WORLDWIDE CHICKEN BURGER APPRECIATION SOCIETY
Posts in Category: Chicken Burger
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 LORD NELSON
Purveyor: The Lord Nelson Brewery & Hotel, The Rocks, Sydney, NSW, Australia
Menu Item: Chicken & Avocado Burger
Price: $23 AUD (with a “middie” of handcrafted Pale Ale)
Squawk: Chicken was superb. Nicely prepared in what appeared to almost be a Tandoori style, individual strips with plenty of juiciness, and crisp around the edges – without being burned. Nice fresh vegetables – cucumber was a surprising and welcome addition.
Buaawk: Roll was too dry – slightly stale, not enough sauce. And on the subject of sauce why do so many places get this wrong? Either too much, not enough, no flavour or too much flavour… (sigh). Lord Nelson tries with their Chilli Jam, but its neither jam nor chilli, and in then end, adds very little value – other than to keep the too dry roll from turning your mouth into the Sahara. Chips were average. Limp, damp potato nothingness.
Rating: 7/10
Bonus: It’s a brewery. Literally.
Minus: Smells like a brewery. Literally.
THE NORFOLK
Purveyor: Norfolk Hotel, Redfern NSW, Australia
Menu Item: Fried Chicken Burger
Price: $12 AUD
Squawk: Nice brioche, bonus points for the Yucataca hot sauce.
Buaawk: Minus points for inconsistency – some burgers have much less chicken than others, and french fry portions vary greatly. Also the minuscule serving of tomato sauce for the fries/chips is just plain inconsiderate.
Rating: 8/10
Minus: Price went up $2 since we were here last.
THE ROSE
Purveyor: The Rose Hotel, Chippendale, NSW Australia
Menu Item: Chicken Burger
Price: $15 AUD (with a Beer)
Squawk: Comes with a beer. And Huffman’s hot sauce which actually isn’t that hot, but does taste nice. Overall this is a decent burger, nothing too fancy or surprising. One thing that confused us was the orange sauce (cheese?) dripping all over the damn thing – it looks amazing, but it was bland and we still don’t know exactly what it was.
Buaawk: The only way you can get away with a mystery sauce is if it’s so damn delicious nobody cares that you made it out of dead baby’s tears. Or whatever. Point is… what is it? Also the bun was a bit thick and sweet.
Rating: 5/10