WORLDWIDE CHICKEN BURGER APPRECIATION SOCIETY
Yearly Archives: 2015
NEIGHBOURHOOD
Purveyor: Neighbourhood, Bondi, NSW Australia
Menu Item: The Alabama Slammer
Price: $24 AUD
Squawk: It’s like the best American Southern fried chicken and coleslaw you’ve had rolled into a burger. I was standing out the front of this restaurant having a look through the menu, when a guy reared up next to me and boomed “You have to get the Alabama Slammer! I’m tellin ya, if it’s not the best f*cking chicken burger you’ve ever had, I will pay for it!!!” The lovely fellow was right and I payed for my own burger.
Buaawk: This thing is a clogger. There is nothing healthy about it. Except the cabbage.
Rating: 9.5/10
– Benny Z
THE CLOCK HOTEL
Purveyor: The Clock Hotel, Surry Hills, NSW 2010
Menu Item: Chermoula Chicken Burger, Lemon Yoghurt, Fennel Slaw
Price: $18 (Two for one special on Tuesdays during lunch)
Squawk: Well. We liked the bottled hot sauce. And it’s an amazing venue – Make sure you sit upstairs on the balcony on a nice day and watch the world go by.
Buaawk: This burger has all the signs of someone who really, really wanted to do something great. Like a little kid at bat, dreaming of winning the world championship, but sadly it’s a swing and a miss. The “Chermoula” was a feeble attempt at Jerk or Moroccan spice mix that should have been amazing, but was sadly wasted on a chewy, stringy, tiny piece of meat with the skin still on. The fennel slaw was a nice try, but too much mayo made it rough on the palate. And seriously. Lemon yoghurt? Get. Off. My. Burger. To make things worse there was too much bun, plus greasy fries. But the bottled hot sauce was great.
Rating: 3/10
THE LOCAL TAPHOUSE
Purveyor: The Local Taphouse, Darlinghurst, NSW, Australia
Menu Item: Fried Chicken Burger
Price: $18 AUD
Squawk: The Local has long been regaled for its ever-changing and always wonderfully varied beer list, but not once have we heard anyone remark about the quality of their food. So it was a bit of a surprise for us to discover a such a good burger here. For starters the chicken itself was beer battered breast meat, the perfect combo of juicy and crispy. We did wonder which of the many beers on their list they used to make such a lovely batter. The perfectly toasted, almost burned, bun appeared to be too thick at first, but turns out it was merely fluffy and squashed down perfectly to fit into our gobs. We loved the artisanal pickles too and wished there were more of them, especially when they’re sitting atop a slice of that fake cheese product we love so well. (We love “real” cheese too). Finally, the chipotle mayo was an unexpected delight. This is a great burger and we were very sad when it ended.
Buaawk: We would have enjoyed a few more pickles. Things like Dijon mustard, crispy bacon or a nice Ox Heart tomato slice could have put this one over the top. Fries were good, but not spectacular. All that said, this one is a definite contender for the upcoming Best Burger Awards.
Rating: 9/10 Updated Score: 8/10 See comments for more info.
Bonus: Amazing beer list.
THE STABLES
Purveyor: The Stables, Surry Hills, NSW, Australia
Menu Item: Chicken Sandwich
Price: $10 AUD
Squawk: This cool little cafe is at the back of a cool little clothing store, and even though we’ve heard the owners are jerks, we kinda like the place. Up front they’ve got some nice (overpriced) threads and in the back they’ve got some friendly hipsters serving up pre-made sandwiches & salads and coffee. Now, normally “pre-made” is a problem, but this sandwich was, from the looks of things, recently made, so we’ll let it slide. Nice rye bread, good combo of veggies and freshly toasted upon ordering give this simple sammie some points. We also love the jumbo bottle of Sriracha sauce that got plunked down when we asked for some heat.
Buaawk: As a general rule, when it comes to chicken burgers and sandwiches, we think that what’s in-between the bread or bun, should be at least as thick as one of the slices. In other words, in a worst case sammie scenario, looking from the side, you have 1/3 bread, 1/3 filling and 1/3 bread. Anything less is unacceptable. And really, all purveyors should be reaching for 1/4, 1/2, 1/4 at a minimum. Stables was worse than our worst case scenario, and for this they lose major points. Don’t be stingy!
Rating: 5/10
CHICKEN TALK!
We now take a break from our regularly scheduled reviewing to bring you the following important message: