Thank god for pay this week! Tried some pretty good burgers.
Fratelli: The Fratelli LAMBorghini
Lamb shoulder and Zany Zeus ricotta patty with beetroot chutney, pancetta and smoked Zany Zeus brinza in garlic and rosemary focaccia, with parmesan polenta chips
This burger did make an immediate impression on me. The polenta chips looked good, the burger was tall and the tomato sauce looked like it was handmade. The polenta chips were nice and thick and had a slight crunch to them. They were coated with parmesan cheese and also had some truffle oil in it (I think). However, they were really nice and the tomato sauce really went well with them.
The Burger was slightly hard to eat with your hands and I had to resort to my cutlery one third in. However, this was a fantastic burger. The bun was grilled on the inside and was nice that it had herbs inside the bread. The beetroot chutney was nice and there was also some aioli or mayonnaise inside. The patty was really flavoursome and seasoned really well with Italian herbs. The pancetta was crisp and there was also some cheese on the patty. Overall this was a damn good burger.
Score 10/10
Egmont Street Eatery: Filet-O-Cray
Crumbed crayfish and squid, crayfish tartare, house-made cheese, steamed bun, served with pāua salt-dusted shoestring fries
I love how this came in its own little box. Outside of the burger box were the fries and a wedge of lemon. The fries were nice and the seasoning on the fries was good but it was very hard to actually identify the flavour of the seasoning. The burger was really nice presented and I squeeze some lemon on the patty. The bun was nice, soft and fresh. The patty was really nice and soft and had a nice flavour. Also in the burger was some pickled celery, the cheese was nice and everything worked really well together. Overall a good burger and something different.
Score 9.5 /10
D4 on Featherston: The Hot Mess
Bacon-wrapped beef patty stuffed with Zany Zeus cream cheese, chorizo and jalapeños with onion rings, BBQ and Panhead Supercharger sauce, with house cut Agria chips
On paper, this burger sounded really good. How could you go wrong with a patty that is wrapped in bacon? Well, let’s see. Firstly, the patty was quite crumbly inside of the bacon and had a weird texture when you were chewing it. I did like the cream cheese, jalapenos and the sauces. However, I could not taste any chorizo and there was only one onion ring. Unfortunately, the patty was too small for the bun and slightly too thick to take a whole bite. There were just a few little things that could easily be fixed. Also, the fries were undercooked and tasted as if they had not changed the oil for a while. Basically, I think they were serving too many burgers and the chef got overwhelmed. A real shame.
Score 7/10
Carrello del Gelato: It’ll Be Sweet 2.0!
Cookie-crumbed burnt chocolate gelato patty with Bohemein white chocolate cheese, smoked salted caramel mustard and raspberry ketchup in a Clareville Bakery doughnut bun
I did try It’ll Be Sweet last year and was impressed with it, but looking back it, it was quite sweet. Version 2.0, they have managed to refine it a bit more. The doughnut bun is still the same but it was warmed up. The gelato patty was coated in cookie crumb, and the condiments of caramel sauce mustard and raspberry ketchup were not as sweet. All together it was a really nice burger and an improvement from last year. Overall a really nice dessert burger.
Score 9/10
Trencherman's Travels 