There's No Place Like Oz

This is the 2nd post in the “Heather Eats Sydney” series and the 7th in the “my waist line is expanding while my bank account is decreasing” series.

Heather + burgers

I rarely crave a burger. When I do have one, it’s usually a buffalo/bison burger — more lean and without nasty growth hormones. Turkey and homemade veggie burgers are tops too.

Where to get a great burger in my hometown of Charlottesville:
Boylan Heights

Favorite side:
Sweet potato fries

I only had a few burgers in Sydney, and thankfully food-loving friends suggested great places to have one.

Hurricane’s Grill & Bar
Bondi, Darling Harbour & Ryde

In addition to restaurants in the three areas above, Hurricane’s also has a small take-away shop, just next door to their Bondi restaurant.

My buddy James raved about Hurricane’s, saying that he’d enjoyed the BEST burger he’d ever had. That’s high praise. I checked out the Darling Harbour location as soon as I returned to Sydney from traveling and was BLOWN AWAY (yes, it deserves all caps) by the veggie burger.

Home made lentil, vegetable and pine nut pattie with a giant sautéed mushroom, grilled zucchini and capsicum, halloumi cheese and salad. Ignore the salad, it came with fries/chips!

The homemade patty was arguably the best vegetarian one I’ve ever had, and a friend who went with me on a return visit agreed. The veggies & cheese are piled high on top of the patty — it’s almost impossible to fit in your mouth! It came with a typical Aussie price tag (i.e., more expensive than a similar meal where I live in the US) at $20, but it was well worth it for the quality.

I later learned the hard way that the veggie burger at the take-away shop in Bondi is less expensive for a reason — it doesn’t come with all of the goodness you read above. Go to one of the restaurants…you’ll pay more but the burger just may be better.

Plan B
204 Clarence Street, Sydney CBD

When Simon learned I only had a few weeks left in Sydney, he helped guide me on a mini-food tour. Plan B, the cafe & take-away shop affiliated with Becasse just next door, serves up grain fed wagyu burgers and a few other items from its small store front.

My only disappointment was that the brioche bun was significantly larger than the burger, which appeared to be much thinner than anticipated after seeing photos on reviews by food bloggers. But the seasoning and spices of the burger made for a really satisfying flavor.

Simon and I split a burger so we could also taste the roast pork sandwich of the day (complete with “apple sauce”, mustard seed, and a couple of other goodies).

Counter Burger
118 Willoughby Road, Crows Nest

Simon and I also ventured to Counter Burger’s only Australia location after he heard me go on and on about Boylan Heights in Virginia. At Boylan Heights, you get to customize everything about your burger. Apparently the same is true at Counter Burger.

Turkery burger with melted colby cheese, lettuce, grilled pineapple, and grilled onions on a wholemeal bun with a caramelized onion marmalade on the side

We also split a 50/50 order of sweet potato fries and onion stings/straws — and we didn’t even eat half of this!

And then there was the peanut butter shake. Simon said it was marvelous so I figured we’d order one and I’d just take a few sips. OH. MY. GOSH. It packed a seriously intense peanut butter taste and was much better than I expected. Oddly enough, Simon thought it was more peanut-buttery than usual and wasn’t as fond of it. But the shake was my favorite part of the meal O:-) The sweet potato fries didn’t knock my socks off, and the burger would have been loads better if the turkey wouldn’t have been so dry. Boylan Heights has mega moist turkey burgers.

Now that I’ve tackled where I’ve had gelato and burgers in Sydney, I think I’ll take on Asian cuisine in the next “Heather Eats Sydney” post!

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