Burger Theory, Ghetto Burger and Shizzle Burger

Burger Theory's 'art burger' is smart marketing. Each fornight Adelaide's burger cognoscenti are parting with their hard-earned pocket-cheese to be the first to sample Burger Theory's latest experiment. This is burger oneupmanship at its very finest. And I'm certainly not immune. Right now, my guiding purpose in life is to sample each and every art burger. And with good reason. These are burgers with imagination and flair.

Last fortnight, the art burger offering was the Ghetto Burger - chicken crackling, quick pickles, american cheese and truck sauce.



I like the way that Burger Theory think - but they didn't quite pull this one off. It seemed somehow confused. Don't get me wrong - it was better than just about any other burger going in Adelaide. Fried chicken skin? Hell yeah! Quick pickles? Delish! American cheese? Bring the fatty flavour! Truck sauce? Errrmm... I just don't think it was the right choice on this occasion. I envisaged the Ghetto Burger as super rich (beef + melty cheese + chicken skin) and seriously crunchy (chicken skin + pickle) with acid (from the pickle) to cut through all the flabbyness. These individual elements all worked but the truck sauce just didn't pull the whole thing together. I wonder if kewpie mayo or blue cheese might have worked better. What I'm trying to say is that it seems to my that Burger Theory usually highlight the funky beefyness of their patties and that didn't seem to happen this time. Part of the problem may have been the fact that my patty was squashed so flat that about half of it hung out of the arse of my bun and threw off of the bun-to-patty-to-filling ratio.

The offering this fortnight is the Shizzle Burger - guacamole, pickled red onions and iceberg lettuce. Distinct from rich and funky burgers I usually like, this burger is fresh'n'zingy and perfect for eating on warm Spring days.



I'm pleased to see the little pots of truck sauce on the side have returned!


The Shizzle is a well balanced and excecuted burger. Salty, zingy guac and sour pickled onion cut through the rich beef while the iceburg lettuce brings the crunch. And the patty was the right size this time too!
I love that Burger Theory are willing to experiment and have fun with their burgers and I'm really pumped for the remaining art burgers.

Love Pho Vietnamese Cuisine, Myer Centre Food Court

Presumably I've missed the point by having lunch at a place called Love Pho and not ordering the pho - but today's lunch was decidedly average.

I ordered honey bbq pork, lemongrass beef and noodles.



The honey bbq pork was certainly sweet but it had no discernible texture - neither tender nor crispy nor juicy nor crunchy nor glutenous; the lemongrass flavour was noticeably absent in the oddly fishy-tasting lemongrass beef; and the noodles were very greasy.

In the interest of fairness I'll come back and try the pho and let you know how I go.

Big Beefy Burrito Battle - Burp Killer Burritos vs Zambrero

Last week a colleague of mine bought a small silver torpedo into the office that looked a bit like this...



... I know what you're thinking and no - he doesn't have a boogie board bag full of these and is planning a trip to Bali. This is in fact a burrito from Zambrero. This foil wrapped bundle started a debate about the relative merits of Burp Killer Burritos vs burritos from Zambrero. We didn't form a consensus so I felt I should subject both burrito outlets to a rigorous scientific review to decide this matter once and for all.

To keep the burrito sample pool as constant as possible I ordered beef burritos with whatever fillings came free and some sort of smokey sauce.

Let's start with the Zambrero burrito - slow cooked beef with refried beans, sour cream, rice, corn salsa, tomato salsa, onion & coriander salsa, cheese, jalapenos, smokey tamarindo sauce and a squeeze fresh lime.



I question whether this beef was slow cooked - it was quite chewy and had very little flavour. The various salads, fillings and salsas were fresh and tasty but didn't really add any textural crunch to the burrito. In fact, eating this burrito was like eating a small log of Mexican mush. The smokey sauce didn't come through and jalapenos didn't add any heat. But the squeeze of fresh lime really helped. In fact, that's probably the best way of describing this burrito - fresh.

Now, lets have a look at the Burp Killer Burrito. Keeping the boogie-board-smuggling theme going, for some reason it was wrapped to look like a giant spliff. I should warn you that the lighting in Burp was pretty low so the photos aren't that good. 



The Burp burrito was Mexican beef with guacamole, refried beans, sour cream, corn salsa, tomato salsa, rice, red onion, lettuce, cheese, jalapeños and smokey chipotle sauce.



Tender and falling apart - this beef was definitely slow cooked but once again didn't taste like anything much. The various salads, salsas and fillings stayed more compartmentalised and therefore the burrito had a bit of crunch and texture. Burp was more generous with their fillings - especially the sour cream. The jalapenos had some heat and the chipotle sauce carried through the whole burrito.

The verdict? Let me start by saying that both Zambrero and Burp did a few things badly. I really disliked the wraps they used - it was likely trying eat flattened glue. And the beef from both places didn't taste like anything - but at least Burp's was meltingly tender.

But I think I've come down in the Burp Killer Burrito camp. For one, they didn't try and charge me $2 for guacamole and the burrito was significantly larger. It also had more flavour and texture.

That said, neither were as good the smokey beef mocha mole burritos I made on the weekend.

Maki Maki Japanese Cafe, Parc Arcade, Rundle Mall

I thought I'd take the young fella to the museum this morning. He was a particular fan of the colourful minerals display. Just around the corner from the museum is Maki Maki Japanese Cafe. In my opinion Maki Maki does some of the best teriyaki chicken in Adelaide so we dropped by for post-museum lunch and ordered bento 2 - teriyaki chicken, crispy chicken, sushi and spring roll.



Despite singing the praises of the teriyaki chicken above - today's batch was a bit disappointing. The flavour was there - it was sweet and salty with a creamy tang from the Japanese mayo - but it was COLD. However, the crispy chicken was excellent - really juicy with a wonderful crunch.



I have a soft spot for the spring rolls from Maki Maki because they're basically chiko rolls - delicious! The sushi is also pretty good. I ordered two that were young fella friendly - teriyaki chicken and BBQ beef. I was really surprised by the BBQ beef - it was essentially hamburger patty sushi which might sound a bit odd but was actually really tasty.



I really wanted to be able to give Maki Maki a better review but the cold teriyaki chicken really threw me. Their stall is up for lease so goodness knows how much longer they'll be around for. Check 'em out before they disappear because the teriyaki chicken IS really good - just not today.

Miss Mai, James Place

Miss Mai is fairly new hole-in-the-wall Vietnamese eatery in James Place. I've walked past it a couple times previously but thought today's bone-chillingly cold weather necessitated a seriously warming lunch - beef pho fits the bill perfectly.



I'm no pho expert but it seems customary to serve pho with a big plate of fresh herbs - Miss Mai serves her's with chopped chilli; crunchy bean sprouts; coriander; heady, aniseed-y Vietnamese basil; and a wedge of lemon. I would have liked to see a sprig mint as well but given that the mint bush is my back yard has crapped itself at the moment I can only presume that mint isn't in season at the moment and will hopefully make an appearance on Miss Mai's side of herbs once it is.



The pho broth wasn't clearest I've had but it was choc full of flavour - steaming hot and sweeter than I'm used to (which is no bad thing), salty, peppery and with a slight hint of star anise. A perfect warmer for a wold Autumn day.

In my opinion this pho was a bit light on with the rice noodle but this was more than amply made up for by the plentiful and tender beef.



At $8 for a small bowl (which is more than sufficient) I'd return to Miss Mai's for the pho - but I'll definitely be going for the DUCK banh mi! Who'd have thought that such a wonder would exist?

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!!!



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.

Daily Choice, Southern Cross Arcade

I had to grab lunch on the go today. Fortunately, that bastion of cheap, delicious eating - Southern Cross Arcade - just happened to be on my way between here and there and Daily Choice just happened to have the shortest line. That's unusual for Daily Choice because they do arguably the best banh mi in the CBD - although unfortunately they seem to be receiving less custom now that Soonta Rolls has opened up. I don't really rate Soonta Rolls - the sauces are cloyingly sweet and over applied while their rolls always leave a strange metallic aftertaste.

I ordered the stewed beef roll and smashed half of it before I remembered to take a quick snap.



Delicately flavoured with star anise the stewed beef was meltingly soft while the lettuce and lightly pickled carrots provided a bit of crunch and cut through. I suspect the chillies are grown in someones backyard because some of these little firecrackers pack quite the wallop. But the thing that really sets the Daily Choice banh mi from apart is the quality and consistency of the bread rolls. You'll never find a stale roll here. Rather, they are crisp and crunchy on the outside while being light and chewy inside.

The staff at Daily Choice have got banh mi making down to a fine art so that even when the lines are long the wait is pretty short. And at $4.50 per roll - the price is right (see the Larry Emdur comeback reference I made there?).