Big Belly from Big Daddy

George Street has been ripped up and opened up for Christmas shoppers. Decorations are in the stores. Christmas celebrations are in full swing. We at Visions of a Burger never like to miss a party. So we thought we'd get into the festive season the best way we know how: by eating burgers.

This celebration called for a new burger joint. So we headed down Oxford Street in search of Big Daddy's. In a great location with street views, you can sit and watch the world pass by as you down your burgers. On the way in, the superhero symbolism and retro art plates caught our eye.

 

But our gaze was quickly averted to this:

We knew we were in for a treat when we saw the Triple Whammy. The prices are quite reasonable as well.

We knew we were onto one of Sydney's best burgers when this was delivered to our bench.

The triple stacker is a sight to behold. Dripping with cheese, topped with a glossy milk bun, we couldn't wait to try this burger. The burger came hot off the grill. A truly hot burger made these burgerologists very happy. The meat patty was packed full of flavour and the curly fries were hot and crispy. If you want pickles, it will set you back 80 cents extra, but it is highly recommended. There is absolutely no vegetables on this burger- not a complaint at all.

This is one of the rare occasions where we just had to come back a second time to sample another burger. This time, the beef brisket burger (note the Christmas tree in the background!)

The brisket burger has oozes succulent tender beef with a creamy, crunchy coleslaw.

Oh, and the shakes are what they say- thick! Try the New York Chocco, or the Salted Caramel. Like us, you'll be back.

Just be careful what you order.

And make sure you bring a spare shirt. Or wear a napkin. Good burgers should be messy!

Lashings at Drummoyne

We were after something a bit more local with some meat patties that had melted American cheese on it.

Lashings at Drummoyne came to mind. We had tried this place once before, but upon entry, we noticed on the menu that there was no American cheese. We asked the friendly staff if they had any American cheese, and they said 'no'. So we promptly left and went across the road for fish and chips (desperate times!)

But this time, we decided we'd try again. Thankfully, Lashings had listened to our desperate pleas, and American cheese now features in a burger which was placed upon their menu.

We took it upon ourselves to order a Double Decker. We especially requested (in separate orders) not for 'tasty cheese' but for the 'American Cheese'. The friendly staff girl assured us that their tasty cheese was the same thing as American cheese, despite there being 2 different cheeses on the menu. This confused us a little but we went with it. The friendly staff girl was pretty convinced that the 2 cheeses were in fact the same thing, so we took it upon ourselves to trust her.

What a mistake that was!

Looking at this burger, it is very pleasing to behold. It presents well, and like a good Lashing Burger, is quite sizeable. This made us feel assured that it would fill our bellies.

However, this cheese was not American cheese but Tasty cheese. We could taste the difference. We know the difference! We wanted the American cheese experience!

The bonus of Lashings is the size of the burgers, and the juiciness of the patties. However their patties do lack the meaty flavour goodness that you can only get at another burger place that we rave about on this blog. (Hint- think Vicks!)

The condiments complimented this burger well, with flavours of mustard, mayo and tomato sauce combing in well. Pickles were plentiful, and the onion was a little sparse but tasty enough. Just enough lettuce to crunch into, but not too much to feel like we are eating a salad instead of a burger.

This is a good burger for us for its prolixity, but like Peter Russell Clark has famously said 'Where's the [American] cheese????'

False advertising about American cheese? You, the reader, may decide.

Betty's Burgers Better get Better

It was burger o'clock on a Friday afternoon- our optimal time for burgers. We needed to fix the grumbles in our bellies. Usually we are in the Darling Harbour area at this time, which has a serious lack of culinary burger delights.

Thankfully, we had heard about a new burger joint that had opened up smack bang in the middle of Darling Harbour. Betty's Burgers is in the newly built Darling Harbour International Convention Centre. We were minutes away from burger happiness.

Betty's Burgers is a newcomer to the Sydney burger scene. Starting in Noosa, Betty's has grown to 8 outlets. The Darling Harbour outlet is the first one to open in NSW. 

We were a little apprehensive to order, wanting to see what the results were before we dived in. The orders indicated that burgers looked reasonably sized, and loaded with character. We decided to place our order with the happy serving staff. They assured us that the burgers were sizeable.

The menu is simple, with beef, chicken and mushroom options. Keeping it simple is good. Burgers don't need to be complicated, especially when so much about modern life is complicated.

Much to our shock, the pickles don't come as a standard on these burgers! We were a bit taken aback and quite disappointed to learn that to add pickles to this order- an ingredient that should be a staple on any burger- would cost us $2 extra to add! How can you do this to us Betty?? We thought you liked us!

You can double your patty for an extra $5 as well.

Ok, maybe this one looks a little bit too much like a vegetable garden. We looked curiously for any snails that may have been lurking within. The initial bites felt like we were devouring a garden salad rather than a burger. Our Mums would have been proud of us.

Mouthfuls later, when we did actually hit the actual burger, we discovered that the buns were brioche-soft and fresh, and held the whole burger together nicely. 

The actual patties were tender, juicy and dripping with fat- so much so that our tables ended up being quite messy. If you are a regular reader of this blog, you know that we believe that burgers should be all about the meat. The actual meat patty in these burgers lacked character. Not much taste, and they needed more seasoning besides salt. Also, the patties needed a bit more thickness to them to really hit the spot. The whole experience which was overtaken by the rabbit food that dominated these burgers. 

If you are looking to increase your salad intake, then this is definitely the burger for you. This Shake-Shack like experience left us not feeling as full as we would have hoped.

We're off now to get some dumplings to make up for the empty space still left in our bellies.