WORLDWIDE CHICKEN BURGER APPRECIATION SOCIETY


Posts in Category: Chicken

THE ARGYLE

Purveyor: The Argyle, The Rocks, Sydney NSW Australia

Menu Item: Southern Fried Chicken Burger

Price: $17 AUD

Squawk: The brioche bun out of a packet, that they could not ruin, was perhaps the only good, but they did not make it so that does not count. Sadly there is nothing good to say about this disgraceful attempt at a chicken burger. The only good thing would have been that it was passable as a fillet ‘o fish burger, but as it was not made of fish I reckon it deserves negative points for having the texture of Flathead.

The Argyle Chicken Burger Review Food Critic HolyCluck Holy Cluck Sandwich Chook Eran Thomson

Take 2. Still Sad.

Buaawk:  It said it came with pickled daikon, Habanero butter and “Crisy” Fries (not crispy). Maybe Crisy is the Chef responsible for this excuse for a meal. I’m going to review based on the different experience stages I went through.

Pre-Burger – The description on the menu is misleading. I got excited by the words “Southern” and “Habanero.” There was nothing Southern about this burger, except the rating, and the spiciest ingredient of the experience was my temper.

Delivery to Table – The chicken, as shown, did not even fill the small brioche bun which made it look immediately like a Macca’s $1 burger.

Eating – Like I said. it tasted like a fish burger. I am not sure why, I think it was the slippery bread-crumb batter that fell off as you ate it. The chips were 100% like Macca’s fries so they at least complimented the look of the meal. And they were served in a cool looking mini fryer basket.

Burger reviews at Holy Cluck Steigl Ale

You fall up the stairs. You fall down the stairs.

Post easting – I was left hungry enough to drown my sorrows in another pint of beer for lack of feeling full. The nail in the coffin was when a mate’s chicken burger turned up as shown in the picture on the right. It had a double layer of chicken which forgave the meal slightly for him but made me even sadder, dropping the score by 1 point at least.

– AW

UPDATE: Stupidly, we went back. Mainly for the delicious Steigl Ale, but even falling down those steps isn’t enough to make this burger worthy. It just doesn’t not make a great initial impression visually. The chips were dry, but the chicken was super plump and juicy and that’s pretty much the only thing good we have to say. OK, the bun wasn’t bad – super minimal, crispy outside, soft and doughy inside, sort of like a southern biscuit. Overall the burger was sorely missing much needed tang form pickles or slaw. And a pickle would go a long way. For some reason we think pickled carrots would be perfect on this one. All this said, The Argyle is great, albeit touristy, venue and the live music was as actually good.

THE LUCKY PICKLE

Purveyor: Lucky Pickle, 509-511 Crown St (entrance off High Holborn St), Surry Hills, Australia

Menu Item: Katsu Chicken Sandwich

Price: $12

Squawk: You gotta hand it to these guys. They do one thing, and they do it well. OK – maybe they do three or four things, but really the Katsu Chicken Sandwich is the star at this tiny little place and people line up for it. The chicken is perfect. And the sandwich is simple: Chicken, bread and slaw. This is both its beauty and its (partial) downfall.

Buaawk: The bread rolls are nice, but a bit too hard – they can actually hurt the roof of your mouth and the ratio of middle to bread is too low for us. We’d like to see more of their nice slaw in there, maybe something to soften up both sides of the bread. Eating this one is a chewy, but worthwhile endeavour.

Rating: 7/10

CHUR

Purveyor: Chur, Surry Hills NSW, Australia

Menu Item: Marinated Grilled Chicken w Hot Mayo and Minted Slaw

Price: $10 AUD (Spicy Chips $6, L&P $5)

Squawk: We’ve been fans of this place ever since we first tried their BBQ pork sandwich. It’s so good we’ve never been able to make ourselves order the chicken burger until now. And that’s saying a lot, because you KNOW how much we loves them chicken burgers.

When you order you’ll see a sign behind the bar that says “We proudly serve McClure’s pickles.” So we asked for those to be put on the burger. Turns out this was an excellent idea if we may say so ourselves. They’re good. The Hot mayo isn’t that hot really, but it does add a nice bit of kick. And if you need more, just reach for one of the many options in their beer style six packs of hot sauces. The meat is nicely grilled chicken breast, nearly blackened and it’s all held together, barely, by a nice soft brioche that’s not sweet like some. This is a real contender, not quite a top-scorer, but some Dijon mustard, crispy bacon, or a thick tomato slice just might bring this one into “Best Burger” Champion range.

Buaawk: Lots of sauce. Maybe too much sauce. It’s super messy, and impossible to eat without getting your hands covered. Fortunately there’s a whole entire roll of paper towels always at your disposal. And tasty beats messy 7 days a week. Our major gripe is that it’s always too loud. The music isn’t for the customers. Its for the staff. And that’s been a problem every time we’ve come here. We didn’t come to dance. We came to eat and catch up with out mates. If they fix this then they’ve fixed nearly everything.

Rating: 8/10

CITY EDGE

Purveyor: City Edge, Surry Hills NSW, Australia

Menu Item: Vietnamese Schnitzel Roll

Price: $10 AUD

Squawk: It’s BIG. It’s cheap. Most of the “Vietnamese” flavour seems to come from soy sauce which actually added a nice and unexpected bit of flavour – and cucumber which added a nice bit of freshness, crunch and necessary moisture. And when we say necessary, its because that bread roll is just maybe a tad too big.

Buaawk: This place is popular – probably this has more to do with large portions for little money, than amazing food. All that popularity means you’re gonna be waiting in line – although it moves fast. Judging by the lines – and all the people who encouraged us to try this place – City Edge seem to be a literal crowd pleaser.

But you are here because you don’t follow the crowd. You’re a chicken burger connoisseur. You aren’t satisfied with what feeds the masses. You want special. You want mouth joy. And while we did find some with the soy sauce and cukes, it was countered with long strands of coriander – the stalks, not the leaves which basically turn into nature’s chewing gum after awhile if you don’t pull (or spit) them out. We mentioned the bread roll. Its nice and fresh, but it’s so big that even with the “Tangy Asian Slaw” and mayo, it’s still dry in the mouth. We would have liked to see a bit more salad on here – or some vinegar perhaps to soften things up. The schnitzel is the same old boring schnitzel you get anywhere that serves boring old schnitzel. And its overly chewy nature belies a lifetime spent in a freezer.

We didn’t see the optional addition of fresh chilli mentioned on their menu board until it was too late, and nobody offered it to us when we gave our order. If they had, it could have earned them an extra point or two.

Rating: 4/10

Bonus Tip: Tip: Share this one with a friend if you need to stay awake after.

SURLY’S

Purveyor: Surly’s, Surry Hills NSW, Australia

Menu Item: Cajun Chicken Burger

Price: $18 AUD

Squawk: Cool new venue with good intentions. Great to see this incarnation of a chicken burger on a menu in Australia – you see it everywhere in the USA, but not so much down under.

Buaawk: Sadly Surly’s looks great, but has little substance. This was true of the food we tried, and the decor/vibe. For example, they have a bizarre door policy that reeked of nightclub attitude. We arrived just as the doormen were switching shifts. The first guy said they were full despite several empty tables, but he was instantly replaced with a friendlier version who seemed to have no idea what his job was, and so we just walked right in. Weird right? Doormen at a BBQ joint?

But you’re here for the food, not the attitude, so here goes. On paper this burger looks amazing – it’s got things we love like provolone cheese, cajun seasoning… bacon! But somehow it just doesn’t come together they way it should. It was tiny. The bun was too sweet. The spice not spicy. The chicken, boring. And here’s the thing: Cajun spice (real cajun spice) ain’t boring. We see this all the time in Australia – the dumbed down version of spicy food (Sweet chilli sauce is the perfect proof of this theory). Get some balls people!

To make matters worse the Surly’s team do have the balls to charge $10 for a small basket of spicy* fries making a burger and chips a near $30 outlay. Get over yourselves. Oh – and when our guest asked for an extra bread roll to mop up some of his brisket sauce? They brought him a cold one straight out of the fridge. (sigh).

* Guess what? They weren’t spicy.

Rating: 4/10