Little Brooklyn

Merry Christmas!  Here’s some #burgerweek goodness to help the celebrations! Little Brooklyn is one of those lovely places I always mean to spend more time at but rarely end up visiting, so I was excited to go back with friends for a catch up lunch on a Saturday afternoon. We started with a jug of sangria ($25), which was reasonably sized and packed full of fruit (oranges, blueberries and strawberries plus mint). I found it a little bit weak, given the amount of ice, but it was refreshing and tasty. For lunch I ordered the Big Brooklyn Burger, with angus beef, bacon, cheese, pickles, caramelised onion & brooklyn ketchup. I do love a good burger, and this didn’t disappoint. The beef patty was really thick and cooked to perfection (slightly pink inside, lovely!). Adding to the flavour, there were plenty of pickle slices (one of my favourite things), loads of ketchup and even more tastiness from the bacon. I also really loved the chips, which came with a small bowl of aioli, and the meal was so filling that I couldn’t quite finish my burger. The staff were friendly and the atmosphere relaxed – keep doing your good thing guys.

Little Brooklyn, 14 Jardine Street, Kingston ACT, http://www.cocu.com.au/little-brooklyn/

Hoi Polloi

#burgerweek continues! After seeing the incredible burger Bec from inexplicable wanderlust created at Hoi Polloi, I had to stop in to try it! We went on a weekday for lunch (they’re open from 11:30am-2:30pm daily), and I went straight to the burger specials menu. There are three options, designed at Hoi Polloi’s media launch, each inspired by a former Australian Prime Minister. Bec’s creation had some of my favourite burger ingredients – beetroot, pineapple, caramelised onion, cheddar cheese, beef and lettuce, served on a milk bun. We did have a bit of a wait for our meal, so I would recommend visiting when you’re at leisure to enjoy your lunch. The Full Yard burger ($19.90), inspired by Bob Hawke, was beautifully presented on a chopping board, served with a huge pile of chips and tomato sauce served in a jar. The chips were heavenly – perfectly seasoned and just the right balance between soft and crisp. More, please! The burger was equally satisfying – I loved the combined flavour of the ingredients, although I felt like the beef patty was a bit thin and commercial for the price (especially compared to somewhere like Parlour). Overall the balance of flavours was brilliant and I couldn’t believe how much beetroot was packed in there! Yum.

Hoi Polloi, Old Parliament House, King George Terrace, Parkes ACT, http://www.hoipolloioph.com/

Grease Monkey

To celebrate this week of Christmas, I’m celebrating my favourite foodie thing – burgers! Welcome to #burgerweek! I adore Grease Monkey. I really do. When my friend came to visit from Adelaide I took her straight from the airport to Braddon for a solid Canberra burger experience. On my quest to try all of their burgers, I picked the Pitt Stop ($15), stacked full of BBQ pork brisket and apple cider coleslaw and spiced up with a habanero mayonnaise. As always, Greasy’s didn’t disappoint, with the food coming out quickly and obviously freshly prepared. There was a huge serving of their delicious chips, which I’m not ashamed to admit I devoured – yes they were salty, but man, that seasoning is so good! The burger itself was also perfection – the BBQ pork paired with the milk burger bun was surprisngly and delightfully sweet, and the pork just melted in your mouth. I’d added pickes to the order (an extra $1), and they were chopped up and mixed into the coleslaw, which was perfect. The coleslaw was actually really great to balance the huge amount of meat. Every mouthful was a bite of happiness, and I seriously wished for a second stomach to be able to eat more. Nom nom nom.

Grease Monkey, 19 Lonsdale Street, Braddon ACT, no website

Gin Garden

Circular Quay on a summer night is a lovely place to be, but with the pop up Gin Garden at the Museum of Contemporary Art open from 4pm, it suddenly became even better! Shared with the MCA’s Graze restaurant, the Gin Garden is delightfully decorated with shrubberies, flowers and fairy lights, not to mention a sweetheart swinging chair. There are several cocktails on the menu; I chose The Rose Garden ($18), with Archie Rose gin, Earl Grey tea, ginger beer and Rose’s marmalade, all served in a gorgeous glass and topped with cucumber, rose petals and rosemary. I loved the light spritz from the ginger beer, the sweet-but-not-sweet twang of marmalade and the complexity of the gin and tea combination. The whole concotion was utterly delightful and not sickly sweet. I was surprised at how generous the serving was, and unless it becomes part of a bar menu somewhere else, I’ll have to give making it a go at home. I wish I’d gone when I was hungry – the food menu looked mouthwatering, with everything from grilled flatbreads through to more substantial fried calamari on offer. Make the most of the Gin Garden’s season – it’s only open for the summer.

Gin Garden, open all summer at MCA, 149 George Street, Sydney NSW

The Flute

Given Flute is only open from 8am-3pm on weekdays, I only manage to get there when I have the day off work. Yay, rejoice, day off work! Off I went to Flute, excited to try a new pastry or cake. I couldn’t go past the caramel and pecan cake ($7.50), which turned out to be the most magical, delicious piece of baking I’ve had in a very long time. The top of the pyramid is full of gooey caramel, which isn’t too runny, and is full of little balls of chocolate that add some crunch, and a couple of mini pecans, to whet your appetite. Next is the hazelnut mousse layer, which is utterly heavenly. I mean, give-me-a-big-bowl-full-and-leave-me-alone-for-my-life-will-be-complete heavenly. YUM. But it gets better. In the bottom layer, which is cake guarded by a pastry wall, there are hidden pecans inside!!! They’re incredibly sweet and are probably at the ultimate potential that any self-respecting pecan would aspire to achieve. The whole thing was very filling, so I ended up saving the second half for later (future me is going to be very happy). Basically, my advice is to drop everything and get one of these.

The Flute, 8 Barrier Street, Fyshwick ACT, http://www.theflutebakery.com.au/

Ginseng

I met up with friends at Ginseng for dinner before a night at the movies, and we each picked one dish to share. We started things off with a serve of the crispy duck pancakes (normally a serve of 6, we asked for 8 to split evenly). I was impressed with the service – they were prepared freshly on the table next door for us on individual plates and the duck pieces were plump, tender and generous. The pancake wrapper was thin and there was a slice of cucumber and a small sprig of spring onion, plus the hoisin sauce. Yum. The three mains came out shortly afterwards – honey prawns, Szechuan beef and sizzling Mongolian lamb. The sizzling lamb was really tender and the sauce was to die for – the right balance of sweet and salty. The beef had a great sweet and sour flavour and plenty of vegetables packed in, but I think the dish of the night was the honey prawns. Yes, I know they’re really unhealthy, but wow they tasted good! The batter was light and crisp and the prawns were so juicy, their seafood flavour enhanced by the honey. Yep, I’d definitely order like that again. Yum!

Ginseng, 15 Flinders Way, Manuka ACT, no website

Hortas

On a perfectly warm afternoon, Mum and I headed down to Port Noarlunga for lunch with a craving for fish and chips. Wandering around, we saw the beautiful location of Hortas looking out over the water and were sold. We sat out on the balcony and ordered two serves of the fish and chips. The food came out surprisingly quickly, as we were commenting that sitting on the deck felt like lounging at a friend’s place, it was so relaxing and comfortable! The plates were huge, with two pieces of beer-battered garfish, a mound of chips, a bowl of tartare sauce and a garden salad on the side. Whilst the presentation was pretty, it was a bit hard to eat on a plate with no free space. The fish was nicely battered, with the batter leaning more towards the dense side, and inside the fishmeat was perfectly cooked and tender. I found the flavour a bit unusual (just this type of fish? The Coopers beer batter?) but I enjoyed it with the lovely tartare sauce. The chips were a bit on the pale side for me, but were cooked through, and really, you just can’t go past that view.

Hortas, Port Noarlunga Jetty, Noarlunga SA, http://www.hortas.com.au/