So after trying first the Duke Carvell’s Double Down and Laundry’s Burger. I thought I would have a bit of a break from having burgers for maybe a day, but I was wrong. My friend H texted me on Saturday morning and asked how about Lunch, I thought why not. So off we went on our little adventure.
After picking H up and then parking the car, we (or maybe me) decided that we would maybe try two places and have half a burger each at each joint. So I suggested we try Canteen first. I have heard a lot of good things about Canteen and even though I was not trying their standard menu, I was slightly excited to go there. However, we made the amateur mistake and lot look at what time they were going to serve the burger. We arrived at 11.10 and the burger was not going to be served by 12. So my friend and I decided to order our coffees and have a catch up.
Along came 11.45 and a couple walked in and asked if they could order the burgers and the waitress said yes, once the waitress had finish taking their order we quickly waved her down and ordered a burger. After taking the order of one burger, the waitress asked if we were doing the rounds and we just replied “yes.”
The burger did not take long to come, but I was very surprised to see what I saw. Canteen’s offering was The Canteen Grinder; hand ground chuck steak with barbecue rib meat, Waikanae bacon, cheddar sauce, Mabel and Mack onion jam, pickles and cos, with duck fat potatoes. The burger hand a sauce oozing out of it and the potatoes also had grated parmesan on them. I was desperate to try the potatoes. My first bite was a noisy crunch with the saltiness of the parmesan and taste of the duck fat. It was beautiful. Then it was time to cut the burger in half, it was slightly of a mission, but who eats burgers with cutlery anyway. First bite was bliss, with onion jam (which I think is made and bottled by Canteen) oozing out and giving this burger such a moist texture. Plus the patty was slightly on the pink side and the bacon cooked perfectly. It was a great burger. Score 10/10.
Next was off to Ti Kouka last year’s burger winner. I had high expectations for them and I think a lot of other people did as well as it was packed. We managed to get a seat at one of the high tables and ordered one burger. I did feel slightly guilty and also decided to order the salted-caramel cookie (FYI which is heaven but will write about it later in another entry) and the Caramel and macadamia cheese cake. Ti Kouka’s offering was The TK Double Beef Burger; Rannoch Meats minced patty with Kingsmaeade havarti, caramelised onion, beetroot and mayo, with hand cut fries. Now I am a fries lover, and I have to say I was very disappointed with these fries. I know it was a french fry cut. However, the chips had no crunch and was disappointed. The burger it self was nice. The ingredients were sourced locally and high quality and the bun baked by their bakery; Leed Street Bakery. However, the burger overall was not a stand out for me. It tasted great, but it did not have that extra x-factor in the burger. Score 8/10.
So four burgers down in two days. I know it sounds bad, but it gets worse. More to come in my next entry. LOL
Trencherman's Travels 