WORLDWIDE CHICKEN BURGER APPRECIATION SOCIETY
Posts in Category: Burger
CHARING CROSS HOTEL
Purveyor: Charing Cross Hotel, Waverly NSW, Australia
Menu Item: Fried Chicken Burger
Price: $19 AUD (+$3 for Chips/Fries)
Squawk: This pub used to be dire. Gross, dirty and full of professional drunks. So when a friend we hadn’t seen in a while suggested we meet there and that food is good, we we’re to say the least, surprised. And slightly worried about our friend. Turns out all that worry, like most worry, wasn’t worth the energy. The “Charo” has been renovated, and for the most part, very nicely. We loved the outdoor seating area, that as far as we could tell, didn’t cater to smokers who seem to have ruined outdoor seating at every other pub in Australia. We were sad when we got kicked out at 5:30pm when the outdoor area magically becomes part of their fine dining experience. Inside the thoughtful renovation continues with the highlight being a vintage game room with some great old arcade games.
Don’t shoot the Gorilla – 20¢
But we digress. We know why you’re here and it ain’t to hear about vintage video games. The Charo’s fired chicken burger sounds good on the menu and our Waitress thoughtfully suggested we order it with bacon to which we (always) readily agree. A nice surprise was that when the burger arrived, not only was the bacon perfectly crispy, but someone in the kitchen had the brains to trim the fat off it. Seem obvious, but you’d be amazed how many places get this simple thing wrong. Another nice touch was the oversized, fresh leaf of Iceberg Lettuce which added a some additional crunch. We also appreciated the condiment shelf which had all the usual suspects along with some new sauces we hadn’t seen before from Lillie’s. They are all mostly for red meat (BBQ), but still, being the sauce aficionado’s we are (and with our Founder having gone to school in North Carolina, aka BBQ Country) it was a welcome surprise to see some new sauces on the shelf.
Buaawk: First the burger: The roll was way too sweet, more like a marshmallow than a brioche. We like sweet buns on our women, not our burgers, and this one bummed us out. The chicken was fried thigh meat and was supremely neutral in flavour, texture and appearance. There’s no special attention here to the batter or spices and its a major flaw. Also the portion of meat was on the small side, and there wasn’t enough bird to fill the bun. We later discovered this wasn’t always the case as a late arrival’s burger was much better proportioned. So they lose points for inconsistency.
Now the venue. While the new renovation is great, two things bring it down. One is the noise. Even with the few acoustic tiles in the ceiling the place is annoying loud which turns mealtime conversation with friends into a shouting match. Add in the multiple TV’s and plethora of wobbly, aforementioned, professional (loud mouthed) drunks and it almost makes us not want to come back. The second thing is the staff. Jeez, they act like they’re doing you a huge favour when you order. Anything. Get over yourselves.
Bonus Points: Beer selection, vintage game room, nice renovation to what used to be a crap pub.
– HC
WEST 4TH & JANE BAR
Purveyor: West 4th and Jane, Santa Monica, CA USA
Menu Item: BLTAC*
Price: $12 USD
Squawk: This place is a bit of a sleeper. Not only is it hiding in plain sight smack dab in the middle of Santa Monica, but its poor signage speaks to the unpretentious attitude of pretty much everyone who works and visits here. In a city full of lip and boob job bimbos and egocentric fools handing out “Executive Producer” business cards to anyone who will listen to their BS, West 4th & Jane is a bit of an oasis. Great beers and lots of them on tap. And a surprisingly good chicken sandwich. The bacon on this one comes crispy without you even having to ask for it that way. Nice. The side of pickles is another nice touch, but there’s still plenty of room on that rectangular plate for some fries (Hint). And they got a great hot sauce selection too. Special shout our to our friends at the WestSide Comedy Theater for turning us onto this place
Buaawk: You’ve read it here before, but no chips/fries always bums us out. Yes, we know they’re bad for you and yes, we still want’em. We’re also not so sure about the shredded kale – and we generally enjoy kale, just not so much on a burger – in this case we felt it added a little too much chewiness. We do love chargrilled chicken, but this one was a bit dry. Thankfully their great beer list helps it go down easy.
Bonus Points: Beer selection, unpretentiousness, good music at a level where you can still enjoy it and still have a conversation without shouting.
*In case you didn’t know, that’s and acronym for Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato, Avocado, Chicken
– HC
SON OF A GUN
Purveyor: Son of a Gun Los Angeles, CA USA
Menu Item: Fried Chicken Sandwich
Price: $16 USD
Squawk: First of all we applaud any seafood restaurant that so prominently features a Chicken Burger on their menu. It doesn’t make any sense to us why its on there, but we’re glad it is. This burger gets a lot of hype. Google “Top 10 Best Chicken Burgers in LA” and this one will be on almost every list. Naturally we had to see what all the fuss was about. They open at 6pm and by 5:45 there’s a line out the door – mainly of people without reservations hoping to snag one of the four or five seats at the bar. Clearly they are doing something right. The delicious aroma of their smoky ribs nearly made us give up on the whole idea of a review, but we resisted and soon had our hands on this much revered sammie. We loved the slaw with a touch of ginger that makes this one truly unique and the size of this thing is just right.
Buaawk: Surprisingly and disappointingly this one doesn’t live up to the hype. Our Waiter confidently told us it would be the best chicken sandwich we’d ever have. Maybe he meant, best chicken burger in a seafood restaurant? The bread was nice, not memorable. The chicken was nicely fried, but the meat was so thick in places that the crunch was lost, and blandness set in. We would have liked to see more thinly sliced meat. No fries always bums us out (You can order Kennebec Fries for another $7), but to their credit they have a ton of other smaller dishes that could easily sit aside this sandwich including their mini lobster rolls, oysters and of course a few of those ribs we wished we ordered.
Bonus Points: Very helpful and attentive wait staff, friendly reservation staff, hot sauce selection
– HC
HINANO CAFE
Purveyor: Hinano Cafe, Venice, CA USA
Menu Item: Turkey Burger
Price: $9 USD (w/ Cheese)
Squawk: First of all, don’t get your panties all in a wad over the fact that we’re reviewing a TURKEY burger on a chicken burger blog. Turkeys and chickens have a lot in common: both have two legs, one beak, lots of feathers, can’t fly very well and taste delicious. Secondly, it would take a very special turkey burger to earn a spot here on Holy-Gobble… errr… Cluck. Point is, Hinano claims their burgers are “world famous” and while the validity of such an overused claim is in part due to their iconic location right at Venice Pier, it’s also due to the fact that they make a kick-ass burger in a salty, old run down dive bar, that if you didn’t know better, looks like it would surely be home to a sneaky salmonella or two.
Thankfully it is not and more thankfully, they get it consistently right. We love the simplicity of serving in a cardboard tray, the random bag of chips that gets thrown in (You don’t get to choose – I got Cheetos, my friend got Sour Cream & Onion), and we especially love the accompanying pickled chilli peppers and dill pickle. It may not sound like it all makes sense, but trust us, it does. Simplicity is the key here. Other than choosing a cheese (Cheddar or Swiss) you don’t get a ton of options like some other places (See The Counter review coming soon), but you do get a perfectly grilled turkey patty on a nice bun with fresh lettuce, tomato and if you need to sauce it up there’s big ol’ squeeze bottles of yellow mustard and red ketchup within easy reach.
Buaawk: Did we mention this place is a dive bar? It’s seen better days, and so have most of the regular patrons who hold court there – and their relentless flow of nonsensical drunk talk sorta drives us bananas. But then again, maybe we just didn’t have enough to drink.
Bonus Points: Sawdust on the floors and a jukebox that just don’t give a fuck.
– HC
BEAUTIFUL BURGERS
Purveyor: Beautiful Burgers, Chippendale NSW, Australia
Menu Item: Yankee Chicken Burger
Price: $13.50 AUD
Squawk: We’ve seen this somewhat inconveniently located place on our travels and it’s been on the “gotta try that place one day” list for ages. We finally did it and, generally speaking, the burgers are better than the place looks from the street. Beautiful Burgers isn’t in a beautiful part of town, and the quirky garage sale interior isn’t doing them any favours, but our beef burger friends love the joint, so we decided to see how their chicken burgers fare.
The first surprise is that the chicken is a patty made from minced chicken – more like a traditional hamburger patty. This meant flavour and texture were consistent and it was nicely charred. They call it the “Yankee” and we’re guessing that has a lot to do with the bacon, pickles, and American mustard in the middle. It really works (the mustard especially) on this one and all of us enjoyed our lunch. Even more so thanks to the friendly service, surprising beer list – beers are served in paper bags, we’re not sure why, but we liked it – and the rustic outdoor dining area.
Buaawk: The team at Beautiful could have scored a few more points by going the extra mile and making real slaw – shredded lettuce didn’t cut it for us. Chips have to be ordered separately and come in a cool metal bucket. We ordered two buckets after the first one came out only half full (we’re optimists here at Holy-Cluck) and way too salty. The second bucket was a little more full. And a little more salty. One of the HC team said they “hurt to eat.” Thank goodness for that beer list. Where this burger really falls down, however, is the bun. We universally hated the bun and were dismayed by whatever series of unfortunate events that led to its appearance around everything else that makes up this burger. We likened it to un-toasted “Turkish” style bread that seemed like it could have spent more time in the oven. And finally that sprig of whatever that is that makes up the “salad” is a waste of everyone’s time.
Bonus Points: Outdoor courtyard, friendly service
– HC