Friday 18 May 2012

Burger Theory, Victoria Square

If you've read my previous review of Burger Theory (available here: http://www.theofficeeater.blogspot.com.au/2012/04/burger-theory-adelaide.html) then you'll know I think their burgers are the best thing since ground beef - but that I had a problem with their method of sauce delivery.

I don't want to debate the merits of sauce-on-chips vs sauce-in-pot-on-side delivery methods except to say that I found that the sauce-on-chips method makes the chips a little soggy, makes them messier to eat and creates a non-optimized chip-to-dip ratio (some fries with lots of sauce; some fries with none) while the sauce-in-pot-on-side method allows the eater to control their chip-to-dip ratio.

I tweeted my thoughts Burger Theory and was incredibly pleased and impressed that they took my feedback on board and introduced sauce in little pots on the side.

SEE THE WONDER AND GLORY OF THE LITTLE POT ON THE SIDE!!!

BurgerTheoryCupOTruckSauce

THAT is you call customer service.

Today's fries had the perfect chip-to-dip ratio, the sauce didn't soggy up or overpower the fries and my fingers stayed nice clean. Brilliant!

However, I still haven't had a fry experience the equal of my first Burger Theory meal. The fries just don't seem as crispy as they used to be - and mine were a little cold today.

Thursday 17 May 2012

Fiesta Yiros, David Jones Food Court

Fiesta Yiros SOUNDS like a confusion of mexican and greek cuisines. It gets even stranger because Fiesta Yiros do what I think is probably the best Turkish pide in the Adelaide CBD. I always stop off for one whenever I'm lucky enough to be that side of town.

Today I ordered the chef's special - a pide stuffed with yiros chicken, turkish salami, onion, feta cheese and chilli. It's a bit of a carnivore's delight so for an extra buck (and to trick myself into thinking I was eating something healthy) I ordered a small side salad (of lettuce, tomato and tabouli) and a splash of garlic sauce.

TurkishPideAndSalad

Meaty, salty and spicy the pide - excellent in its own right - benefited from the herby crunch of the salad and cooling tanginess of the garlic sauce.

TurkishPide

What really sets the Fiesta Yiros pide apart from other pides in the Adelaide CDB is the sesame flecked dough. The bread is always baked to a golden hue, has slight crunch and I've never had an old or stale tasting one (unlike other pide vendors - who shall remain nameless - that allow their pides to sit and go limp in the bain marie).

At $8.50 for a pide with salad, I'd be here all the time if I was on this side of town more often.

Monday 14 May 2012

Mystic India, China Town Food Court

Apparently the sandwich was 250 years old today. Had I heard about this before lunch I would have had a sandwich rather ordering from Mystic India in the China Town Food Court. Not that that was a bad decision mind you. In fact, it was a good decision.

I ordered a thali - a stainless steel tray with different compartments for different curries, raita and rice. In addition to the rice and raita chicken tikka masala, spinach dhal and paneer mutter filled out my thali.

Thali

Nicely charred before being slowed cooked in masala sauce the chicken was succulent and tender. And there were actual fragments of spices in the curry sauce which had the right amount of heat for lunch - hot enough that the residual heat left a tantalising tingle on my tongue but not so hot that it sat like a molten brick in the gut for the rest of the day.

The spinach flavour came strongly through the savoury dhal. Rather than being brittle and chalky the paneer was creamy and soft but I found the (I think masala-style because I'm pretty 'mutter' means peas) sauce too sweet.

Last time I ordered a thali from Mystic India the raita was disappointingly thin. Not so this time. It was thick, tangy, flecked with carrot and cucumber and provided a cooling counterpoint to the spicy curry. I was suspicious of the poppadom - it looked as though it had been steamed soft in the bain-marie but it had a deceptively satisfying crunch.

My one real gripe with the meal was that the rice was basically cold but once I'd doused the rice in the remainder if the spicy masala sauce and cooling raita it didn't really matter.

This generally excellent thali is good value at $10 and the wait for food at Mystic India is invariably short.