causing the bun and beef patty to slide about and not hold it's form, which made it hard to eat. It was made even more difficult to eat with the sauce dripping out all over the chips!

As I may have mentioned in a previous blog, I am a big fan of pickle on a burger, so it was good to have not only the sliced pickles on the burger, but also the whole pickle to finish the meal off with. Also, the spicy dipping sauce that came with the chips was really good!

So overall, not bad, it had some good points, but I can't score it too high as it was just too hard to hold onto while eating, and while I'm well aware you don't get a burger for it's health value, this one was just a bit too greasy for me.

Dan's Score: 3/5